Rams trade LB Ernest Jones to Titans | Kirk Morrison shares thoughts

[Music] let's start with the LA RS and the team that you cover very well and some news came out which you would think they'll be a little quiet before the the final preseason game but uh there's some back and forth where Ernest Jones potentially wanting to trade or not wanting to trade maybe the agent does maybe Ernest Jones doesn't know uh who knows what's going on with that one but I'll give you a little bit of a two-parter how critical is to keep Ernest Jones on that roster and then the whole with the AL Aller Jackson getting suspending a couple games of left tackle how do you feel about the Rams knowing this information now yeah this is one of the more buttoned up teams and now you got a couple of things that have uh really come out to light so first of all I'll start with L Jackson because that's a two game suspension because that affects everybody else on the 53 man roster somebody else may now have an opportunity to make this roster uh just because if you're going to be without alar Jackson for first two games does that mean that the Rams have to keep extra tackles or an extra guard extra swing player along that offensive line so that that's going to be one in which sha McVey they have to figure out how they're going to handle this but that's two games without your starting left tackle as well how do you get through it that'll be very interesting so I think this is something that you don't see this happen too often the Rams player being suspended for um you know for conduct and you've got two players suspended not just thear Jackson you still got to talk about the Jimmy Garoppolo who suspension who suspended for the first two games so that's two Rams that are suspended uh it's crazy to think because this we never have to talk about this in La Ram country but this is the the big topic of conversation on the on the other side with Ernest Jones this is an interesting one because here you have a guy who's entering the final year of his contract who's been your starting linebacker since he was drafted uh Midway through his 2021 season he's going into the final year but the Rams truly haven't really paid a defensive player outside of a guy on the defensive line in Aaron Donald but also Jaylen Ramsey everybody else they've kind of priced themselves out and had to go other places am I right I mean I think of John Johnson you know drafted there but when it was time for free agency he had to go to the market same thing with Jordan Fuller had to go to the market a guy who was a starter from his rookie season uh you just look up and down that defensive front I mean even I can throw in Samson uh eam free agency came had to go somewhere else this Falls in line with who the Rams are they draft they develop and then they let you go so if I'm Earnest Jones yeah I feel like I proved and I've earned a contract but let's be honest the Rams just aren't going to pay what roquan Smith got with the Baltimore Ravens or Patrick Queen got with the Pittsburgh Steelers that's not who the Rams are they value more offense than they do defense and then there's another thing is seeing Omar Spates not play in that third preseason game because he felt that they felt that he made the team or made a big impact that was the big thing that came out of the third preseason game as well for a guy who was undrafted to be pulled or not even play that to me is a telling sign that the Rams are Maybe comfortable with letting and trading away Ernest Jones that's that's some knowledge right there Fernando on on the linebacker situation because I'm starting to wonder if Ernest Jones or his agent at least I don't want to say it's Ernest Jones you know totally doing this but like you start thinking like he probably thinks like well they're lacking a lot of debt be at the position I have some leverage here they need me it's it's a young defense they don't have Aaron Donald I am not Ron Smith but let me give it a shot here and maybe the contract neg are lingering and lingering and then to your point Kirk like yeah like last year this team tore the roster apart because they're okay with letting people walk unless you're Aaron Donald or Cooper Cub offensive player of the year or Matthew Stafford uh you better make sure that you have a a real contract uh I guess uh you know situation where you're gonna push them and bend their arms a little bit to make you get that contract Fernando I don't know what you want to say about that but I thought Kirk nailed it there on the situation also with the with the the emerging player uh with Omar uh uh who got the the nod to spad n to make the 40 or actually 48 man roster too with 53 man roster too I'll say this too because the last linebacker I believe that um that the Rams paid who was a homegrown when I say homegrown is a player who they developed that was a former first round pick and Alec Ogle tree and remember with Ogle tree he was a first round pick so sometimes I always feel like the first round picks get the benefit of the doubt because you want to prove everybody right like hey we got the right one we picked this one so Ogle tree was really got paid but he didn't finish his contract with the Rams and was traded away uh you know dur with to the Giants you remember that so I think that you know the one thing I can say about lesne he learns on the Fly he realizes that you know what I can adjust and the Rams just have not invested in a linebacker at all I mean Cory lion was a good homegrown player that they did really well and they're all right bye and he goes to the Raider signs a threeyear $36 million deal I forgot about that one that's a great pull then though cuz uh you know Cory Littleton was like a on the ball like like defensive end in college never even played off the ball linebacker they develop him into a starting middle linebacker plays well for the Rams and then parlay that into a big deal cuz the Rams weren't going to pay the linebacker position it's one of those situations if you're Ernest Jones you're like look I want to be here but I don't want to go into this year without the security but then you realize the Rams that's just not a position that they tend to pay