3 players the Rams may have parted ways with far too prematurely

(1) - ILB Ernest Jones

Until the LA Rams hired Raheem Morris as the team's defensive coordinator, the team took little stock in the inside linebacker position. Under DC Morris's watch, the team drafted South Carolina ILB Ernest Jones to lead the defense, and even paired him up with All-Pro ILB Bobby Wagner for a season. Ernest Jones responded by being one of the team's most dependable defensive performers throughout 2023.

But the Rams lost DC Raheem Morris to become the new Head Coach of the Atlanta Falcons. His star pupil, inside linebacker Ernest Jones, would be traded away for a bag of chips and a six pack of housebrand soda before the 2024 NFL seasons began.

And I'm still confused by the willingness to trade him away.

Let's start with a basic defensive statistic. Ernest Jones has not missed a tackle for the Tennessee Titans in two games. The combination of Troy Reeder and Christian Rozeboom have already combined for three missed tackles in two games, That is already a rate of 10.3 percent of missed tackles. Yikes!

But neither Troy Reeder nor Christian Rozeboom show any ability to diagnose plays, stuff the run, or get tackles behind the line of scrimmage. In fact, neither player has a tackle for a loss. Ernest Jones already has two tackles for a loss.

Where the statistics have grown increasingly damning are rushing defense stats. The Rams allowed just 106.8 rushing yards per game in 2023, good enough for the 12th-best defense in 2023. In 2024, the Rams have been gashed for 197.0 rushing yards per game, plummeting the defense to 30th place among NFL teams. That is not the effect of losing DL Aaron Donald's retirement. That is the impact of losing one of the team's best run-stuffing tacklers on the defensive side of the football.

Hey, I get it. Troy Reeder and Christian Rozeboom are 'okay'. But there is a huge difference between an inside linebacker who rushes to the ball carrier and makes that tackle, and an inside linebacker who stands his ground and is drug for two or three more yards before dropping the ball carrier to the ground.

That difference is 90 rushing yards per game.

As always, thanks for reading.