WOODLAND HILLS, Calif. – Rams linebacker Troy Reeder valued the connection he and Ernest Jones IV had when they were teammates.
Jones – whom Reeder called "one of my best buddies on the team" – was a rookie during Reeder's third season, and they would bounce ideas off of each other. Reeder recognized there were things Jones did well right away when Jones arrived. While they had different playing styles, he realized that he could learn from Jones, and vice-versa.
With Jones getting traded to the Titans last week, Reeder is due for an expanded role. Rams head coach Sean McVay said last week that Reeder and Christian Rozeboom are slated to be the team's starting inside linebackers.
"Just kind of trusting the process and how things unfold every year and that coach (McVay) is going to do the right thing that puts us in the best position to win week in and week out, and ultimately have the best team by the end of the year," Reeder said. "So, gonna miss him a lot. Learned a lot from him, leadership-wise."
The learnings Reeder will apply soonest likely revolve around wearing the green dot, or the role of on-field defensive signal-caller. Jones held that responsibility last season as the primary communicator between the defensive coordinator and the rest of the unit; the year before, Bobby Wagner handled it.
Rams defensive coordinator Chris Shula said they will likely keep the green dot within the inside linebacker room. Reeder has done it before – he wore it for Los Angeles' wild card playoff game against the Arizona Cardinals during that Super Bowl LVI-winning playoff run.
Reeder is open to doing it again.
"I've done it a lot before," Reeder said. "I carried it for several games in the playoffs in the 2022 playoffs, and, yeah, I mean, I do it every day in practice, and I think I can communicate at the highest level possible, and I'd appreciate that confidence in me."
Reeder's first stint with the Rams was from 2019-2021, first joining the team as an undrafted free agent out of Delaware. He then spent the 2022 season with the Chargers, then the 2023 offseason with the Minnesota Vikings before signing to the Rams' practice squad and eventually active roster in early September.
The Rams are the team that raised Reeder in the pros, and where he learned a lot. He learned even more reuniting with former Rams defensive coordinator Brandon Staley in 2022, and even more last offseason working under Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores – complete opposites from a scheme and philosophy standpoint.
"And so I feel like just as a player, it gave me perspective on a lot of things, and taught me a lot about what works, versus different things that maybe we don't have here, and how we can implement it, or how I can just implement it in my own game," Reeder said. "In the process, I played with really good players, different guys at different positions, that I was able to take things from their game and different things like that, that when I was able to come back, I felt like it was a great opportunity to restart here and with a whole new perspective on things, having seen multiple other places. And in this in this role now, which I've been here before, I'm excited for the opportunity, and I'm excited about this team and what we're going to be able to do this year."
Processing the mixed emotions that come with gaining a bigger role at the expense of a departing friend and teammate, Reeder said he left the team's facility Tuesday night to enjoy dinner with his wife and young son. While much had changed regarding that role and ahead of that meal, he kept things in perspective.
"It just felt like, because of how they train you here, that you're ready for whatever opportunity you get," Reeder said. "... Just the perspective in life, I think, is something that, the older you get, you kind of just feel that there's, there's so many things bigger than just football, but at the same time, you're like, 'this is your family, too.' And it's a really big honor to be able to be out there with those guys and try and be a leader, the best you can be for them, and play to the best of your ability."
