Lance Kendricks figures to draw free-agent interest
By Nick Wagoner
http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-rams/post/_/id/16474/lance-kendricks-figures-to-draw-free-agent-interest
EARTH CITY, Mo. — As his first crack at free agency approaches, St. Louis Rams tight end Lance Kendricks wouldn’t mind staying with the team that drafted him.
But he’s also got bigger plans for his career than the Swiss Army Knife role he’s filled in St. Louis the past four seasons.
“I like the team, I like the coaches, I like the players so for me there is no hurry to leave,” Kendricks said. “I don’t dread being here, I love being here. Obviously I would want more of a passing role but that comes with time, just kind of getting everybody in sync. Like you saw with our defense. Our defense started out a little choppy and now they’re a really, really good defense. We are kind of the same thing where we have got to figure out where everybody fits.”
Tight end Lance Kendricks has developed into a valuable, movable piece who can do a little bit of everything.
Where Kendricks fits will be one of the questions that will get an answer after the free-agent market opens on March 10. He’s unrestricted and though the Rams have indicated they’d like to keep him, it’s pretty clear at this point that Kendricks is going to get a chance to at least shop around to see what he can get on the open market.
That market might turn out to be pretty good for a player who has done a little bit of everything in his time in St. Louis. Kendricks came to St. Louis as a second-round pick in 2011, a pick pushed for by then offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels. McDaniels hoped Kendricks could fill the role of receiving weapon at a position where the Rams haven’t had many in their time in St. Louis.
But Kendricks never really grabbed that role as drops plagued his rookie season and the Rams added Jared Cook before the 2013 season to take on more of the primary receiving target at tight end.
From there, Kendricks developed into a valuable, movable piece who can do a little bit of everything. He lined up in-line, at fullback, in the slot and just about anything else you could imagine from a tight end. Blocking became a priority. Asked to assess his performance with the Rams, Kendricks comes up with an honest depiction of his time in St. Louis.
“For me personally it’s been pretty consistent,” Kendricks said. “Injury-wise, I have been healthy. Playing-wise, maybe I don’t have the numbers I did a couple years ago but production in the run game is sky-high as far as blocking. In that aspect of it, I am doing well but hopefully in the near future I can look to get more passes.”
In 62 games, Kendricks posted 129 catches for 1,388 yards and 13 touchdowns. Aside from the catches, those numbers represent a normal season for guys like New Orleans’ Jimmy Graham and New England’s Rob Gronkowski. The good news for Kendricks is that neither of those players will be available in this year’s free-agent market.
After Miami used the transition tag on tight end Charles Clay, that left one less top tight end ahead of Kendricks poised to hit the open market. Denver’s Julius Thomas and Cleveland’s Jordan Cameron are the two best that will be available but beyond that, one could make an argument for Kendricks to be in the next tier of available tight ends.
For evidence of the desire for movable pieces of Kendricks’ ilk, one need only look at the worldwide NFL tour currently being taken by former Eagles tight end James Casey. There was some buzz in Indianapolis that Kendricks could be in line for a deal averaging in the $3 million to $4 million annual range. It remains to be seen whether the Rams would go that high for Kendricks but they would like to keep him.
And though Kendricks would have liked to be more involved in the passing game in St. Louis, he believes his added versatility and blocking ability will help him land his next job regardless of where that might be.
“The numbers and watching the film, it makes sense,” Kendricks said. “It adds up because we run the ball so much with me in line. That’s only going to help me. Knowing how to block is just another piece of the arsenal that I know how to do. You can’t go wrong with somebody that knows how to block. We’ll see what happens.”
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Agamemnon
