Rams had more confidence in Kevin Dotson than they did Jonah Jackson

The Rams signed 2 free agent guards to big contracts, but one deal was much better for the player

Benching Jonah Jackson for Beaux Limmer wasn’t in L.A.’s plans when the season started, but clearly the Rams were more weary in that $17 million guard than they were in keeping Kevin Dotson for the same amount of money. Because the two guards didn’t actually get the same amount of money:

• Dotson signed a 3-year, $48 million contract with $32 million guaranteed
• Jackson signed a 3-year, $51 million contract with $32 million guaranteed

Okay, it looks to be the same, but it isn’t.

Because the Rams gave Dotson a fully-guaranteed $8 million salary in 2025 with an $8.5 million roster bonus, meaning that Dotson is not going anywhere. But by comparison, Jackson’s 2025 salary isn’t guaranteed at all and in fact the $9 million he’s owed next year — which becomes fully guaranteed on the 5th day of the 2025 league year — only makes it more probable that the team will part ways after one season together.

These numbers from OvertheCap highlight that even if Dotson and Jackson make similar amounts on the books:

The number that Jonah Jackson cares about is the $0 under guaranteed salary.

By cutting or trading Jackson next year, the Rams would save $3.3 million with $11.3 million in dead money. If the Rams really want to get a decent draft pick for Jackson, then they will first pay his $8.5 million roster bonus and then trade him because nobody else in the NFL is going to pay Jackson $17.5 million CASH next year. Nobody.

Will the Rams pay $8.5 million just to get back a third or fourth round pick? Probably not. But a team would probably be willing to trade for Jackson if they only had to pay him the $9 million, not the $17.5 million.

Instead, the most likely move for Jackson, unless he comes back to the starting lineup and is good, would be to released after the season and before the 5th day of the new league year in 2025.

The Rams could designate Jackson as a post-June 1 release, which spreads out the dead money in 2025 and 2026, and that would save the Rams $9 million in cap space next year. However, it’s more likely that L.A. would just eat the entire $11.3 million in dead money in 2025 and get it over with because the Rams actually have some wiggle room.

If it seems surprising to you that Dotson is so far ahead of where Jackson seems to be midway through the season, it apparently isn’t as surprising to Les Snead.