Kenny Young Trade Changes Rams' Defensive Landscape
Halfway through what appears to be a promising season for the Los Angeles Rams, their front office made quite the puzzling move this week. L.A. sent linebacker Kenny Young to the Denver Broncos for a late-round pick swap, the team announced Monday.
Young, standing at 6-foot-1, 234 pounds, had started in each of the Rams' seven games this season, playing at least 40% of the snaps in six of those contests.
Seemingly, the Rams sent the four-year veteran away for little to no return, during one of his best seasons to date. Young had compiled 46 tackles, six tackles for loss, two sacks, one pass defended and one forced fumble in his 2021 campaign. The trade leaves the Rams with Ernest Jones and Troy Reeder as the interior linebackers moving forward who will receive the bulk of the starting snaps.
After being sent to the Broncos, Young was just confused as most Rams fans were.
“At the time, I was on a run and I had played a very good game and it was confusing for me for a second," Young said. "I think it just had to do with cap space with the finances and there’s really nothing they could’ve done about it or I could’ve done about it, but a weird situation."
Currently, the Rams have Travin Howard backing up Jones and Reeder. With experience on the defensive front and in the secondary, L.A. felt as if they could offload some money and go with a less experienced group in the middle while still being productive. If necessary, safeties Taylor Rapp and Jordan Fuller can play down in the box to provide assistance in the running game and help with a now younger linebacker group.
"There's an investment in some of these younger backers, you spend a third-round pick on Earnest Jones," coach Sean McVay said after the trade on Monday. "He's a guy that we feel like has a lot of upside."
Young was acquired for a fifth-round pick in the 2019 Marcus Peters trade, so the incentive to see what Jones has to offer outweighed the capital the Rams spent on Young a few years ago. Although Young was playing well, the cap space freed up by the move allows flexibility to a contending team like the Rams, prompting them to explore a variety of options if need be.
With youth in the middle of the field, L.A. will give their new-look linebacker core a first dose of snaps in an expanded role against the Texans with a chance to move to 7-1 on the season, keeping stride as one of the league's top teams in the NFC.
More from Ram Digest:
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- Rams at Texans Week 8 Preview
- Rams at Texans Week 8: How to Watch, Listen & Stream
- WR Van Jefferson is Carving Out His Role as the Rams' X-Factor in Second NFL Season
- Kenny Young Reflects on Rams Trading Him to Broncos
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