Les Snead makes important statement on future of Ernest Jones with Rams
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By: Kenneth Arthur
Rams GM Les Snead doesn’t expect Ernest Jones to get a contract extension in 2024, despite rumors
Although reports this month from The Athletic’s Jourdan Rodrigue indicated that the L.A. Rams were working on an extension with linebacker Ernest Jones, general manager Les Snead contradicted those rumors on Monday by saying that the team is prioritizing “additions” over a new deal for Jones. Per ESPN’s Sarah Barshop, the Rams plan for Ernest Jones to play 2024 on the final year of his rookie contract.
Rams GM Les Snead said the plan is for Ernest Jones to play the 2024 season on the final year of his rookie deal instead of signing him to a contract extension.
“We prioritized spending our resources on additions rather than re-signing from within,” Snead said.
— Sarah Barshop (@sarahbarshop) March 25, 2024
Jones, a third round pick in 2021, has slowly worked his way up from being a part-time to full-time linebacker in the past three seasons. He had 934 snaps on defense in 2023, recording 145 tackles, 4.5 sacks, 14 tackles for a loss, six passes defensed, and six QB hits.
He doesn’t turn 25 until November and this will be his first season—as all defensive players—working with defensive coordinator Chris Shula since the departure of Raheem Morris to Atlanta.
A rare top-end linebacker contract pays about $18-$20 million per season, whereas the top linebacker in free agency this year, Patrick Queen, only got $13.66 million per season from the Steelers. The position is going in a similar direction as safety and running back. This could make extending Jones difficult, as the team would likely ask him to make $12 million per season and Jones would likely bank on himself as a player who could make $18 million per season if he hit free agency in 2025. If that is the case, it’s such a wide gap that Snead might as well confirm that Jones isn’t going to be extended.
This is one of two reasons why the Rams might be expected to pick a linebacker in the first three rounds of the 2024 draft, the other being that Christian Rozeboom is L.A.’s other starter.
It can be tricky to put much faith in rumors and unconfirmed reports, as those sources could come from the team or the agent or the player himself and may have other agendas besides detailing what’s happening behind the scenes. In front of the scenes, Snead says the report is not true.
