Ernest Jones (born November 22, 1999) is an American football linebacker for the

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division. The Rams play ...

of the National Football League (NFL). He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

at South Carolina.

Early life and high school

Jones grew up in Waycross, Georgia and attended

Ware County High School Ware County High School is the only public Secondary school, high school in Ware County, Georgia, United States. It is located in the city of Waycross, Georgia, Waycross. History Ware County High School was formed in 1958 by the merging of Ware ...

. As a senior, he recorded 112 tackles with six tackles for loss, two sacks and three forced fumbles and was named first-team Class AAAAA. Jones committed to play at South Carolina after considering offers from Georgia Tech and Duke.

College career

Jones played in five games as a freshman with 16 tackles and a forced fumble. He became a starter and led South Carolina with 97 tackles in his sophomore season. Going into his junior season, Jones missed most of South Carolina's preseason training due to an appendectomy. He led the team again as a junior with 86 tackles, five of which were for a loss. At the end of the season, Jones declared that he would forgo his senior season and enter the NFL draft.

Professional career

Jones was selected in the third round with the 103rd overall pick of the

2021 NFL Draft The 2021 NFL Draft was the 86th National Football League Draft, the annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2021 NFL season. The draft was held in Cleveland from April 29 to May 1, 2021 ...

by the

. Jones signed his four-year rookie contract with the Rams on July 22, 2021. Jones entered his rookie season in 2021 as a backup inside linebacker behind Kenny Young and

Troy Reeder Troy Daniel Reeder (born September 13, 1994) is an American football linebacker for the Los Angeles Chargers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Penn State and Delaware. Early life and high school Reeder grew u ...

. He was inserted into the starting lineup after the Rams traded Young prior to Week 8. In Week 14, Jones intercepted a pass from Kyler Murray in a 30-23 win over the

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division, and play t ...

. He suffered a high ankle sprain in Week 16 and was placed on injured reserve on December 28, finishing the regular season with 61 tackles and one sack, with four passes defensed and two interceptions through 15 games and seven starts. Jones was activated on January 29, 2022, for the NFC Championship game, contributing two tackles as he backed up Reeder in L.A.'s 20-17 triumph over the San Francisco 49ers. In

Super Bowl LVI Super Bowl LVI was an American football game played to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2021 season. The National Football Conference (NFC) champion Los Angeles Rams defeated the American Football Conference ...

, Jones got the start at inside linebacker and recorded seven tackles with one sack and a pass defensed in the Rams' 23-20 victory against the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The c ...

. During the team's voluntary minicamp in May 2022, the team announced that Jones was changing his jersey number from '50' to '53.'

References

External links

Los Angeles Rams bioSouth Carolina Gamecocks bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Ernest 1999 births Living people American football linebackers South Carolina Gamecocks football players Los Angeles Rams players People from Waycross, Georgia Players of American football from Georgia (U.S. state)