Ian Rapoport: Brockers back to Rams.

best news i’ve heard in weeks.

need to find some linebackers and olinemen now.

DOWNTOWN RAMS [DTR]@DowntownRams
With the #Rams signing Michael Brockers, the team will receive no projected compensation for Cory Littleton’s departure and now are only expected to receive a third via the Dante Fowler departure.

Good. I would rather have a brokers for the next three years then a pick at the end of the fourth round.

And just like that, the Rams d-line looks pretty damn formidable.

Good news, for a change!

If the Ravens said no cuz of his ankle, I hope the Rams take sufficient precautions for him and work him into the lineup slowly, carefully.

Since they obviously didn’t expect to have him at all, one would think they could go slow, etc.

Anyway, I think this also opens up their drafting a bit too, as others have no doubt already mentioned.

Perhaps concentrate on O-line, Edge or ILB instead?

Great locker-room presence. Glad he’s back.

Mood 😎 pic.twitter.com/5SzeG4jtnX

— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) March 27, 2020

Rams re-sign DL Michael Brockers after his Ravens deal falls through

link https://www.dailynews.com/2020/03/27/rams-re-sign-dl-michael-brockers-after-his-ravens-deal-falls-through/

Defensive lineman Michael Brockers is returning to the Rams after his free-agent deal with the Baltimore Ravens fell apart over concern about the ankle sprain he suffered in the final game of 2019.

Brockers, 29, agreed to a three-year contract worth as much as $31.5 million with the Rams, the NFL Network reported.

His previous Rams contract was for four years and $39.6 million.

Brockers, who has played all eight of his NFL seasons with the Rams, confirmed the report of his return to L.A. in an Instagram post that said in part: “Sorry Ravens But I’m Going, Going, Back Back, To Cali, Cali.”

Trouble between Brockers and Baltimore reportedly started this week when a physical exam left the Ravens worried about the lineman’s left ankle.

Brockers was injured in the third quarter of the Rams’ 31-24 victory over the Arizona Cardinals on Dec. 28 in the team’s last game at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, and immediately walked to the locker room with help. He left the locker room in a walking boot and on crutches.

A Rams source said Friday that team management knows the condition of the ankle and is confident Brockers would pass a Rams physical.

A starter on the interior and end of the defensive line since being drafted from LSU with the 14th pick in 2012, Brockers led the line in tackles with a career-high 63 in 2019 and was a veteran leader in the locker room.

His return takes some of the sting out early free-agent developments for the Rams.

Brockers was the first of three significant free-agent departures from the defense when he agreed to a three-year, $30 million contract with the Ravens on March 16, the first day NFL teams could negotiate with free agents.

In the next two days, the Rams also lost linebacker Cory Littleton to the Las Vegas Raiders and edge rusher Dante Fowler to the Atlanta Falcons.

At that point, the Rams had said goodbye to seven members of their 2019 defense, including linebacker Clay Matthews (released on the same day as running back Todd Gurley), cornerback Nickell Robey-Coleman (whose option they declined to exercise), safety Marqui Christian (signed with the New York Jets) and safety Eric Weddle (retired).

The Rams signed defensive tackle A’Shawn Robinson, a free agent from the Detroit Lions, and edge rusher Leonard Floyd, who’d been cut by the Chicago Bears.

With Robinson, and Brockers returning, the Rams now have more defensive linemen than they did when the offseason started.

Two key free agents did re-sign last week when offensive left tackle Andrew Whitworth and guard-center Austin Blythe agreed to terms.

But the Rams’ limited space under the NFL salary cap made it hard to keep Littleton, Fowler and, at first, Brockers.

A source said one option for fitting Brockers under the salary cap is to rework details of Jared Goff’s contract, which is due to cost the Rams more than $36 million against the cap in 2020 and slightly less in coming seasons under the four-year, $134 million contract the quarterback signed before last season.

Bailey Irrgang@bailey_irrgang
Now with Brockers back, a front three of Donald, Brockers and Robinson now looks really nice, and a strong secondary with Ramsey, Hill and Johnson, our D is looking really good now

chad Forbes@NFLDraftBites
Michael Brockers #Rams contract 3 Yrs & max value $31.5M. Guarantee is $7M. Essentially a 1 Yr $7M deal w/ options. So it’s not far fetched to say #Ravens overpaid significantly at $21M Guaranteed, recognized it & backed out on deal to reallocate money.

Stu Jackson@StuJRams
tied with the Falcons’ Grady Jarrett for sixth-highest run defense grade among interior defenders last year.

dline is set. i think the defensive backfield is still strong especially with jj coming back.

they don’t have linebackers or edge defenders.

maybe kiser comes back healthy and ready?

yikes.

The 5 they have now–AD, Gaines, S-D, Robinson, Brockers–not only gives them a lot of options for rotating guys in the 3/4, but it also gives them about the best 4 or 5 man 3rd & short and goal line DL they’ve had in a long time.

Cal wrote:

I’d be surprised if the Rams don’t add an ILB in their first 4 or 5 picks. But I also wouldn’t be surprised to see Kenny Young starting next year. He has already seen significant playing time in his year and a half with the Ravens so he has some experience.

i would like to see that too. linebackers and offensive linemen. all day.

let floyd go. keep robinson. if they can.

i’d like to see them draft kenneth murray. the guy sounds like a maniac. on the field. explosive. sideline to sideline. playmaker. dynamic (can cover rush and tackle). sounds like a first rounder though….

• This reply was modified 4 years, 7 months ago by InvaderRam.

Cal wrote:

I like Floyd–he’ll be a good addition on the edge in this division with Kyler Murray, Russell Wilson, and the Niner’s running / screen game. Floyd’s unique speed and athleticism will help against those teams.

I don’t know how many OL the Rams can really add in the draft. They already have 7 or 8 guys that I bet they like with Whitworth, Corbett, Noteboom, Allen, Blythe, Edwards, Evans, and maybe Brewer.

I know many don’t think much of Allen, but I recently watched some of the first games, and I thought he looked pretty good for a guy who was basically a rookie. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Rams see Allen as their center for the next 5 years.

That said, they’ll probably trade up from 52 and grab a center in the draft!

i think they still need to find a left tackle to take over for whit. and this is the draft to do it.

i’m not yet convinced of allen. they should find a center if possible.

i think with what they have currently they should be able to fill in the other three spots.

not so much for the present but the future.

Ravens lose DT Brockers, who returns to Rams for 3-year deal

Updated 2:50 pm CDT, Friday, March 27, 2020

https://www.theintelligencer.com/sports/article/Ravens-lose-DT-Brockers-leaving-void-in-15161239.php

OWINGS MILLS, Md. (AP) — The Baltimore Ravens won’t have Michael Brockers on their retooled defensive line after all, and now he’s headed back to Los Angeles.

Baltimore reached agreement on a three-year contract with the Rams free agent last week. But the deal was never sealed in part because Brockers could not take a physical at the team’s training facility due to restrictions by the NFL regarding the coronavirus.

The Ravens had concerns over a lingering ankle sprain Brockers sustained last season. Brockers’ agent, Scott Casterline, had two independent doctors — including Dallas Cowboys head physician Dr. Dan Cooper — examine the eight-year veteran.

Casterline reported that both doctors found arthritis in the ankle but insisted that Brockers “can play with it.”

That evidently wasn’t good enough for Baltimore. Unable to verify the extent of the injury through an examination by their own doctors, the Ravens sought to amend the proposed contract.

“I didn’t know why Baltimore took a hard stance on that,” Casterline told The Associated Press on Friday. “I think the coronavirus, not allowing their doctors to get their hands on Michael, was the key thing. But I had good resources to objectively look at him.”

No settlement could be reached, and early Friday morning the Ravens wrote on Twitter: “The Ravens will not sign Michael Brockers as previously reported after being unable to come to an agreement on terms of a contract.”

Casterline’s view was that the Ravens asked for too much of a concession for an injury that really should not have been that big an issue.

“They came back and tried to restructure what we agreed to, to really eliminate all risk,” Casterline said, “and I just didn’t feel like that was fair, especially when we had other people saying he would be fine.”

Shortly after the Ravens shut down the deal, Brockers agreed upon a contract with the Rams that Casterline described as “very close to what the Ravens initially offered.”

Brockers quoted rapper Biggie Smalls on Instagram: “I’m going, going back, back to Cali, Cali.”

“If he couldn’t play in L.A., he wanted to play in Baltimore,” Casterline said. “He originally wanted to be in L.A., but at the beginning of free agency it didn’t look like they could get where we thought his market value was or close to it. That changed, so he’s happy to go back to L.A. “

The 6-foot-5, 305-pound Brockers made the move from St. Louis to Los Angeles with the Rams in 2016, and he has started at least 14 games in seven consecutive seasons while playing all along their defensive line. Only long snapper Jake McQuaide has been the with the Rams longer than Brockers among their active players.

The likable locker room leader was a key run stopper in the Rams’ 3-4 defense for the past three seasons alongside Aaron Donald, doing much of the line’s dirty work while Donald racked up accolades.

Brockers will team with Donald and returning starter Sebastian Joseph-Day on the line in new defensive coordinator Brandon Staley’s scheme alongside newcomer A’Shawn Robinson, who joined the Rams in free agency from Detroit.

Losing Brockers is a blow to the Ravens, who envisioned the eight-year veteran as part of a defensive line with Brandon Williams and newcomer Calais Campbell, obtained in a trade with Jacksonville.

After reaching an agreement with Brockers, the Ravens gave up on retaining free agent Michael Pierce, who signed with the Vikings, and traded Chris Wormley to Pittsburgh. That leaves a sizable void that Baltimore thought had been filled by Brockers, who last year had a career-high 63 tackles.