Sean McVay: Rams Trading Ernest Jones Was A ‘Football Decision’

As the Los Angeles Rams were finalizing their initial 53-man roster for the 2024 season, the team cleared a spot by trading linebacker Ernest Jones to the Tennessee Titans.

The Rams additionally sent a 2026 sixth-round draft pick to the Titans and received a fifth-round selection for the same year as their only compensation.

The Rams didn’t get much of a return due to Jones’ current contract situation, which led to the trade. He is looking to be paid at or near the top of the market for inside linebackers ahead of potentially becoming a free agent after the 2024 season.

“Football decision, what we felt like was best for the football team,” head coach Sean McVay said of the trade that sent Jones to the Titans. “He’s a great guy, was amazing for us for a few years but we felt like this was best for our football team.”

McVay confirmed that he spoke to Jones before the trade went down and praised him for his understanding of the situation. “Of course. Yeah. There were multiple conversations,” McVay said.

“He couldn’t have been more of a pro, like I mentioned to you guys yesterday. Feel really good about the five inside [linebackers] ‘backers’ that we do have on our team.”

Jones was slated to replace Aaron Donald as the leader of the Rams defense this year. Jones also began calling audibles last season, which was indicative of the green dot he wore on his helmet.

McVay isn’t sure who will wear the green dot this year but noted there are multiple players in the running. “We’re working through that kind of stuff. There are multiple candidates,” McVay said.

“We have a lot of guys that are candidates who are great communicators from the front to the back. There are a couple of guys. We will get into the specifics of that over the next couple of days.”

Could Rams add linebacker after trading Ernest Jones?

While the Rams lost a leader in Ernest Jones, Sean McVay is not worried about the team’s linebacker corps. “No. We feel great about the linebacker group. You guys are all shocked, but we feel really good about…,” McVay added.

“I have a ton of respect for Ernest and I’m excited about what he’ll do in Tennessee and what he’s meant here. This was a decision that we feel like is best for our football team with the guys that we have.

“I think Troy Reeder and [Christian] Rozeboom are excellent. I think Jake Hummel has got versatility and I couldn’t be more impressed with Omar Speights and his emergence as a young undrafted rookie free agent making the team. [Elias] ‘Eli’ Neal is another guy.

“We have a bunch of different things that we can do personnel-wise with some of the guys that we have on the back end and on our front. [That] doesn’t take anything away from Ernest, but every decision that we make, and I think you guys know me well enough now is what we think is best for our football team. This is in alignment with that.”