Much has changed with the Los Angele Rams’ defense this year, beyond just the retirement of Aaron Donald and the departure of Raheem Morris. One of the biggest changes just happened this week when the Rams traded Ernest Jones to the Titans for a late-round pick swap.
The move came as a major surprise, especially with just two weeks until the start of the regular season. It’s even more shocking when you consider how little proven talent Los Angeles had at inside linebacker behind Jones.
With the fourth-year veteran gone, the Rams kept five linebackers on the 53-man roster: Troy Reeder, Christian Rozeboom, Jacob Hummel, Omar Speights and Elias Neal, all of whom entered the NFL as undrafted players. The question now is which one replaces Jones as not only the starting linebacker, but the defensive signal caller – a job that goes to someone who’s expected to play every snap each week.
As promising as Speights looked in the preseason, he’s probably not ready to go from undrafted rookie to defensive signal caller. The same goes for Neal. Hummel is someone the Rams like a lot, too, but he’s never been a full-time starter before.
That leaves Rozeboom and Reeder. Rozeboom began last season as the second linebacker next to Jones but his playing time dwindled as the season went on after Reeder started to get more snaps.
Both players got the entire preseason off, a signal that they earned the trust of the coaching staff. However, it appears Reeder is ahead of Rozeboom in the pecking order. For one, he got a press conference with reporters Wednesday, the same day both coordinators and Kyren Williams did. The Rams don’t typically give backups pressers and it’s telling that Reeder got one before Rozeboom any every other inside linebacker.
Defensive coordinator Chris Shula mentioned Reeder’s consistency and intelligence on the field Wednesday, mentioning that he had a strong performance in camp.
“Yeah, he’s just a consistent guy. No matter what, consistent demeanor, rarely makes a mistake, very smart and above the neck,” Shula said. “It’s like having a coach on the field so always enjoyed working with him and am excited to continue to do that.
“He had a good camp. He played fast. He plays hard and kind of the same as he has always been.”
Shula said the Rams are expected to have a linebacker wear the green dot as the defensive signal caller rather than giving it to someone such as Kamren Curl or Quentin Lake in the secondary. With Reeder being someone who’s had that responsibility before, he would be the natural fit to replace Jones as the primary inside linebacker.
That probably won’t excite fans who have memories of Reeder missing tackles and giving up big plays in coverage, but at this point in time, he seems like the Rams’ preferred option. That doesn’t mean it can’t or won’t change during the season, especially if someone such as Speights catches on quickly, but for now, Reeder appears to be Jones’ replacement in the middle of the defense.