4 internal candidates who could fill in at LA Rams ILB post-trade

If you are like me, then the latest NFL rumors that surfaced today are not the news you had expected to find over your morning coffee. (The news was so shocking, that I have yet to grab my first cup of comforting coffee this morning.) But that is how it goes for the LA Rams. Nothing lasts for very long. And it seems that the life-cycle of contented players runs about three years.

That is how long veteran ILB Ernest Jones has been with the team.

I get it. Professional football is a violent sport, and it exacts a heavy toll on the players who compete in the sport as starters. So players want to make their fortune when they can and move on. Hopefully moving one healthy enough to enjoy life after football. Veteran inside linebacker Ernest Jones is entering his fourth and final year of his rookie contract. Now, he wants to be paid his fair market value as he enters the prime of his NFL career.

Which is better than demanding to be paid for what you did for your previous team, I suppose.

We have seen this before. The LA Rams are pretty open minded about this sort of thing. When a player asks to be traded, they almost always are. Or ultimately released. We know that the Rams have history with this sort of matter. Such as:

• WR DeSean Jackson - cut
• RB Cam Akers - traded to Minnesota Vikings
• WR Van Jefferson - traded to Atlanta Falcons
• DB Jalen Ramsey (at team's request) - traded to Miami Dolphins

Since we have already polled NFL teams as to which might have interest in trading for Jones, we must now pivot to solve the more urgent need for the team, who can assume the role of ILB in Ernest Jones' wake? We have four in mind (and none are veteran ILB Troy Reeder, you will be happy to know)