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March 8, 2016 at 6:53 pm #40176
znModeratorNick Fairley – DL – Rams
Zach Berman of the Philadelphia Inquirer mentioned DT Nick Fairley as a player the Eagles could pursue in free agency.Fairley broke into the league with the Lions under Jim Schwartz, who is now the Eagles’ defensive coordinator. Even though he was just a rotational player in St. Louis last season, Berman expects Fairley to get “starter’s money.” Berman said the Eagles may also have interest in free agent ILB Stephen Tulloch, who played under Schwartz in both Detroit and Tennessee.
Source: Philadelphia Inquirer Mar 6 – 10:31
AMhttp://www.rotoworld.com/playernews/nfl/football
March 8, 2016 at 6:53 pm #40152
InvaderRamModeratorhayes and mcleod would be my priorities if i was the rams. if they can sign one of barron or fairley all the better, but they can be replaced in the draft.
March 9, 2016 at 12:08 am #40178znModeratorLA Rams To Focus Mostly On Own Players For Next 48 Hours
Vincent Bonsignore, Los Angeles Daily News
http://www.dailynews.com/sports/20160307/la-rams-to-focus-mostly-on-own-players-for-next-48-hours
With 11 unrestricted free agents, almost all of whom they have an interest in retaining, the Rams will spend most of the first day of the 48-hour legal tampering period of free agency focused on their own players.
The tampering period begins at 1 p.m. PST,
That doesn’t mean they won’t reach out to other unrestricted free agents across the NFL — with whom they can negotiate all aspects of an NFL player contract over the next two days but can not technically agree to anything — but their primary focus is on their own free agents.
The bulk of those players are on defense, which means retaining starting cornerback Janoris Jenkins, free safety Rodney McLeod, outside linebacker Mark Barron and defensive linemen William Hayes, Eugene Sims and Nick Fairley.
Among the other unrestricted free agents are kicker Greg Zuerlein, receivers Brian Quick and Wes Welker, tight end Cory Harkey and center Tim Barnes.
The Rams have already addressed one of their unrestricted free agents by applying the franchise tag to starting cornerback Trumaine Johnson. Johnson signed the designation and will earn $13.9 million in 2016. The Rams will continue to work with Johnson on a long-term extension.
Barring an agreement with Johnson, the Rams have approximately $45 million to work with under the salary cap.
The Rams also have six restricted free agents: linebacker Daren Bates, safety Cody Davis, quarterback Case Keenum, running backs Benny Cunningham and Chase Reynold and offensive lineman Brian Folkerts.
The deadline to extend qualifying tenders on restricted free agents is Wednesday.
Free agency officially opens Wednesday, at which time any “agreements” reached during the 48-hour legal tampering period can be announced.
One player the Rams can officially talk to is quarterback Robert Griffin III, who was released Monday by the Washington Redskins. Griffin is immediately free to talk to, visit and sign with any team.
March 9, 2016 at 12:09 am #40180znModeratorRams expect to be busy as negotiating window opens
Nick Wagoner
EARTH CITY, Mo. — As Los Angeles Rams general manager Les Snead is quick to point out, the name for the next two days of NFL business is something of an oxymoron.
“Really, it’s time to find out. Everybody is trying to find out what the realistic value is and that’s why I do think it is a positive that we have that 48-hour period,” Snead said. “I don’t know what they call it. Sometimes we call it “legal tampering” but those two words together don’t make sense. But what that allows us to do is the agent can actually talk to other teams and actually finally discuss real figures and they can come back and say this is what we’ve got and you need to say yes or no. Or they may figure out that what we’ve been offering all along is the best deal. I think you are going to see more and more (unrestricted free agents) get into that 48-hour period and figure it out from there.”
That 48-hour period is now finally upon us. The NFL’s version of jumbo shrimp begins Monday at noon ET, as all 32 teams can finally begin negotiating with unrestricted free agents. In a departure from recent years, the window for those free-for-all negotiations will last two days instead of three and the NFL has relaxed a bit on what can be said and done during that time.
Nonetheless, any agreement that is reached during the two-day period cannot become official until players sign and execute actual contracts with a team. By league rule, that can’t happen until Wednesday at 4 p.m. ET.
Janoris Jenkins
The Rams would like to re-sign cornerback Janoris Jenkins when the free-agent period officially begins.For the Rams, the next week will undoubtedly be busy and go a long way in shaping the direction of the 2016 season. Here’s a look at some of the business the Rams have to take care of in the coming days:
— The Rams have already placed the franchise tag on cornerback Trumaine Johnson, who has accepted the one-year deal at a price of $13.952 million. The Rams can and will continue to negotiate a long-term extension with Johnson but for now, we have to subtract that total from their available cap space entering the new league year. That means the Rams have about $45 million in cap space to work with as they head toward the league year.
— One piece of business the Rams will also take care of in the next few days that will alter their cap outlook is to extend tender offers to restricted free agents such as quarterback Case Keenum, linebacker Daren Bates, safety Cody Davis and running backs Benny Cunningham and Chase Reynolds. Of that group, only Keenum is likely to get a tender beyond the original draft-position level. Of course, none will count against the cap until or if they sign the tender offer, but the Rams will plan as though those numbers will change.
— To this point, the Rams have been active in trying to keep many of their own free agents. Players like Johnson, cornerback Janoris Jenkins, safety Rodney McLeod, linebacker/safety Mark Barron and defensive end William Hayes are their top priorities. None of them have agreed to deals yet and why would they? As Snead mentioned, with so much money available on the free-agent market, it behooves players and agents to at least see what the market has to offer before signing off on a deal with the Rams. Because of the negotiating window, the Rams should get quick answers on how their offers compare to what the open market could bring. It should also bring relatively fast decisions on whether they’ll be able to get their guys back.
— As for shopping around for outside free agents, we can’t rule out the chances that the Rams willl go out and spend on a big-name free agent though that is more likely if they lose out on a couple of the names mentioned above. The better bet is that the Rams will take a similar approach in free agency as in recent years, spending the bulk of their cap space to keep their own and supplementing with potential bargains at positions like tight end.
— The biggest X factor here is quarterback, where the Rams have repeatedly made it clear they’re open to and looking for competition for Keenum. The Peyton Manning dream is officially gone but Brock Osweiler, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Chase Daniel and Robert Griffin III are expected to be available. Would the Rams be willing to invest the money needed to pry a player like Osweiler away from Denver or another quarterback-needy team like Houston? The time for answers to replace speculation is coming soon
March 9, 2016 at 12:10 am #40182znModeratorJust in time for LA, Rams swimming in salary-cap room
Jim Thomas
There were many offseasons, particularly during the “Greatest Show on Turf” era and its immediate aftermath, in which the Rams did everything but search underneath sofa cushions for loose change.
They were that tight under the salary cap. My, how things have changed. Even after committing $13.9 million to place the franchise tag on cornerback Trumaine Johnson, the Rams still have $43.7 million in cap space according to latest figures from the NFL Players Association.
Only six NFL teams have more, according to the NFLPA.
During most of their 21 seasons in St. Louis, the Rams entered the free-agency period with maybe one-third of that total — or less. Of course, the fact that all this money is available just in time for the team’s first season in Los Angeles is mere coincidence.
Right?
Well, not exactly. It would be naive to think the Rams didn’t want to make an offseason splash in their return to the West Coast. But most teams try to plan their salary cap a few years in advance anyway, with an eye toward which players’ contracts might be up at that time.
The Rams have been eyeing this offseason for quite a while, in part because of all the bodies brought in as a result of the deal that allowed Washington to draft Robert Griffin III, and spinoff deals. It was nice to get all the extra manpower in 2012 and 2013 to rebuild what might have been the league’s worst roster when coach Jeff Fisher and general manager Les Snead came aboard.
But now, those contracts are starting to expire. The Rams have 11 players scheduled for unrestricted free agency starting Wednesday afternoon, and five of those players were either drafted or signed as undrafted rookies in 2012: cornerback Janoris Jenkins, safety Rodney McLeod, fullback/tight end Cory Harkey, wide receiver Brian Quick and kicker Greg Zuerlein.
A sixth player from the Class of 2012, Johnson, has basically been taken off the market with the franchise tag.
Of the remaining players scheduled for unrestricted free agency, two were on the roster when Fisher and Snead arrived — center Tim Barnes and defensive end Eugene Sims. The other four came to the team via free agency — safety/linebacker Mark Barron, defensive end William Hayes, defensive tackle Nick Fairley and wide receiver Wes Welker.
Of the entire group, it’s safe to assume that Welker is the only player the Rams have no interest in re-signing. He was brought in almost on an emergency basis, at age 34, after Stedman Bailey’s four-game NFL drug suspension.
There’s at least some interest in retaining everybody else. As a group, they started 88 games a year ago. And that’s not including Zuerlein, the team’s leading scorer in each of the past four seasons.
Defensively, you’re talking about two of the Rams’ top three tacklers from last season in Barron (135, first) and McLeod (106, third). Hayes was second on the squad in sacks (5 ½), while Jenkins was second in interceptions (three) and led the team in pass breakups (13).
On the eve of free agency, it’s amazing that none of these players has been locked up to long-term deals by now. And not in a good way. It’s not as if the team woke up Jan. 4, the day after the season finale, and discovered each of these players had a contract set to expire March 9.
They’ve had the whole year to work on them. Perhaps all the energy spent on getting out of St. Louis via relocation took away from efforts to re-sign players. The only player signed to an extension was quarterback Nick Foles, way back in August. Then you have the franchise tag for Johnson, and that’s it.
“We tried all year, and just couldn’t ever get anything done,” Snead said at the NFL Scouting Combine. “Now that the guys have gotten to free agency, they would like to continue testing the waters and try to get the best deal they can for themselves.”
That’s usually the way it works. The closer it gets to the free agency period, the more likely players are to see what’s out there. As of 11 a.m. Monday, the Rams lost sole negotiating rights with their pending free agents.
That’s when the “legal tampering” period began, when teams can begin to contact and negotiate with players on other teams. They can even agree to terms — they just can’t sign contracts until after 3 p.m. Wednesday.
Although it wasn’t necessarily legal, the combine used to be the place where agents and team execs got a feel for the market value of a player. But since the advent of the legal tampering period, a couple of years ago, it’s tougher to gauge the market until now.
Of all the Rams’ free agents, Hayes and Barron would be the most likely to re-sign with the team because of the fit with Fisher and the defense of coordinator Gregg Williams. Hayes was drafted by Fisher as a Tennessee Titan and is very loyal to him. With the release of Chris Long, Hayes has the opportunity to be a full-time starter.
As for Barron, the creative mind of Williams has created a unique niche for him as a linebacker/safety hybrid. It’s a relatively new thing in the NFL, using a player the way the Rams use Barron, so there might not be much of a market for his skill set.
The release of middle linebacker James Laurinaitis, coupled with moving Alec Ogletree inside, means Barron has a starting spot at weakside linebacker with his name on it.
Jenkins has dropped hints that he’s going to the highest bidder. As for McLeod, good free safeties are hard to come by, and early indications are he’s drawing some interest around the league.
March 9, 2016 at 12:11 am #40184znModeratorRams will have plenty of competition to keep their own
Nick Wagoner
EARTH CITY, Mo. — Little more than 24 hours from the start of the 2016 NFL league year, competition for the Los Angeles Rams’ many key free agents is heating up.
This year’s free-agent market comes with the salary cap at an all-time high and plenty of teams flush with cash to spend. Which means it could take more than one might expect to sign players in the first wave. Some might call it overpaying, but exorbitant prices might just be the norm in this market.
Already, Indianapolis signed tight end Dwayne Allen to a four-year deal worth a little less than $30 million, and the expectation is that Baltimore guard Kelechi Osemele will break the bank in a new deal with Oakland.
For the Rams, their top targets aren’t exactly lacking in suitors, either. That doesn’t mean the Rams won’t be able to keep some of their own. They have the cap space to do it. They just might have to pay more than they wanted to ensure it happens.
Here’s a quick roundup of what’s been reported and what’s possible for some of the team’s primary free agents after one day of the open negotiating window:
DE William Hayes — The Rams want to bring Hayes back and Hayes has said he’d like to return. But they might not be able to do it as easily as some would have thought. Kent Somers of AZCentral.com reported that the Cardinals have interest in Hayes and it’s believed they are going to make a push to land him. The New York Giants and Miami Dolphins have also been linked to Hayes in various reports.
CB Janoris Jenkins — After the Rams declined to tag Jenkins in favor of fellow cornerback Trumaine Johnson, it was clear that Jenkins would not only hit the market but probably head to the highest bidder. There haven’t been a lot of specifics tied to Jenkins yet but there are apparently many teams that have expressed interest. Jacksonville, San Francisco, Oakland and Miami are among the teams that are expected to pursue the top corners. Jenkins could land a huge deal before all is said and done.
S Rodney McLeod — McLeod is also not lacking for teams interested in retaining his services and he’s expected to get a bigger deal than many might have originally expected. Like Hayes, the Giants also have been connected to McLeod as a solution for their woeful safety situation. The Chicago Bears, Minnesota Vikings and Cleveland Browns have been brought up as landing spots for McLeod. It’s been quite a rise for a player who entered the league as an undrafted free agent and is now among the top two or three safety options on the market.
LB/S Mark Barron — This is one of the more difficult situations to read as there hasn’t been a team in particular that’s been named, but there have been indications that he’s got many teams willing to make a push for him. Pro Football Focus named Barron the player most likely to be overpaid this offseason. And while you can debate the meaning of overpaid, chances are good he’s going to get a lucrative deal either with the Rams or elsewhere.
DT Nick Fairley — Fairley’s market might not be too hot right away, but teams are already looking into contingency plans if they lose key guys on their defensive line. The New York Jets have apparently viewed Fairley as a possible replacement for tackle Damon Harrison. The Philadelphia Eagles have also been linked to Fairley.
March 9, 2016 at 12:13 am #40188znModeratorRams have priorities set heading into the free-agency period
Gary Klein
http://www.latimes.com/sports/nfl/la-sp-rams-free-agency-20160309-story.html
Peyton Manning is retired and off the market.
Robert Griffin III is available, and Brock Osweiler and Ryan Fitzpatrick are among unrestricted free-agent quarterbacks who could sign with new teams.
All are more high-profile options than Case Keenum, the Rams’ presumptive starter.
See the most-read stories in Sports this hour>>
The Rams could create competition at quarterback when the annual frenzy that is the NFL free agency begins Wednesday. However, Coach Jeff Fisher and General Manager Les Snead have said that re-signing free agents in their secondary is the top priority.
“You’ve got to have a plan, and Plan A is to get our guys done,” Snead said last week after a team meeting in Manhattan Beach. “And then there’s a [Plan] B and a C.”
With the salary cap at $155.27 million, NFL teams have about $1 billion in combined available cap space to spend. The Jacksonville Jaguars, with more than $79 million, have the most.
The Rams have about $45 million in cap space after signing cornerback Trumaine Johnson last week to a one-year franchise tender for nearly $14 million.
The 48-hour window known as the “legal tampering” period began Monday, allowing representatives for free agents to negotiate with teams but not sign contracts. They can start signing contracts Wednesday at 1 p.m. PST.
The Rams have 12 unrestricted free agents, including cornerback Janoris Jenkins, safety Rodney McLeod and safety-linebacker Mark Barron. Snead said last month that re-signing those three and Johnson was “priority A.”
“We’ve got a sound, rational plan to get it done,” he said. “We’ll be competitive and I think, obviously, getting a chance to play for Coach Fisher and coming to L.A. can be a good tiebreaker.”
Johnson is in the fold for this season and the Rams will continue to negotiate a long-term deal until the July 15 deadline. Jenkins, the other starting cornerback last season, hired a new agent last week and has indicated via social media that he was seeking a larger payday than what the Rams were offering.
Linemen William Hayes, Eugene Sims and Nick Fairley also are unrestricted free agents from a defense that was regarded as the team’s strength last season. Hayes is expected to garner interest from several teams and Fairley also could be targeted.
Keenum is among five restricted free agents, and Snead has said, “We’re not going to let him go somewhere else.”
Keenum said last week that he was buoyed by his coaches’ confidence in him.
“I want to be the leader that this team needs,” he said. “It’s not just on the field on Sundays. It’s not just on the field during the week in practice. It’s off the field. It’s in the meeting room … It’s in the weight room. It’s in the cafeteria, talking to guys. All those things are very important to me.”
Fisher and Snead, however, have said the Rams are “always looking” to upgrade at every position, and would explore options via free agency, trades and the draft.
“When you’re focused on your guys, that’s the priority,” Snead said, adding, “Once the dust settles there, you then look and see what’s left and can something help you. Does something fit?”
Free-agent options are limited for a top-flight quarterback. Since Manning announced his retirement Sunday, retaining Osweiler is among the Denver Broncos’ top priorities. The Washington Redskins released Griffin, the 2011 Heisman Trophy winner who was the second pick of the 2012 draft behind Indianapolis’ Andrew Luck, but he lost his job to fourth-round pick Kirk Cousins. The New York Jets are expected to try to retain Fitzpatrick, a journeyman who is 33.
But the Rams need more than a quarterback to help a passing offense that ranked last in the NFL last season.
The market lacks a marquee receiver after the Chicago Bears put their franchise tag on Alshon Jeffery, who signed a tender offer this week. Cincinnati’s Marvin Jones (65 passes, four for touchdowns last season) and Cleveland’s Travis Benjamin (68 passes, five for touchdowns) are a couple of potential free-agent prizes.
Center Tim Barnes and kicker Greg Zuerlein are among other Rams free agents Snead has said he hopes to retain.
“You get your guys done, and then it’s, ‘OK, from a budget standpoint you can go get this player, but that player usually just got done at the same time,’ ” Snead said. “And then everything settles and you get to what we always call Stage 2, Tier 2.”
With agents ramping up negotiations for clients Monday and Tuesday, the stage is set for a flurry of signings Wednesday.
March 9, 2016 at 8:34 am #40198znModeratorWill Rams spend freely to keep and pursue free agents?
By RICH HAMMOND
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/rams-707418-free-agents.html
It’s time to find out whether the slow-build, draft-and-develop Rams are ready to move into win-quick mode.
Already, this has been a year of transition because of franchise relocation and the Rams, with a young roster, have banked approximately $45 million in salary-cap space. They can spend freely starting Wednesday , when the NFL year officially begins and the free-agent signing period opens.
Under Coach Jeff Fisher and General Manager Les Snead, the Rams have been consistently mediocre, with records of 7-8-1, 7-9, 6-10 and 7-9. Since 2012, though, management has been building a core of young players. Is now the time to complement them with some higher-priced free agents?
“You want to tip and have that winning season,” Snead said recently. “We’ve been on the cusp for a couple.”
Spending for the sake of spending rarely works out well, but the Rams have the ability to target positions in need of an upgrade and the financial flexibility to out-bid competitors in the free-agent market.
First, the Rams must answer internal questions. They enter the day with 11 players who are unrestricted free agents, including six starters: center Tim Barnes, defensive end William Hayes, linebacker Mark Barron, cornerback Janoris Jenkins, safety Rodney McLeod and kicker Greg Zuerlein.
The Rams must also replace three veteran starters they cut last month: defensive end Chris Long, linebacker James Laurinaitis and tight end Jared Cook.
It’s possible that several of the free agents will return. They’ve been able, since Monday, to gauge their value on the open market during what the NFL cheekily calls a “legal tampering” period, during which pending free agents can negotiate with other teams.
The Rams hope several of those players will return, but if not, they face a potentially large restructure.
Defense has been the Rams’ clear strength in recent years, but the decision to cut Laurinaitis and Long meant the team would have to improve its depth among the front seven. Should the Rams also lose Hayes, Barron or backup linemen Nick Fairley and Eugene Sims, the situation would become even more urgent.
The Rams attempted to re-sign Jenkins but could not, then used the franchise-player tag on their other starting cornerback, Trumaine Johnson, and resigned themselves to the idea that Jenkins would hit the open market. He is likely to be a top cornerback target for several other teams.
There’s more certainty for the Rams on offense, where they know what spots need to be filled.
At the oft-discussed quarterback spot, the Rams could make a big splash by going after Brock Osweiler or Robert Griffin III, or go for the lower-profile Ryan Fitzpatrick or Chase Daniel. The Rams’ activity, when it comes to free-agent quarterbacks, could indicate whether they intend to draft one in the first round.
An upgrade at receiver is also possible. Beyond Tavon Austin, the Rams aren’t particularly deep or strong, but then again, neither is the free-agent class of receivers.
The most intriguing option might be Marvin Jones, who played at Etiwanda High in Rancho Cucamonga and Cal. Jones had 816 receiving yards for Cincinnati last season, and it will be interesting to see whether teams view Jones, 25, as a potential No. 1 receiver.
The Rams also must get six restricted free agents under contract – quarterback Case Keenum, running backs Benny Cunningham and Chase Reynolds, offensive lineman Brian Folkerts, linebacker Daren Bates and safety Cody Davis – and the future of backup running back Tre Mason remains uncertain. Mason was arrested Saturday and the Rams have not yet commented on his long-term status.
It’s already been a busy week in the NFL, with teams retaining potential free agents and agreeing to terms with those on other teams during the legal tampering period. Thus far, the Rams have been quiet, but given all the questions they face, that won’t be the case for long.
“Everybody is trying to find out what their realistic value is,” Snead said. “That’s why I do think it is a positive that we have that 48-hour period. … (Potential free agents) can come back and say, ‘This is what we’ve got,’ and you either say yes or no, or they may figure out that what we’ve been offering all along is the best deal.’
March 9, 2016 at 9:51 am #40200
wvParticipantBarron
Hayes
McLeodThose are the three, i think they ‘need’
to sign.It’d be great to keep Fairly but i cant
imagine that would be possible.So, i want Barron, Hayes, mcLeod
and then I’d like one good addition, on OFFENSE
like a TE, or WR. Or a QB.I’d think that would be do-able.
w
vMarch 9, 2016 at 10:48 am #40205
AgamemnonParticipantI expected Demoff to do better before it got to this. He didn’t sign one of our potential FAs, unless you count Foles. He was probably busy doing other things.
AgamemnonMarch 11, 2016 at 1:15 pm #40433znModeratorLong going to make visits before deciding
SiriusXM NFL Radio
.@JOEL9ONE says he’s in “no hurry” to sign. Plans on taking more FA visits next week before making up mind. @SiriusXMNFL @SeniorBowlPhil
FA DE @JOEL9ONE: I’m excited for the next chapter & I’m the healthiest that I’ve been in 2 years. I want a team that will be in playoffs.
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