Rams linebacker Ernest Jones emphatically shuts down trade rumors

As the NFL roster cuts fill the front windshield of the LA Rams front office, the last thing that this team needed was a distraction. And yet, that is exactly what happened on the morning of August 25, 2024. ESPN's NFL Insider Jeremy Fowler broke the story of an NFL rumor that veteran ILB Ernest Jones, frustrated with a lack of progress with pending contract negotiations for an extension, had sought permission to seek a trade to another NFL team.

The Rams rumored was confirmed by multiple sources. And while the story itself did not seem to fit the docile and agreeable nature of both sides at the bargaining table, asking for a trade seems to be the go-to strategy of so many NFL players that are unable to pull their team to their contractual asking price, it just seemed to fit the situation.

And it happened out of nowhere.

I cannot believe that the LA Rams front office would fabricate a narrative that would, at a minimum, create a huge distraction at one of their busiest times of an NFL calendar. Even beyond that, the front office would have no incentive for doing so. The Rams football organization has a standing policy of not commenting on any ongoing contract negotiations, as it erodes the negotiations from private discussions to a public forum.

So who was the source of this information? Before you turn to Ernest Jones himself, you can check off that box as well. Ernest Jones took to social media today to emphatically shut down rumors that he had asked to be traded from the LA Rams.

The Tweet said "I never asked for a trade." The Tweet was deleted shortly afterward.

The plot thickens.

So, the rumors, despite confirmation from multiple sources, are very unlikely to have originated from either the team or the player. So who benefits from this rumor? I suspect that Ernest Jones' agent, eager to have ammunition over what the market would bear for a contract extension for his client, had to formally ask the LA Rams front office for permission to do so. That permission to 'talk' to other teams may or may not have been an innocent pricing exercise, but the avenue of talking value of players to other teams is unlikely to succeed unless other teams believe that they truly have a chance of prying Jones from the Rams.

There is still something here to be concerned about. Clearly this type of strategy is not one that satisfies all parties, so it does mark a sign that contract negotiations are frustrating someone in the process.

But if Ernest Jones himself is denying any interest in being traded, this looks like a far less heating-up rumor than originally portrayed this morning. It will still bear paying close attention to, as this situation can change dramatically very quickly.

Thanks for reading.