When Jonah Jackson signed with Los Angeles, many applauded the move as the former Detroit Lion was supposed to be an anchor of the Rams' rushing attack.
The plan given to Jackson as well as the public was that Jackson would be the starting left guard, Steve Avila would move back to center, a position he played in college and Kevin Dotson, who just signed an extension, would be the team's right guard.
Obviously that didn't happen. Avila never made the move to center, Jackson would become the starting center instead but after getting hurt in the season opener, he lost that job to Beaux Limmer, Avila would take his starting position at left guard and Jackson hasn't been a factor since.
Such a reality, especially for a player commanding as much money as he does while being in his prime, could lead to issues within the locker room and between the player and the coaching staff. Jackson has been nothing but team first as he works through his current situation.
Sean McVay spoke about how Jackson has handled an ever-evolving situation impacting his career saying "I've been incredibly impressed with him. You talk about a man's man. Really a lot of the situations when I look at it, you feel really responsible for not helping put him in a better spot. You have some things about him at center. All he was willing to do is whatever was asked of him."
"He's had some freak accidents that didn't enable him to be able to practice in the offseason, then he has the shoulder [injury], and has the setback against Arizona. This guy's a mentally tough guy. He's physically tough. If you saw the way that he's worked... my respect level for how he's handled a unique situation. It's really my fault for not having him in a better spot to be able to contribute. I just couldn't be more impressed. I think you start to appreciate some of those things a little bit more as you reflect on different experiences. This guy is a really good football player. I'm looking forward to seeing him do an excellent job. He'll start at right guard. Steve [Avila] will start at left guard. There might be an opportunity to be able to get Jonah some chances to play at the left guard position as well depending upon the flow of the game and things like that."
Jackson is set to get his second start of the season against Seattle, returning to his natural guard position.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/nfl/rams/ as How Rams OL Cornerstone Has Impressed Sean McVay.