Ex-Rams playing in SB LX buries Les Snead for trading him for a bag of chips

The NFL is a business, and every player competing in professional football knows it. But sometimes the business feels personal. It certainly seemed that way when the Los Angeles Rams seemed to rush a trade of leading tackler and starting linebacker Ernest Jones IV just as the 2024 NFL season was about to get underway.

That trade came just weeks after the team committed to extending him.

Jones was a key contributor to those defenses. He appeared in 15 games in his rookie season and started seven of those games. In many categories, it was his presence that settled the defense and allowed the team to make its Super Bowl run.

He was a sure-handed tackler at a position that was underwhelming since the team moved on from Pro Bowler Cory Littleton, who defied offenses from his perch in the heart of the defense. While Littleton was velcro in pass coverage, Jones was a wrecking ball in run defense.

As his contract ran out in 2025, the team seemed prepared to offer him a second, and more lucrative, contract.

Ernest Jones humiliated by being traded for next to nothing

Actually, the Rams roster had no alternative but to extend him. So when general manager Les Snead shipped out the former Gamecocks linebacker for next to nothing, fans were stunned. Weeks later, the Tennessee Titans flipped Jones in a trade package from the Seattle Seahawks that showed how pitiful Snead's trade truly was.

Ernest Jones kept those receipts.

The Seattle Seahawks have built their Super Bowl roster with castaways from other teams. Multiple NFL teams parted ways with quarterback Sam Darnold before flourishing in Seattle. Three Rams: Inside linebacker Ernest Jones IV, wide receiver Cooper Kupp, and rookie inside linebacker Chris 'Pooh' Paul Jr., are competing for the Seahawks right now.

Each has a chip on his shoulder after LA opted to go in different directions.

General manager Les Snead did not have any reason to pick on Ernest Jones. But the team seems to adhere to a process that sets the fair market value for a player. If that player balks, they are offered the opportunity to seek out an NFL team willing to meet that higher price. If the contract negotiations grow adversarial, Snead trades the player.

After the Seattle Seahawks defeated the LA Rams in the NFC Championship Game, Ernest Jones lambasted the Rams for the way he was traded. While he didn't name Les Snead directly, it was clear that he was aiming at him when he looked into the camera and said, "I didn't like it."

Well, he has an opportunity to prove his worth. Super Bowl LX will determine if Ernest Jones truly gets the last laugh. And many fans, remembering his contribution in 2021, will be cheering for him.

As always, thanks for reading.