Rams Waive New Cornerback Shortly After Joining Team

Jeremy Hanna | Aug 21, 2024

Oct 24, 2021; Inglewood, California, USA; Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Van Jefferson (12) gets in front of Detroit Lions cornerback Jerry Jacobs (39) and hangs on to the ball for a touchdown in the second quarter of the game at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports / Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

After Derion Kendrick tore his ACL and Darious Williams injured his hamstring, the Los Angeles Rams signed free agent cornerback Jerry Jacobs to provide some depth to the position.

Unfortunately, it looks like Jacobs' time in Los Angeles has already come to an end.

The Rams recently announced that they have waived Jacobs with an injury settlement after less than a month on the team.

This means he has been released and compensated for a certain amount of time agreed on by both the player and the team. After that length of time and an additional three weeks, the player is allowed to sign with another team.

LA Rams Roster Moves:
• Waived, Injury Settlement DB Jerry Jacobs pic.twitter.com/ZNZRvQcSiL

— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) August 21, 2024

Jacobs began his football career at Hutchinson Community College before joining Arkansas State in 2018. In his first season in Arkansas, Jacobs recorded 31 tackles, four interceptions, and eight pass deflections across 13 games. He was named second-team All-Sun Belt.

Unfortunately, Jacobs' 2019 season ended early due to a torn ACL. In the four games he played, he recorded 21 tackles and two pass deflections.

Jacobs then transferred to Arkansas where he only played five games before opting out of the program to focus on the NFL Draft. In those games, he recorded 17 tackles. He was the fourth player from Arkansas to opt out of playing that season.

Despite going undrafted, Jacobs signed with the Detroit Lions as a free agent in 2021. He made his first career start in Week 5 and remained a starter un he tore his ACL again in Week 14. He eventually returned to the field on Oct. 22, 2022.

The 2023 season had Jacobs as the starting cornerback, starting 12 of the 15 games he played. Despite having a strong year, Jacobs once again left the season early with a knee injury.

Jacobs' most impressive game came against the Green Bay Packers where he intercepted two of Jordan Love's passes in a 34-20 victory for the Lions. This marked their first back-to-back win since the 2017-2018 season.

In his NFL career, Jacobs has recorded 131 total tackles, 23 pass deflections, four interceptions, one sack, one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery.

This cut is particularly puzzling because Kendrick is out for the season due to his ACL tear and Williams has yet to make a return. This has led some analysts, including Blaine Grisak of SBNation, that undrafted rookie Josh Wallace has impressed during training camp.

Still, cornerback remains a difficult position for Los Angeles to fill, something they'll have to solve if they want to improve on last season's success.

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