I'm very excited about the addition. Ernest Jones could be the missing piece.
Coming out of college, he wasn't highly regarded and he was thought of as being too slow (4.72) and not very athletic, but with a high football IQ. In retrospect, that opinion that he isn't athletic wasn't right, you can tell from the tape as well as his other measurables, like his vertical (38.5" - 93rd percentile) and broad jump (126" - 97th percentile) that he is very athletic.
The Rams drafted Jones in the 3rd round and started him in 2021, but felt ambivalent enough about him that they signed Bobby Wagner to take his spot in 2022 and moved Jones to the outside. He floundered there due to having more coverage responsibilities, which is not his strength. So when Jones bounced back and had a pretty good year in 2023, the Rams were unconvinced that he was their long-term answer at the mike position.
The speculation is that McVay and Snead didn't like Jones despite the fact that Jones was team captain and the leader of a surprisingly good defense last year. The most obvious reasons that articles have brought up is that he had knee issues last year and in training camp this year. And apparently, Jones and the Rams were far apart in talks about a long-term contract.
It’s hard to understand why the Rams traded Ernest Jones for very little return, but there are a few possible explanations
theramswire.usatoday.com
In this article, it says that McVay, who is usually good with the media, got very testy when asked about the Jones trade to the Titans this summer, and would only say that it was "best for the team." McVay also said that the Rams were good at LB with Troy Reeder and Christian Rozeboom. Those guys are ranked 61st and 73rd on PFF.
Andrew Whitworth also trashed Jones on Twitter, and also added as a reason for trading Jones the current NFL wisdom that you shouldn't pay linebackers. It's the same reason the Bears traded Roquan Smith. But the reality is that good players are hard to find at that position, and you can't stop the run without good linebackers.