Will Rams keep, trade, or release Jonah Jackson?
The Los Angeles Rams paid Jonah Jackson as if he was a top-5 guard in the NFL, then they moved him to center where he was paid as if he was the NFL’s best center. Now it’s a matter of whether or not the Rams want to continue experimenting with the $17 million per season lineman or release him just one year after propping him up as elite.
The Rams have until the third day of the 2025 league year — which is going to be March 15 — to release or trade Jackson, otherwise his entire base salary becomes guaranteed.
What will the Rams do?
Buyer beware for teams that expect offensive linemen to play just as well after they change teams as they did for one of the best offensive lines in the NFL. Jackson was a Pro Bowl left guard for the Lions in 2021 and had a solid career in Detroit, but also missed nine games in the previous two seasons before becoming a free agent.
Of course, the Lions are as good as any offensive line in the NFL and that was true with or without Jackson. Thanks to playing in between Taylor Decker and Frank Ragnow, as well as Penei Sewell on the right side, Jackson was surrounded with talent.
All the Lions had to do to replace him was sign 35-year-old Kevin Zeitler for $6 million and he was arguably an upgrade.
Kevin Zeitler helped Ravens running backs average 4.5 yards per carry on rushes between the tackles in 2023, 5th-most in the NFL.
Zeitler will now look to replace Jonah Jackson on a Lions offense that averaged the 3rd-most yards per carry on such runs last season.#OnePride https://t.co/JWuO1UXwfT pic.twitter.com/TCCBXd0WZl
— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) March 19, 2024
Now the question is whether or not Jackson can still be better than Beaux Limmer at center because there’s no chance of him starting over Kevin Dotson or Steve Avila at guard.
Trade Options
If there’s any hope here for Les Snead, it’s that a $9 million starting guard isn’t necessarily the worst thing in the world for the teams out there that are desperate for help at the position. Teams that miss out on their top targets in free agency might be desperate enough to pay $9 million for Jackson.
But they’ll be more likely to do it if the Rams agree to pay part of the $9 million or take back a bad contract in the deal. L.A. might even need to be the team that includes the better draft pick in such a swap rather than expecting to get much back.
The Rams would save $3.3 million to trade Jonah Jackson with $11.3 million in dead cap left on the books for 2025.
It’s not appealing and could be what brings Jackson back into the fold even as a backup.
Release Options
If the Rams feel the need for cap space, releasing Jackson outright before his guarantee kicks in will save the same $3.3 million. But if the team uses a post-June 1 designation, they save $9 million in cap space in 2025, but less cap space in 2026.
If Jackson stays on the team through the 2025 season and then gets released in 2026, the Rams will save $17 million in 2026 cap space and only have $5.6 million in dead money.
What will the Rams do?
It could be easiest for the Rams to let Jackson’s salary guarantee and then hope he wins a job at center out of training camp, or if somehow Avila wins that job and allows Jackson to play guard although that didn’t work out as a plan in 2024.
Jackson would still be among the better backup guards in the NFL.
It’s just a shame that right as Joe Noteboom’s horrific contract is leaving (with $10 million dead cap space left), Jackson’s came in right on time to replace it.
