Talent not coming cheaply on Rams defensive line

Talent not coming cheaply on Rams defensive line

By Jim Thomas

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/football/professional/

The Rams’ defensive line is easily the strength of the team, and is regarded throughout the NFL as one of the league’s best — especially when it comes to the pass rush.

But as our list of Rams salary cap figures for 2015 shows, this talent is not coming cheaply.

For starters, quarterback Sam Bradford, the last of the lavishly paid No. 1 overall draft picks under the old collective bargaining agreement, no longer has the team’s top cap count for this coming season.

He has been supplanted by defensive end Robert Quinn, who signed a $65.65 million contract extension last Sept. 13 — before he and the rest of the team boarded a plane for their Week 2 contest at Tampa Bay.

As a result of that extension, Quinn’s cap count for this season has shot up to a team-high $16.744 million, just ahead of Bradford’s $16.58 million. That $16.744 million cap count for Quinn is 5 1/2 times higher than his 2014 cap count of $3.002 million.

The reason why Quinn’s cap count has skyrocketed for 2015 is a guaranteed $10.233 million roster bonus he’s due the third day of the league year. (The league year starts March 10, so the roster bonus will be paid March 12.)

At some point, the Rams could convert all or part of that roster bonus into signing bonus, which would spread out the cap hit over the five years remaining on Quinn’s contract. But for now, all $16.744 million counts on the Rams’ ledger for 2015.

Quinn may be the salary cap headliner, but he’s not the only defensive lineman near the top of the list in terms of cap count. All told, seven of the Rams’ highest 17 cap counts are defensive linemen, with Quinn at No. 1, Chris Long at No. 3, Kendall Langford at No. 7, William Hayes at No. 10, Michael Brockers at No. 13, Eugene Sims at No. 14, and Aaron Donald at No. 17.

Combined, those seven D-linemen account for $48.285 million of Rams cap space in 2015. That’s 33.8 percent of the team’s cap count at this time (their top 51 players).

Of the nine defensive linemen on the season-ending roster in 2014, only Ethan Westbrooks (No. 41) and Alex Carrington aren’t in the top 20. (Carrington’s contract has expired, making him an unrestricted free agent, so obviously, he’s not on the list.)

RAMS CAP COUNTS FOR 2015

Here are the 2015 salary cap figures for all 56 Rams players currently under contract, listed from highest to lowest. Defensive linemen are in boldface.

1.) Robert Quinn 16,744,110

Sam Bradford 16,580,000

Chris Long 12,500,000

Jake Long 10,500,000

Jared Cook 8,300,411

Rodger Saffold 8,250,000

Kendall Langford 7,000,000

Scott Wells 5,500,000

Greg Robinson 4,837,295

William Hayes 4,480,000

11.) James Laurinaitis 4,275,000

Tavon Austin 3,477,546

Michael Brockers 3,029,727

Eugene Sims 2,391,685

Mark Barron 2,362,704

Johnny Hekker 2,373,773

Aaron Donald 2,303,750

Alec Ogletree 1,917,279

Trumaine Johnson 1,741,794

Brian Quick 1,713,918

21.) Chris Givens 1,698,257

Janoris Jenkins 1,587,829

Jo-Lonn Dunbar 1,345,542

Isaiah Pead 1,284,850

Lamarcus Joyner 1,143,222

Jake McQuaide 850,000

T.J. McDonald 786,426

Stedman Bailey 733,084

Greg Zuerlein 723,307

Barrett Jones 696,300

31.) Tre Mason 689,410

Brandon McGee 632,790

Zac Stacy 629,125

Maurice Alexander 626,505

Benny Cunningham 588,334

Daren Bates 585,000

Cody Davis 585,000

Marshall McFadden 585,000

Damian Williams 585,000

E.J. Gaines 536,918

41.) Ethan Westbrooks 516,666

Marcus Roberson 515,000

Alex Bayer 513,333

Trey Watts 512,000

Travis Bond 510,000

Mason Brodine 510,000

Justice Cunningham 510,000

Brad Smelley 510,000

Korey Toomer 510,000

Doug Worthington 510,000

51.) Devon Wylie 510,000

Demetrius Rhaney 446,474

Steven Baker 435,000

Emory Blake 435,000

Christian Bryant 435,000

Michael Palardy 435,000