When Jonah Jackson left the Detroit Lions, his stock was sky-high. He'd gone from former 3rd round pick to Pro Bowler on one of the best offensive lines in the NFL. This got him a lucrative three-year contract with the Los Angeles Rams. It felt like things couldn't get better. He'd earned the long-awaited payday he fought so hard for and would get to play for one of the best head coaches in the NFL in front of a future Hall of Fame quarterback. Fast forward six months, he was trapped on the Rams' bench and viewed as one of the worst free agent signings in recent franchise history.
What the hell happened? Chicago Bears fans only knew the story after it ended. L.A. made it known Jackson was available for trade. GM Ryan Poles, at the behest of head coach Ben Johnson, flipped a 6th round pick to the Rams for his services. Jackson reunited with his former coach, this time as the team's new right guard. Everything worked out. Tyler Dunne of Go Long TD caught up with him and asked about how things went so wrong last year.
The details are incredible.
First came the broken scapula the second week of training camp. (“The freakiest of accidents.”) During a third-down pass rush drill, the force of his punch cracked the bone. When he re-watched the clip with Rams staffers, they couldn’t believe it. It looked so innocent, so routine. But the scapula is “pretty damn big,” Jackson says, and controls more movement than he ever realized. One small crack was enough. The Rams’ VP of sports medicine Reggie Scott told Jackson this was only the second time in his 15-year career with the team he had ever seen this injury.
Jackson took four weeks off, returned, played in the Rams’ home opener and then re-cracked that scapula in the second half of Game No. 2. This forced him to miss another eight weeks to let the bone fully heal. Upon returning, he started one game at center and was benched for the season. Sean McVay, for whatever reason, didn’t want to see his investment through at that investment’s natural position: guard. Jackson spent the rest of the season on the Rams’ scout team.
The Bears should benefit from this version of Jonah Jackson.
For one, the long time spent on the sideline did have a silver lining. It allowed his body time to rest and recover from any nagging injuries he had as a starter. He should be the freshest he's been in a long time. Then there's the chip on his shoulder. He undoubtedly feels disrespected by how the Rams treated him. They never gave him a fair chance to earn his money. Helping the Bears ascend back to the NFC mountaintop would be the perfect way to show them they made a mistake. If Chicago does get the peak version of Jonah Jackson, that trade could go down as one of the best from this organization in a long time.
