Ernest Jones Traded to Titans

[Tano]

I think/hope you are right, but I also remember that sometimes rookies have to wait a few games to reach the starting lineup, and any game that includes Reeder as a starter is a win that is put at risk. He is good as a bench guy who gives lots of advice to the dudes on the field, or as a substitutional guy, but if he plays the majority of snaps he is going to miss a lot of tackles (or get dragged an extra 4-5 yards every time).

My thoughts exactly

 

[bwdenverram]

Alright.. let’s speculate.. I’m thinking they traded EJ & a 7th and got back a 5th.

You were close bro. sigh

 

[LARams_1963]

So….. new green dot if the season started today? Curl?

 

[Rams8821]

The less Gamecocks we have on the team the better....Kidding...sort of.

Thanks EJ but it was time to move on....

 

[Memento]

100% agree with you on BB3 and White.

Jackson is a little more tricky because of his position. It's not super easy to find good LTs. If they let AJ walk, there is not likely to be one in free agency so they would be forced to draft one in the 1st round. Knowing Snead and how the Rams have operated for the last decade in that they don't like being forced to draft any position, they won't enter the '25 draft with a LT hole. This is especially true considering that they may have big needs in other high-priority positions. Namely, QB (Stafford's replacement) and CB.

Also, consider that the Rams tend to keep decent LTs around. Exhibit A: Noteboom.

Thus, my conclusion is if Jackson continues improving and balls out this year, it's likely they sign him to an extension. If he doesn't improve but merely performs at 2023 levels, I give it a 40% chance they bring him back on a palatable contract.

A-Jax has had constant nagging injuries, and now this suspension. Some other team will still pay him more; I'm not willing to bet on unreliability. And if McClendon ends up starting at left tackle - which he did play during camp, and I have a gut feeling McVay likes him there - that's A-Jax's job.

I'd love to draft Ewers as our QB of the future in the late first along with two corners, a wideout or two, one offensive tackle, and inside linebacker - if we don't already grab one off of the waiver wire.

Unfortunately it's 2026.

Rams trade wide receiver Ben Skowronek to Texans

The Los Angeles Rams on Thursday traded wide receiver Ben Skowronek and a 2026 7th-round pick to the Houston Texans in exchange for a 2026 6th-round pick.

...Fuck.

 

[JYB]

It doesn't matter what we think. It matters what the Rams think. Probably not that many takers. They think they will be better off without Jones. Or at least can compensate for the loss.

I doubt they think they'll be better off without him this year. I think they're just making the best of a difficult situation. They'd have gotten more value out of him by letting him play out his contract, get a (likely) strong year of play out of him, and then get greater value in the comp formula than they got in this late-round pick swap. But they seem to make it a higher priority to do right by the player than squeezing every ounce of value out of him.

 

[PhillyRam]

I'm surprised they didn't at least fetch a 4th for Jones. I get that the ILB position is of less importance in todays NFL but maybe that's why defenses suck in today's NFL. I dunno, just spit-balling here.

Makes me wonder how bad his knee issue is, if it's similar to TGIII's injury and the rams know his days are numbered... I guess we'll find out over the next season and how Jones performs for the Titans.

It's more about his contract status. If he had 2 yrs left on reasonable deal, they could have gotten more.

 

[TSFH Fan]

Guys get butthurt when they don't get the money they expect and sometimes that extends to play on the field.
D'Marco was talking about Kevin Carter half-assing it after not getting paid when the Rams had to pay Warner and Bruce.
We don't know if EJ was one of those - just a possible factor.

Also, is EJ not playing behind 99 worth the same contract as EJ playing behind 99?

It is what it is. Moving on.

 

[Stl2La]

I’m sure someone has probably mentioned it, but I haven’t seen it said yet….

Could our new defensive coordinator, Chris Shula, have a hand in this decision? He’s had a first-hand look at EJ for years now so he would know better than anyone.

 

[DzRams]

A-Jax has had constant nagging injuries, and now this suspension. Some other team will still pay him more; I'm not willing to bet on unreliability. And if McClendon ends up starting at left tackle - which he did play during camp, and I have a gut feeling McVay likes him there - that's A-Jax's job.

Other than suspensions, everything you mentioned was said about Noteboom. Neither is a beacon of reliability and yet NB is still here. It's only because of the position they play.

McClendon won't start at LT. Noteboom will.

 

[Psycho_X]

I liked Jones and rather have him than not but he wasn't an amazing ILBer. Might be some drop off but don't think it'll be a ton. Only two things I'm worried about is loss of leadership and who will wear the green dot?

Leadership we have several up and comers already filling that void with Kobie and Verse. Wouldn't be surprised to see someone like White pick up some slack too.

Green dot is the most glaring issue right now. If Speights ends up replacing Jones I'd assume a veteran takes over green dot such as Curl or Johnson at safety. If Reeder (god help us) is starting he'll likely be that guy.

 

[Memento]

Other than suspensions, everything you mentioned was said about Noteboom. Neither is a beacon of reliability and yet NB is still here. It's only because of the position they play.

McClendon won't start at LT. Noteboom will.

Except A-Jax is not going to settle for a one-year contract. Noteboom did but will likely leave after this year for a better contract.

And I don't expect much from Noteboom. We know what we have in him.

 

[PhillyRam]

It would add value to the Rams. It would give the Rams an asset that could offset another signing.

I'll take the cap savings, the higher pick, and the roster spot.

The reality is they, for some reason, were happy to move on from him. If they really wanted to keep him, they probably could have given him a $2M or $2.5M raise for this year and then he could look fwd to FA. They didn't do that. I will trust their judgment.

Now maybe his agents were adamant about getting a new long-term deal. If that's the case, then it was out of their hands. Will be interesting to see what the Titans do with him.

 

[FrantikRam]

I get that you want to do right by the players, McSnead...but this is a shit return, honestly. I wish they were a bit more ruthless at times.

Not me....doing right by players is how you get a Tre White, Jonah Jackson, Darious Williams, Kam Curl type of FA hull.

Going back further, its just a culture thing in general and is how we got Whit, Woods, etc.

 

[TheTackle]

For those saying MLB isn’t as important, Jones was our leading tackler, excellent at rushing the passer and made plenty of plays around the line of scrimmage. It must be the knee, or McVay lied when he said Jones didn’t request a trade, otherwise I am baffled.

Speights looks like a player but it’s a big ask for him to step in and replace Jones who on top of his play had the green dot.

The word was he had a great feel for getting people lined up so who now takes that role??

 

[WestCoastRam]

Not me....doing right by players is how you get a Tre White, Jonah Jackson, Darious Williams, Kam Curl type of FA hull.

Going back further, its just a culture thing in general and is how we got Whit, Woods, etc.

There's an ROI on doing right by players for sure, hard to quantify, but have to assume it helps with FAs and locker room culture.

 

[Ram_Rally]

Just doesn't seem worth it unless he was going to hold out.

 

[Memento]

Not me....doing right by players is how you get a Tre White, Jonah Jackson, Darious Williams, Kam Curl type of FA hull.

Going back further, its just a culture thing in general and is how we got Whit, Woods, etc.

We got Tre'Davious White, Jonah Jackson, D-Will, and Curl because we're a playoff team and we paid them to be starters. Nothing more, nothing less. The world of sports is a business. Players understand that it's a business. Players accept it's a business.

 

[WestCoastRam]

For those saying MLB isn’t as important, Jones was our leading tackler, excellent at rushing the passer and made plenty of plays around the line of scrimmage. It must be the knee, or McVay lied when he said Jones didn’t request a trade, otherwise I am baffled.

Speights looks like a player but it’s a big ask for him to step in and replace Jones who on top of his play had the green dot.

The word was he had a great feel for getting people lined up so who now takes that role??

I don't think the Rams are asking Speights to step in and replace Jones. I think the Rams made a decision to rip the band aid off, Speights is the heir apparent and they decided to live with the growing pains now instead of next season since they already made the decision most likely to move on from Jones.

 

[DzRams]

Except A-Jax is not going to settle for a one-year contract. Noteboom did but will likely leave after this year for a better contract.

And I don't expect much from Noteboom. We know what we have in him.

That's all speculative. We have no idea what the market will determine. My point is, most fans predicted Noteboom would be gone years ago. I bet you were one of them. He's still around because he plays a critical position that's not easy to find.

The same applies to AJ. You're dismissing an adequate LT way too easily.