Recent Forum Topics › Forums › The Rams Huddle › Wagoner, mailbag parts 1 & 2 … 3/12-13
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March 12, 2016 at 2:21 pm #40503
znModeratorWhat’s next for Rams at quarterback?
Nick Wagoner
http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-rams/post/_/id/27585/whats-next-for-rams-at-quarterback
LA Rams Fan Zone @LARamsFanZone
Q: QB Mysteries: Is “Keenum is our QB” a smokescreen? Have Rams made Foles available to interview? Is Mannion a keeper?@nwagoner: I don’t think it’s accurate to call Case Keenum a smokescreen at this point. They haven’t said Keenum is their quarterback for the long term or even the season. They just said he’s the starter going into the offseason. The reality of the situation all along has been that Keenum is the guy on the roster right now about whom they feel the best so they were always going to keep him around unless a clear-cut better option revealed itself somewhere along the way. In free agency, it doesn’t seem that one of those has come along, at least not at the right price. That is, of course, subject to change, but for now there doesn’t appear to be serious interest in the choices still on the market. The Rams putting the first-round tender on Keenum proves that they would like to at least give him a shot to win the job or make another team pay a hefty price to pry him away (which is unlikely). Nick Foles has not been available to talk and, to my knowledge, did not attend the optional team meeting in Los Angeles a couple of Fridays ago. He still remains the most likely option to be deleted if the Rams add an outside quarterback. On Sean Mannion, as I’ve written before, the Rams like his upside and it would be a surprise if they moved on from him after just one year. He should have a chance to push for the No. 2 job this year depending on what might be added from the outside. As always, these things are fluid, and perhaps an opportunity the Rams like — i.e. a cheaper, short, “prove it” deal for a veteran — will present itself. But as it stands, it seems the Rams are more likely to explore quarterback options in the draft, which probably only improves Keenum’s chances of being the starter in 2016 unless they move up for one of the top guys.
Jordan Gallacher @Jordan3110
Q: Does Bates come back at a low price, or are we looking at outside FA/draft help for LB depth? Seems very thin
@nwagoner: The answer to the question is probably both. It wouldn’t be unusual for the Rams to get Daren Bates back at a price lower than the restricted free-agent tender. They did the same with Tim Barnes last year, and he became the starting center. Bates could garner some interest for his value on special teams, but the Rams know him better than the others and so long as they want to bring him back it seems like a real possibility. But even if that happens, the Rams still need some depth at the position. Bryce Hager and Cameron Lynch are still around and can contribute on special teams, but I doubt they feel comfortable going into a season with Alec Ogletree coming off injury and knowing Mark Barron is a bit undersized for his position without having a solid backup in place. There’s not much out there in free agency so perhaps they go that route in the draft. Either way, I think it’s safe to expect the Rams to add another linebacker regardless of what happens with Bates.March 13, 2016 at 12:55 pm #40549znModeratorLooking at next step for Rams in free agency
Nick Wagoner
EARTH CITY, Mo. — The offseason is here for the Los Angeles Rams, and now that we know where they’ll be playing their home games for the long-term, things have settled down enough to spend our weekends answering a few of your Twitter questions.
As always, you can find me on Twitter @nwagoner and fire away with any Rams-related questions you might have. Please use hashtag #RamsMail so I can see them.
On to your questions.
WineGuyDavid @WineguydavidCom
@nwagoner Snead said re-signing DB’s was #1 priority. I would say he failed since we lost 2 starters. What’s his next priority?@nwagoner: There’s no doubt the Rams were disappointed to lose Janoris Jenkins and Rodney McLeod. Both were players they wanted back, though I believed (and wrote) that Mark Barron and William Hayes were highest on the priority list after the team put the franchise tag on Trumaine Johnson. So the Rams didn’t completely fail in that they were able to keep three of their top five targets. They also probably had a good idea that they would lose the cornerback they didn’t tag given what the market would bring and were prepared to do that given their depth at the position. Again, that’s not to say that Jenkins’ loss won’t be felt. That’s an important loss and we still need to see how E.J. Gaines bounces back from injury. McLeod’s departure might be harder to cope with since solid free safeties who can play single-high coverage as much as he did are hard to find. I got the feeling his price just went beyond what the Rams were comfortable spending. As of Friday, the Rams had about $25 million in cap space with about $8-10 million of that set aside for a draft class and injury contingencies. We’re also past the first wave of free agency, which means now is the time to find potential bargains and players with something to prove. It’s how the Rams landed defensive tackle Nick Fairley last year. They have needs for depth all across the defense, and could use substantial help at quarterback, receiver and tight end. Given what’s left on the market, the depth is more likely to be found than the substantial help. It’s also possible the Rams could use some of that money to sign players they want to keep who aren’t free agents yet, such as linebacker Alec Ogletree and defensive tackle Michael Brockers.
Victor Aldaco @VAS039
@nwagoner between Joyner, Davis and Alexander, who do you see taking McLeod’s spot? Or does it get filled early in the draft?@nwagoner: The early read on this year’s draft is that it actually has a pretty solid amount of free safety options, so it would seem that’s probably the first place to look for a potential replacement for McLeod. I broke down the in-house and free-agent options the other day in this piece. Cody Davis is the closest thing to a true free safety on the roster, and it’s possible they will take a look at him there. The thing the Rams have working for them is that defensive coordinator Gregg Williams is excellent at adapting to the players he has rather than trying to force square pegs into round holes. He can figure out the best 11 guys he has and figure out a way to get them on the field together. I don’t get the impression that want to move Lamarcus Joyner based on head coach Jeff Fisher’s comments in the past, though I suppose that could change. I’m sure they will be taking a long look at the draft prospects at that position over the course of the next month and a half.
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