Malcolm Brown … 3/29 update

The Rams were going to pay Malcolm Brown ~$2.03M in 2019. The Lions' 2-year/$3.25M offer sheet seems too good not to match.

Depending on the structure, matching could actually save the Rams money https://t.co/s743yK61Dw

— Cameron DaSilva (@camdasilva) March 20, 2019

Lions' $3.25M offer sheet for Malcolm Brown should make Rams' decision easy

Lions’ $3.25M offer sheet for Malcolm Brown should make Rams’ decision easy

By: Cameron DaSilva | 52 minutes ago

Most restricted free agents go through the process of being tendered and never sign an offer sheet from another team. Every so often, though, an outside team makes a play for a restricted free agent, just as the Detroit Lions have with Malcolm Brown.

The Rams running back, who was tendered at the original-round level this offseason, took a visit with the Lions and signed an offer sheet with them. The deal is reportedly worth $3.25 million for two years with just $1 million guaranteed.

That’s a very modest contract, even for a backup running back. And when considering what the Rams were going to pay Brown in 2019, matching the Lions’ offer sheet seems like a no-brainer.

By giving him an original-round tender, the Rams were going to pay Brown $2.025 million next season. Unless they signed him to an extension, he would become an unrestricted free agent in 2020, allowing anywhere with no strings attached.

It’s entirely possible the Rams could actually save money on Brown in 2019 by matching Detroit’s offer sheet. With only $1 million guaranteed and an annual salary of about $1.6 million, the Rams seem to have caught a major break by Detroit coming in so low with its offer.

If they were willing to pay Brown $2.025 million for one season, surely they’d be happy to pay him at most $3.25 million for two years, right? Especially if his cap hit is lower in 2019, which it likely is.

At worst, the Rams could match the offer and if things don’t work out, they can easily cut ties with him after next season without much dead money, if any at all. So if matching the offer benefits the Rams, why wouldn’t Los Angeles do just that?

Well, if the coaching staff wasn’t sold on Brown as Todd Gurley’s backup, it now has an easy out. The Rams can decline to match it and move on from Brown, freeing up the $2.025 million in cap space he would’ve taken up. They’re somewhat strapped for cash after signing Clay Matthews to a two-year deal worth up to $16.75 million, so any added money could help them out.

If they feel C.J. Anderson is the better option at RB2, that $2 million might go a long way toward signing him instead of keeping Brown. Or perhaps the coaches are comfortable with John Kelly as the primary backup and want to simply recoup the money from Brown by letting him leave.

All of those scenarios are very possible, but matching the Lions’ offer seems to obvious not to happen. For an extra $1.2 million, the Rams can get an added year of control over their backup running back. And if Sean McVay truly does feel Brown is as valuable as he indicated last year, it’d be shocking to see Los Angeles let him walk.

“Yeah, that would be a big loss,” McVay said of Brown in December after the running back injured his shoulder. “It would be a huge loss because of what Malcolm means to our football team – not only for our offense, but for our special teams.”

Expect the Rams to match the Lions’ offer sheet and keep Brown, given the low price it’ll take to make it happen.

The #Rams matched the #Lions contract offer to backup RB Malcolm Brown, who they value as a runner/blocker and special teams ace. It doesn’t close the door on C.J. Anderson coming back, entirely, but we’ll see. Good draft for running backs and upside in John Kelly/Justin Davis

— Vincent Bonsignore (@VinnyBonsignore) March 22, 2019

Malcolm Brown Grades in 2018 on 125 snaps (compared to all HBs):

– Offense: 83.3 (9th)
– Pass Block: 90.0 (1st)
– Run: 76.5 (27th)
– Run Block: 72.9 (5th)
– Fumble: 82.2 (T-32nd)
– Receiving: 78.3 (T-13th) https://t.co/9s7UE1v8jO

— PFF LA Rams (@PFF_Rams) March 22, 2019