They have a few of their own guys to follow up on. They will still look for bargains. All the heavy lifting appears to be done, although they could make money for someone if they wanted. imo

Are Eagles battling Jets over ex-Rams’ defensive tackle Nick Fairley?

The Eagles are showing interest in free agent defensive tackle Nick Fairley. (Brace Hemmelgarn | USA TODAY Sports)

Nick Fairley, one of the bigger name free agents still available, has drawn some interest from the Eagles according to a source familiar with both the team and the player.

According to the source, who wished to remain anonymous because he was not authorized to speak on the subject, there are three or four teams with serious interest in the 6-5, 291-pound defensive tackle. One of those teams is the Eagles. The New Orleans Saints and Jets could also be in the mix.

He was also fairly sure that Fairley would not return to the Rams where he played on a one-year deal in 2015.

Fairley was the 13th overall pick of the Detroit Lions in 2011 when new Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz was the Lions’ head coach. He underwhlemed in his four seasons with the Lions.

He played in 46 of a possible 60 games and started 30. He recorded 13.5 sacks and one tackle behind the line on a running play.

As an unrestricted free agent a year ago he signed a one-year deal with the Rams. That deal included $2.5 million in base salary, a roster bonus of $1.75 million and in-season bonuses of $31,250 per game. Fairley played in 15 games for the Rams as the third tackle behind starters Aaron Donald and Michael Brockers. He recorded one-half sack.

The Eagles, switching to a 4-3 defense under Schwartz, need depth at defensive tackle behind projected starters Fletcher Cox and Bennie Logan. Fairley could provide that depth.

http://www.nj.com/eagles/index.ssf/2016/03/eagles_showing_interest_in_nick_fairley_per_source.html

zn wrote:

Agamemnon wrote:

Eugene Sims Rams deal $10 million, $3.75M gtd, salaries $2.25M (gtd), $2.75M, $3.25M, $750K roster bonus this week

So 3 M this year.

I forget where that leaves the cap.

I can’t be sure. Right now I have the Rams with 6M left for FAs. But, I image in reality they have enough to sign the FA TE and the rest of their guys, but not Fairley.

I have 8M set aside for yearly cost. So, they can fiddle a bit it they want.

• This reply was modified 10 years ago by Agamemnon.
• This reply was modified 10 years ago by Agamemnon.

Eugene Sims Rams deal $10 million, $3.75M gtd, salaries $2.25M (gtd), $2.75M, $3.25M, $750K roster bonus this week

— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) March 13, 2016

http://www.therams.com/news-and-events/article-1/Salary-Cap-Rundown-with-Tony-Pastoors/79bd09ec-b25e-45c9-94c3-73138142dd1d
St. Louis Rams

Salary Cap Rundown with Tony Pastoors

Posted Mar 10, 2015

Tiffany White Communications Coordinator Special to therams.com

Tucked away in an office opposite of Rams C.O.O. Kevin Demoff sits Tony Pastoors, the senior assistant of the Los Angeles Rams. As the team’s lead negotiator, Pastoors works alongside Demoff in salary cap management, contract negotiations, compliance with the NFL’s Collective Bargaining Agreement and the team’s financial and strategic planning.

In honor of the New League Year and the start of free agency, Pastoors has agreed to indulge us in a quick overview of the salary cap, since many of us are often left in the dark wondering what it is.

THERAMS.COM: What is the salary cap?
PASTOORS: The salary cap is basically the maximum amount a team can spend on its players in any given year. Football has a “hard cap,” which means we cannot exceed that number. For 2015, it is $143,280,000 plus player benefits. We cannot spend any more than that. Professional basketball and Major League Baseball have what we call “soft caps.” They can go over. They just pay a penalty when they do. In the NFL we cannot.

THERAMS.COM: How much forward thinking is involved when managing the cap?
PASTOORS: Every team does it differently. Every time we do any deal here, we are looking two, three years ahead to make sure it all makes sense. What you never want to do is make, as the general manager would say, “emotional decisions,” and then have to deal with the ramifications of that. So every contract we set up, we’re always looking two, three years down the road.

THERAMS.COM: Is there a salary floor or a minimum that teams have to spend each year?
PASTOORS: Technically, no. In any given year there is not. However, in the new CBA there is a four-year period in which there is what they call “minimum spend.” The teams have to spend over a four-year period 89 percent of the salary cap in cash. For this year, you essentially have to spend $127 million to get to that 89 percent, and that’s in cash, and it’s that way for all four years. The salary cap, you can manipulate some of it, but that 89 percent spend threshold was put into place to make sure teams actually spend and aren’t just manipulating the cap.

THERAMS.COM: What’s the difference between cash and the cap?
PASTOORS: The salary cap is like a credit card. You can put charges on it and you can pay it off a million different ways. You can always pay the minimum payment, but at the end of the day you’re eventually going to have to pay the whole bill. You can push payments back and spread “cap” out through years, but there has to be cash behind it.

THERAMS.COM: Can you illustrate an example of a cash vs. cap breakdown?
PASTOORS: If you give a player on a five-year contract $5 million as a signing bonus, the way the salary cap works is that $5 million prorates out (see Exhibit A, Row 3 below).

In cash, most of the time if you’re giving a player a signing bonus, you’re going to pay him the year he signs. Now on the cap, it will hit like Exhibit A, where the signing bonus prorates out $1 million over a 5-year period, the maximum is a 5-year period. So, his cap number is $2 million and his cash number would essentially be $6 million (Exhibit B).

If the contract was written and agreed upon with a roster bonus, it would look a little different. When you give the roster bonus in the first year of the contract, the cap hit would be $6 million in Year 1 and his cash number would be $6 million, keeping the cash and the cap in line with one another instead of that $2 million cap hit via the signing bonus in Exhibit A.

Back to the signing bonus scenario, let’s say we finished the second year of the player’s contract and we cut the player before his third. Those $3 million in cap (2017-2019) is going to all come back and count against us in 2017. Like I said, the credit card – you can spread out your payments, but eventually you’re going to have to pay it. Teams do it differently and there’s a million different ways to navigate it and I think every team does a very good job for their parameters. Tuesday at 4 p.m. ET, the entire league will be under the salary cap.

THERAMS.COM: How long did it take you to learn everything?
PASTOORS: I don’t think you’re ever quite done learning. I think there’s a lot of different things that you can continue to learn and different ways to look at things. Like I said, I don’t think there’s one way to do the cap. Trust me, it’s not something that you just read overnight and say, “I got it.” It’s a process.

THERAMS.COM: Aside from you, who else is involved in managing the salary cap?
PASTOORS: Everything we do is a collaboration between Coach Fisher, Kevin, Les Snead and myself. At this point with most of our guys, I’m the one that the agents will talk to and deal with, but the end of the day, it’s good to have Kevin across the hall.

Pastoors is entering into his sixth year with the Los Angeles Rams where assists Kevin Demoff, Head Coach Jeff Fisher, and General Manager Les Snead in the development and implementation of the club’s strategic plan for player signings and player acquisitions. He also aids Demoff in all aspects of the team’s business operations.

Prior to joining the Rams, he was a student at Dartmouth College where he earned his bachelor’s degree in history. He was born and raised in Minneapolis, Minn.

That gives us 4 or 5 DEs for the next 2 or 3 years. Of course, the doesn’t mean we can’t look for the next Quinn.

You are not going to hit on every contract. But, I fault Demoff for not signing any potential free agents before they hit the market this year. I hope he does better with the 2017 year.

Where will Zach Miller sign in 2016 NFL free agency?

Non-Chicago Bears fans might not be familiar with the name Zach Miller, so here’s everything you need to know about the 31-year-old tight end in two video clips: this OBJ-esque catch and this 87-yard embarrassment of the team formerly known as the St. Louis Rams. To be fair, viewing those two clips alone would make the average person think Zach Miller is the greatest tight end since Gronk, which is clearly not the case considering those same two clips are about the only two highlights of what has been an otherwise forgettable NFL career.

Though Miller is now entering his seventh year as a pro, he’s only seen actual game action in four of those years, and in none of them has he played a full 16-game regular season slate. So why should we even care about him as a free agent?

Two reasons. One: he plays at a position that’s hard to find sustainable talent at, and he actually had a decent season in 2015. And two: he was one of the few pleasant surprises and playmakers on an otherwise-horrid Bears team last season.
Vitals

Contract comparison

Miller just completed a one-year deal that paid him $660,000. While he didn’t set the league on fire, he definitely outplayed his contract and is deserving of a longer deal and pay bump.

Brent Celek of the Philadelphia Eagles is the perfect role model for what Miller should look for in a new contract; both players are past their prime (each is 31) yet still effective on the field, and neither is the top player at their position on their own team (Martellus Bennett is the more talented Bears tight end; Zach Ertz has more upside on the Eagles).

Regardless, Celek just inked a three-year extension with Philly in January that will pay him $13 million. Expect Miller and his agent to look for something similar.

Estimate: 2 years/$11 million/$5 million guaranteed

2016 NFL free agency: Who will Zach Miller sign with?