Rams Trade Former UCLA Football Linebacker Kenny Young to Broncos

Los Angeles and Denver swapped future draft picks in a deal that sent the former Bruin packing.

The Broncos needed help at linebacker, and they went west to get it.

The Los Angeles Rams and Denver Broncos agreed to a trade that will send former UCLA football linebacker Kenny Young to the Broncos, as first reported by ESPN's Adam Schefter. The Rams will get a sixth-round pick in return, while also sending out a seventh-round pick alongside Young.

Trade: Rams are sending LB Kenny Young and a 2024 7th-round pick to the Broncos in exchange for 2024 sixth-round pick, per sources.

Broncos have eight injured LBs, including six on injured reserve.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) October 25, 2021

Young ranked second on the Rams and first among Rams linebackers with 46 tackles through seven games, and his 6.0 tackles for loss were best on the team. On the season, Young also has two quarterback hits, one pass breakup, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery and 2.0 sacks.

For his career, Young has played in 53 games with 19 starts, racking up 166 tackles, 16.0 tackles for loss, 5.5 sacks, 13 quarterback hits, four passes defended, three forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries and one interception he took back 79 yards for a touchdown.

Even with all of that production, Young had seen his playing time decrease in recent weeks. Young set a season-low in snap percentage for the second game in a row this week, getting on the field for just 55% of plays against the Detroit Lions on Sunday. That still ranked second on the Rams among off-ball linebackers, but it seems Los Angeles' front offense only values Young and his contract as much as they do the difference between a sixth and seventh round pick.

Young is set to be an unrestricted free agent in March 2022. He has a base salary of $2.2 million for the 2021 season.

This is now the second time Young has been traded in his young NFL career since getting drafted in the fourth round in this 2018. The first sent him from the Baltimore Ravens to the Rams in  October 2019 as part of the package the Rams got in return for cornerback Marcus Peters.

Young will be joining a Broncos team short on linebackers, as eight of them are injured and five are fully on injured reserve. 

Denver currently owns the No. 4 defense in the NFL, while Los Angeles' unit ranks No. 10 in yards allowed per game. Young will be moving from a 6-1 Rams squad to a Broncos team sitting at 3-4 heading into Week 8.

While at UCLA, Young appeared in 48 games and recorded 304 tackles, 22.0 tackles for loss, 6.5 sacks, four fumbles recoveries, two forced fumbles and two interceptions.

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