Bears reporter finally says what Rams fans figured out about IOL Jonah Jackson

When you're hot, you're hot. When you're not, you're not. While those verses make a catchy refrain for a song of the same name, it's also a point that the Los Angeles Rams had to learn about veteran Interior offensive lineman Jonah Jackson. When he was available in the 2024 NFL Free Agency market, the team abandoned plans to re-sign starting center Coleman Shelton and pivoted to pursue Jonah Jackson instead.

While that may have made sense from an overall talent perspective, the strategy failed to notice one fundamental flaw. The Rams already were quite happy with young left guard Steve Avila. So the addition of veteran Jonah Jackson meant that the team had two left guards and no one with experience at playing center.

No matter. The Rams would simply cross-train Avila to play center. Hunky dory. Only the plan failed before it was ever able to be tested on the football field. Steve Avila struggled at center, and both Avila and Jackson were injured in training camp. To sum it all up, the Rams reverted to Steve Avila at left tackle, promoted rookie center Beaux Limmer to starter, and sat the oft-injured Jonah Jackson, a veteran who arrived with much hoopla and fanfare, on the bench.

Durability is a major concern

The Rams signed veteran IOL Jonah Jackson to a three-year contract, but after a dismal 2024 season, they were delighted to trade him to the Chicago Bears for a modest return of a 2025 sixth-round draft pick. Right on queue, some Bears fans (and naive analysts) have already dubbed the Bears' two offensive guards as the best tandem interior offensive linemen in the NFL.

But one Bears beat reporter is tapping the brakes on that runaway optimism and shares a brutal truth with the Bears fanbase. Over a possible 51 NFL games in the past three seasons, Jonah Jackson has suited up and played in just 28 games. That works out to an availability index of just under 53 percent. And as we had cited in an article about the Rams' struggles with injury-prone offensive linemen, that is a tough factor to embrace.

So it's a point that had to be made.

The thing is, this is old news to Rams fans whose hopes over Jonah Jackson breathing life into the running game were shattered when he fell to injury early in the preseason. But even then, the team hoped he would be back in time for the season.

But when he did return, he fell to injury once more.

The truth is that Jonah Jackson may be very talented. But the experience that the Rams had after signing him to a three-year contract was both regrettable and forgettable. The team gave him multiple opportunities to win a starting job, but his lack of durability prevented him from doing so.

Right now, Bears fans see the t-shirts and shorts version of Jonah Jackson. But when the pads go on, and every day of training camp is one more day of brutal physical contact, a different version will appear. The Rams, eager to have one of the best offensive lines in the NFL, were willing to trade Jackson away for a Day 3 draft pick. The Bears gambled that they got a Pro Bowl veteran in a fire sale.

The Bears needed an offensive guard, and veteran Jonah Jackson fit their needs to a tee. But, he will only pay off if he remains healthy, which is something that he was unable to deliver for the Rams in 2024. He is talented enough to warrant some optimism for Bears fans. But not too much, as he has yet to prove that he has 17 regular-season games in him.

That is something he has not done for four years.

As always, thanks for reading.

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