Although other offseason storylines are taking shape, 2025 has featured a number of teams giving players permission to shop around. The Rams serve as the headquarters for this tactic, with disappointing free agency addition Jonah Jackson the latest player the team will allow to speak with other teams.
The Rams benched Jackson last season, doing so despite signing him to a three-year, $51MM deal in free agency. They are now giving the guard/short-lived center a green light to look elsewhere, ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler reports.
This might not be the easiest task, as the Rams benched Jackson to use a sixth-round rookie (Beaux Limmer) in their lineup. The team had signed Jackson, triggering a Steve Avila position change. By season’s end, Avila was back at guard opposite the retained Kevin Dotson. Jackson would not seem to have a place on the 2025 Los Angeles roster, beyond overpriced backup, so the Rams will see if they can convince a team to take his contract.
A key date here looms March 12, at the start of the 2025 league year. Jackson will see $8.5MM of his 2025 base salary become guaranteed, Fowler adds. The Rams likely needed to agree to the advanced guarantee date due to the interest the four-year Lions starter garnered in free agency. Jackson finished as last year’s guard-heavy class’ second-highest-paid player at the position — behind only Robert Hunt‘s five-year, $100MM Panthers pact. (The Patriots’ Michael Onwenu did land between the two, AAV-wise, but he continues to rove between guard and tackle.)
The Rams shuttled Jackson from guard to center, after shuttling Avila back to guard during a complicated season up front. Limmer, however, emerged from lottery ticket to starter. The Rams used one of their IR activations on Jackson in mid-November but benched him one game into his return. Jackson’s fourth start did not come until Week 18, when Sean McVay benched many key starters to rest them for the playoffs. In Jackson’s defense, he battled shoulder trouble for a while. A shoulder injury sidelined Jackson for weeks during training camp, and he sustained a fractured scapula in Week 2.
If no trade partner emerges, the Rams would be forced to strongly consider admitting defeat and releasing the five-year vet. If the Rams cut Jackson, they would eat $11.3MM in dead money. This trade news comes after the Rams have let Cooper Kupp know they are not planning to bring him back. More significantly, of course, the Rams have let Matthew Stafford shop around — as the QB and his current team haggle over a new contract.
Jackson, 28, operated as the Lions’ LG starter for the duration of his rookie contract. The former third-round pick drew late Lions interest, but the team backed out when it learned how high the bidding ran. It would stand to reason that a Lions team that also found success re-signing Graham Glasgow at a cheaper rate would look back into Jackson — especially with Kevin Zeitler again a free agent. A Bears team that hired Ben Johnson would seemingly look into Jackson as well. But the Rams would likely either need to eat some of Jackson’s salary — as they are willing to do with Kupp — or accept a low-end return in a trade to move on without outright releasing the experienced blocker.