RAM NOTES : Jones’ Status Doesn’t Bother Boutte

Jimmie Jones has a new uniform, a pricey new three-year, $7.7-million contract, and a comfortable new spot on the Ram defensive line next to tackle Sean Gilbert.

So where does that leave Marc Boutte, who started at left defensive tackle last season?

“I have no problems with being the backup,” Boutte said.

Jones worked out with the Rams’ first-team defense for most of Saturday’s mini-camp practice. And although the starting position won’t be decided until training camp, the Rams didn’t spend all that money on Jones to have him on the sidelines.

Jones started only four games in the past two seasons for the Cowboys, but had 9 1/2 sacks for 39 yards in losses. Boutte started 31 games in that time, with only two sacks for a minus nine yards.

“Right now I’m looking to start and be an impact player,” Jones said. “I know I’ve got to come in and work hard. It’s not going to be there for me on a silver platter.”

When he signed with the Rams as an unrestricted free agent in March, Jones traded a shot at winning a third Super Bowl ring as a backup in Dallas, for getting a shot at starting for a 5-11 team.

A fat contract and a chance to start next to a Pro Bowl player such as Gilbert, who attracts double-teams like a magnet attracts metal, came along with the deal.

“I feel like I’m right back at Dallas,” Jones said. “It’s like a puzzle here, we’re just getting all the pieces together. By the time camp is over with, we will have it together.”

Jones is one of seven Dallas players who have left via free agency, along with defensive lineman Tony Casillas and linebacker Ken Norton.

“The chemistry of that team has been great, unbelievable,” Jones said. “Now that’s been destroyed. You hope they’ll put it back together, but it will be hard because you saw how long it took to put that team together.”

So what does Jones think of joining a team that won only 19 games in the past four seasons? For him, it’s a familiar story.

Jones was Dallas’ third-round draft pick in 1990 from the University of Miami, where he played on two national championship teams. He joined a Dallas team that had gone 1-15 the previous year, but built its roster through the draft and won two Super Bowls.

“Everyone said when I came out of Miami that I was going to a losing program in Dallas,” Jones said. “We went 7-9 that year, but me, Emmitt Smith and Alexander Wright were among only four rookies on that team.

“But the Rams are coming off a better record than Dallas was, and we have better talent here than when I first got to Dallas. The Rams went out and got the key players to put in the spots they needed.

“They made the commitment, and we’re going to turn it around quickly.”

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Quarterback search: Free-agent quarterbacks Chris Chandler and Jack Trudeau are scheduled to visit Rams Park late this week, and Coach Chuck Knox said the team also might try to sign Steve Bono, released Friday by San Francisco.

“We have to investigate it,” Knox said. “He’s certainly someone you would give major consideration to. I’ve heard that the 49ers want to re-sign him, but we’re going to pursue it.”

Knox, searching for an insurance policy in back of Chris Miller, is high on Chandler, the former Phoenix quarterback. Chandler had visited the Rams on March 7, the day they signed Miller. Trudeau was waived in April by the Indianapolis Colts.

“There’s a whole lot of people still out there--Bono, Mark Rypien, Trudeau, Chandler, Andre Ware, Scott Secules,” Knox said. “We’re going to take a look at some people.”

Ram Notes

Contract talks for linebacker Joe Kelly, waived by the Raiders last week, are at a standstill. The Rams offered a one-year deal at $500,000 and are waiting for an answer from Kelly. . . . Linebacker Shane Conlan sat out Saturday’s workouts because of back spasms but returned for afternoon practices.

Rookie wide receiver Isaac Bruce, the Rams’ 33rd draft pick, had a couple of nice catches Saturday, including one grab with cornerback Todd Lyght, the team’s top coverage man, draped all over him. . . . Mini-camp concludes today with a morning workout.