Getty Image / Cooper Neill
We’re getting down to the nitty-gritty before the NFL season, with teams finalizing both their rosters and trying to get extensions wrapped up for disgruntled veterans. One of those players looking for an extension is Rams linebacker Ernest Jones.
Jones wants an extension, but he and Los Angeles have yet to agree to a deal. That led to reports on Sunday that Jones had been giving permission to seek a trade, but Jones claims he never asked for said trade.
Ernest Jones had a fantastic season last year for Sean McVay and the Rams. The third-year player had 145 tackles last year to go along with 4.5 sacks in 15 games, making him one of the most productive box linebackers in the NFL. While he can struggle in pass coverage, he’s great against the run and an excellent A gap and B gap blitzer.
But, teams don’t love to pay players like that big money, even though Jones is just 25 and entering his third season. He’s in the last year of his rookie deal after being a third-round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, and understandably likely does not want to play this year with no longterm security.
With a deal not done, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported earlier that Jones was given permission to seek a trade. Normally, that kind of language is used when a player has requested to be traded.
But, in a now-deleted tweet, Ernest Jones claimed he never asked for a trade!
At this point, it’s tough to know what the real story is and what’s going to happen to Ernest Jones. The team’s season-opener is just two weeks away, with a huge Sunday Night Football against the Detroit Lions starting the year off for the Rams. Time is of the essence to get this situation sorted out.