Why did the Los Angeles Rams lose to the Philadelphia Eagles in the 2025 NFL Playoffs? Is it because of the snow, which limited the team's schematic optionality? Because Matthew Stafford's final throw sailed out of bounds? Or because the Eagles simply made a few more plays than their opponents, fair and square?
You know, it's probably not just one thing, but the fact that Saquon Barkley ran for 200-plus yards for the second-straight game certainly didn't help Sean McVay's case.
Now granted, it's hard to say that the Rams' defense was bad in Week 20, as Chris Shula's front seven still recorded seven sacks against Nick Sirianni's offense in what was easily the team's least effective pass-blocking game of the year. Jared Verse proved why he's the Defensive Rookie of the Year favorite. The rest of the rotation showed up as well. And even when Braden Fiske went down with a game-ending injury, the Rams were still able to give Jalen Hurts a very long night in a snowy South Philly affair.
But still, even if the Rams found ways to impact the passing game more than almost any other team the Eagles played in 2024, their attacking style of defensive front play led to a slew of incredible runs by Barkley, who ended up finishing out the game with 232 overall yards, 205 on the ground plus 27 more as a receiver.
Was this an aberration? Going for over 200, yes, but giving up plenty of yards on the ground wasn't, as the Rams allowed 2,210 rushing yards over the course of the regular season, which ranked 22nd in the NFL, and allowed Aaron Jones and company to go for over 100 in the Wild Card Round of the 2025 NFL playoffs.
While the Rams would be foolish to overhaul their front seven too much heading into 2025, as they were putting in work in the playoffs with the same core largely returning next season, they could use help slowing down the run, either with the addition of a big nose tackle capable of replacing Bobby Brown III as the designated run stuffer at defensive tackle, or a hammer-dropping linebacker who can clean up the defensive line's issues.
Could the Rams sign someone like Sebastian Joseph-Day, who basically fit that bill with the Tennessee Titans in 2024? Sure, but why not right one of their biggest wrongs of 2024 and bring in Joseph-Day's former teammate, Ernest Jones IV, who frankly should have never been traded in the first place?
1. Ernest Jones IV could perfectly fix the Rams' front seven
Before Jones IV was traded to the Tennessee Titans, many considered the third-round pick out of South Carolina the lynchpin of LA' defense.
Standing 6-foot-2, 230 pounds, Jones IV saw the field as a rookie in 2021 on the way to a Super Bowl win, broke out in 2022, and played some of the best football you will see in 2023, when he was strong against the run, a very good coverage player, and was even a force in the pass rushing game, where he picked up a career-high 4.5 sacks over 15 regular season games.
While the Rams thought they had enough depth to let Jones IV go, as it seemed unlikely that the two sides were going to be able to agree to a deal before the start of free agency, in the end, that assumption was dead wrong, at least until the end of the season, when undrafted rookie Omar Speights really caught on at linebacker.
Could the Rams get by with Speights, Troy Reeder, and Christian Rozeboom as their inside linebacking core, plus or minus another draft pick and/or free agent? Maybe if someone steps up majorly, but to guarantee that the Rams get where they want to be, securing a top-tier linebacker like Jones IV would alleviate much of LA's issues, especially considering he already has experience playing alongside many of the team's core players and played under Shula, who was his position coach in 2023.
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2. Les Snead remains a fan of Ernest Jones IV even after their trade
Back in October, before Jones IV played his first professional game against the Rams as a member of the Seattle Seahawks, Les Snead was asked about the decision to trade the star inside linebacker in the first place before the start of the regular season.
While the two sides couldn't come to a deal that worked for everyone, it wasn't because Jones IV wasn't viewed as a good enough player to invest in long-term; if anything, he knew he was giving up a good player but felt he had to do what was best for the long-term sustainability of the Rams' organization.
“Being [an] active [General Manager] right now and Ernest being in the league, there were many variables that went into that,” Snead said. “I don't think it's good for anyone to sit here and really make that public. It's always in our case what we do… we try to think it’s definitely going to help the Rams in some form or fashion. Again, there are many variables in that, but it's obvious, and we saw him last week.
“Ernest can play football. He's going to continue playing football, and at this point, we're going to play him again this year. Depending on what happens with him in the future, we might play him twice a year for a lot of years, and we expect that with him. That's just the kind of person he is and obviously the talents that he has.”
Then, much like now, the decision to trade Jones IV felt like a mistake, as Tennessee got him for a conditional sixth-round pick and then flipped him for a 2025 fourth-round pick, plus eventually Jerome Baker. Still, the fact that Jones wasn't extended by the Seahawks was curious, as he had a pretty good year. If the Seahawks believe that they could land a more appropriate fit for Mike McDonald's system in free agency or the draft, someone like NFC West stalwart Dre Greenlaw or one-year wonder Zack Baun, maybe Jones hits the open market, where he is a fine option for a number of teams in search of an interior LB upgrade.
3. Ernest Jones IV's market could entice the Rams
So, if the Rams are in desperate need of someone to help solidify their run defense, and Jones IV was excellent in that role under then-defensive coordinator Raheem Morris, a reunion makes all the sense in the world, right?
Theoretically, yes, but remember, the two sides split because they couldn't come to an agreement on a deal that would make Jones IV one of the highest-paid players at his position. If Jones IV still wants that deal, then yeah, maybe LA isn't the place for him, at least with the Rams, but based on Pro Football Focus, it sure seems like that might not be on the table.
After bouncing around the NFL in 2024, Jones IV is currently ranked the 58th-best player in this year's free agent class, with the analytics firm projecting him signing a contract in the vein of $36 million over three years with $22.5 million of that guaranteed. Would the Rams want to make Jones IV their highest-paid defensive player? It's hard to say, but considering their top defenders are all on rookie deals, paying Jones IV while Verse, Fiske, Bryon Young, and Kobie Turner are all still cheap isn't the worst idea imaginable, especially if LA believes they can take one more shot at the title before Matthew Stafford hangs up his cleats.
