Rams cut Barnes, Sims, & Kendricks & trade Hayes…also Watts & Mason

http://www.espn.com/nfl/team/_/name/la/los-angeles-rams\

Alden Gonzalez
ESPN Staff Writer

The Rams have released TE Lance Kendricks, DL Eugene Sims and C Tim Barnes.

Alden Gonzalez
ESPN Staff Writer

The Rams announced that they have traded DE William Hayes and the first of the team’s seventh-round pick (No. 223) to the Dolphins for Miami’s sixth-round pick (No. 206).

Alden Gonzalez
ESPN Staff Writer

So tonight, the Rams parted ways with four players. That frees up close to $16M in salary cap space for 2017. Obviously, though, it opens some holes. They lose a starting DE (Will Hayes) and a key backup (Eugene Sims), their starting TE (Lance Kendricks) and their starting C (Tim Barnes). What it means? Well, Tyler Higbee will probably see a lot more targets, the Rams still need a center, and it will be interesting to see what they do with DE Robert Quinn, with the Rams moving from a 4-3 to a 3-4.

they need a tight end. higbee and hemingway aren’t going to cut it. and neither is that converted tight end they just signed. maybe they sign a fa, but i’m guessing they draft one.

jrry32 wrote this:

Will Hayes AND a 7th for a sixth round pick? We only moved up 17 spots in day 3.

It’s all about cap space. He doesn’t fit the new scheme. Trading him saves us $5.5 million. Cutting him saves us only $2.5 million.

Barnes doesn’t surprise me. They clearly need to upgrade the center spot. The others are a bit of a surprise but then this is pretty much a rebuild. They’re changing the defensive scheme and Wade knows who he wants. Now we’ll see who they target to get.

The Rams waived RB Tre Mason from reserve/did not report and RB Trey Watts from reserve/suspended.

— Howard Balzer (@HBalzer721) March 10, 2017

PA Ram wrote:

I wonder if this has any affect on the cap at all?

‘

From what I saw looking it up, cutting Mason saves them 0.75 M and change, and I couldn’t find info on Watts.

..

Herzog wrote:

We don’t have the picks for this kind of building strategy. I am really bummed.

Sure they do.

This is one of the deepest drafts in years at certain positions, including interestingly DB, TE, and DE. As one draftnik put it recently, this year, you can get starters in the 4th round.

And this is a young team with a lot of players we don’t know about yet.

…

InvaderRam wrote:

they’ve got four picks in the first four rounds.

Then they are clearing cap space to get the other things through free agency. AND they have nearly a dozen LBs plus DE-to-LB conversion candidates on the roster.

IMO and just IMO, naturally, but (so far) I don’t see big problems. To me this is all do-able.

..

zn wrote:

InvaderRam wrote:

they’ve got four picks in the first four rounds.

Then they are clearing cap space to get the other things through free agency. AND they have nearly a dozen LBs plus DE-to-LB conversion candidates on the roster.

IMO and just IMO, naturally, but (so far) I don’t see big problems. To me this is all do-able.

..

i think it’s all doable too.

the hardest part is coaching that talent.

and if goff and gurley aren’t the superstar backfield we thought they were, none of that will matter anyway.

ya know with the kromer connection could this be something to keep an eye on?

http://www.buffalorumblings.com/2017/3/10/14884968/buffalo-bills-free-agency-2017-ryan-groy-drawing-heavy-interest-adam-caplan

Rams trade William Hayes to Miami, release three other players

Alden Gonzalez

http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/18870034/william-hayes-traded-st-louis-rams-miami-dolphins

LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Rams freed up close to $16 million under the salary cap after parting ways with four key players late Thursday night.

William Hayes, one of their starting defensive ends, was traded to the Miami Dolphins along with a seventh-round selection (No. 223 overall), the team announced. In exchange, the Rams received the Dolphins’ sixth-round pick (206th) and saved $5.5 million.

The Rams also released starting center Tim Barnes, starting tight end Lance Kendricks and Eugene Sims, one of their key backups on the defensive line.

The four moves added up to $15.6 million in cap savings, much needed after the Rams nearly reached their ceiling by signing left tackle Andrew Whitworth and wide receiver Robert Woods earlier Thursday.

Kendricks’ departure could mean more targets for Tyler Higbee, a talented fourth-round pick in 2016, but the Rams are still in need of a center and more depth for their defensive line. They also need help at linebacker and safety and could use more talent at receiver.

The Hayes move was partly motivated by the Rams going from a 4-3 to a 3-4 scheme under new defensive coordinator Wade Phillips.

Hayes, 31, was known largely for his infatuation with mermaids and his belief that dinosaurs never existed. But he was also a very productive member of one of the game’s most talented defensive lines, totaling 26½ sacks in his five-year stint with the Rams.

“Will has been an integral member of our defense since he became a Ram in 2012,” Rams general manager Les Snead said in a statement. “His passion set the tone for our defense and served as an example for his teammates. Off the field, he showed compassion as he was a major contributor to the St. Louis and Los Angeles communities, working to improve the plight of the homeless. We wish Will and his family the best of luck in all of his future endeavors.”

With the Hayes trade, the Rams enter the 2017 draft with eight selections, though only one of them will come within the first 68.

Are we…rebuilding?

w
v

I think of it more as a a corrective partial reassembly. You know, a CPR.

Actually IMO they inherited too many young players to rebuild.

Many of the cuts (Reynolds, Kendricks, Hayes, Barnes) are actually pre-2012 guys.