Rams Roster Preview: Can Barrett Jones Finally Stake Claim to Starting Center Job?

Barrett Jones is one tough cookie. After suffering a lisfranc injury (typically season ending) in the SEC championship game his senior season at Alabama, he went on to play in the BCS National Championship. It's a credit to the kid's toughness, but it also cost him his rookie season with the Rams. His sophomore season wasn't any better... when he played all of 23 snaps due to a back injury.

Jones future with the Rams rides on his ability to get and stay healthy. If he can prove that he's more than a shell of who he was at Alabama, he's going to be a valuable asset to this team.

Roster Battle

The battle among the 3 centers has been well documented. Jones will be competing against Demetrius Rhaney (preview) and Tim Barnes (preview). The intriguing part of this 3-headed battle is that it's possible to make an argument for everyone - both for starting and getting cut.

With Jones it's fairly simple. If he can show that his back is 100% and that he can avoid further injury, the job is likely his for the taking. However, that hasn't been easy for him thus far in his NFL career.

Expectations

Grab the starting center job by the horns (sorry for the horrible pun) and run with it. Maybe I hold Jones to a higher standard, but I expect him to win this job. He's competing against 2 individuals who have their merits, but don't stack up to his level of talent. If he's healthy, I expect him to win the job. If he's not, I expect Fisher and Snead to consider moving on.

Chances of Making Roster (9/10)

I had Rhaney at 5/10 and Barnes at 8/10 so that lets you know how I expect this competition to shake out. The only reason that Jones isn't an absolute lock to make the roster is because of his recent injury history. If he's healthy - and he says that he is - he's going to be on the roster. Hopefully in a starting role.