Jourdan Rodrigue@JourdanRodrigue
A couple of coaches with McVay ties were interested in adding Shelton, FWIW. Worked well in communication with Stafford. Competition at C incoming? Shelton can also back up guard spots.

Jourdan Rodrigue@JourdanRodrigue
Chicago is taking on Jackson’s salary, a source said.

Kudos owed to Jackson for how he handled the entire situation – combination of injury and his backup emerging as starter. Stayed a great teammate the whole time. Now reunites with Ben Johnson in CHI.

Albert Breer@AlbertBreer
The Bears are taking on Jonah Jackson’s contract as is—he’s due $9 million in fully-guaranteed base salary for 2025, then $17 million (non-guaranteed) in 2026. Rams wound up paying him $25 million for the single year, take the sunk cost now.

…

Trade: Rams are in the process of sending veteran offensive lineman Jonah Jackson to the Chicago Bears in exchange for a 2025 sixth-round pick, per ESPN’s @CourtneyRCronin. The trade cannot be processed until March 12. pic.twitter.com/lj3M8VW5V8

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 4, 2025

zn wrote:

James Palmer@JamesPalmerTV
If you ask around, Adams still has plenty left. He’s also been a player that has always won as a route technician and that trait usually ages well. Stafford will give him chances to make plays too.

InvaderRam wrote:

i’m a little worried. just looking for examples of wrs who remained productive beyond age 32. it’s slim. there’s rice. marvin harrison. muhsin muhammad. and not much else.

2 different views.

We’ll tell.

Time will see.

…

canadaram wrote:

I was just listening to a Chargers fan call on NFL Radio with Pat Kirwin. The caller was lamenting losing Ford. Kirwin responded empathetically that Ford is nothing more than a journeyman. He was not excited about what he called an “undersized nose tackle,” and he thought that the Rams overpaid for him.

Ford is short and stout with long arms and has his best year last year. Carroll didn’t play him at just at NT, for Carroll Ford was also a DE and a DT in a 4/3. Anyway. He did play well last year, and the goal is to have him be a run-stopping NT. I think he can do that.

Mike Garafolo@MikeGarafolo
New #Jaguars TE Hunter Long’s deal: Two years, $5 million with a $6 million max value. GM James Gladstone taps into a familiar face from his time with the #Rams.

from the old draft profile, by Lance Zierlein: https://www.nfl.com/prospects/poona-ford/3200464f-5231-3563-7ceb-0c4e0d3f4032

Strengths

Good thickness and power in his lower body. Gets into neutral zone quickly with low pad level and in a leveraged position. Able to bend hips and strike with good lift at point of attack. Longer arms than expected for his squatty frame. Has decent lateral quickness to challenge reach blocks. Gives effort to make plays outside of his area. Flashes adequate upper body power. Gets enough upper body turn to pry into gaps. Has some disruptive qualities up the field and has leg drive to play through redirect blocks.

Weaknesses

Much shorter than teams usually like. Uses legs rather than hands and arm extension to try and gain control at the point of attack. Needs hands to become more violent and consistent at the point of attack. Struggles to pry himself off blocks quickly to make tackles in his gap. Gets caught behind size and loses track of the football. Pays too much attention to blocker in front of him rather than play development at times. If he doesn’t win with power as rusher, he won’t win.

Davante Adams signing with Rams on 2-year, $46 million deal: Sources

By Jourdan Rodrigue, Dianna Russini

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6181390/2025/03/09/davante-adams-free-agency-signing-2025-rams/?source=emp_shared_article

The Los Angeles Rams have signed receiver Davante Adams to a two-year deal worth $46 million with $26 million guaranteed, league sources told The Athletic on Sunday afternoon.

The Rams later confirmed they had signed Adams.

Adding Adams, 32, continues the Rams’ rebuild of their wide receivers room after the team made its decision last month to move on from 2021 triple-crown winner and Super Bowl LVI MVP Cooper Kupp. The team previously also extended receiver Tutu Atwell on a one-year deal worth $10 million, a league source said.

Adams played three games for the Las Vegas Raiders last season before his trade to the New York Jets, where the hope was he and quarterback Aaron Rodgers would re-create some of the magic they had in past seasons in Green Bay. Adams was released from the Jets having played just 11 games and expressed his interest in returning to the West Coast, according to league sources familiar with his thinking. The three-time All-Pro is still playing at a high level and had 1,063 yards and eight touchdowns in 2024 despite all of the shuffling.

Adams was the No. 3-ranked free agent on The Athletic’s list of the top 150 free agents in 2025 and the second receiver.

Selected in the second round of the 2014 NFL Draft out of Fresno State by the Green Bay Packers, Adams is a six-time Pro Bowler and three-time All-Pro. The 6-foot-1, 215-pound wideout has five seasons with more than 100 receptions and six years with more than 1,000 yards and at least 10 touchdowns.

In 11 seasons with the Packers, Raiders and Jets, Adams has 957 career receptions, 11,844 receiving yards and 103 touchdowns. Among active players, he ranks second in receiving touchdowns and fourth in receptions and receiving yards. Adams has only played two seasons when Rodgers was not his primary starting quarterback.

How he fits

Once the Rams decided their offense/passing game will now flow through Puka Nacua, they also wanted to be aggressive in their pursuit of players who could complement the younger star. Extending Atwell as a speed option was one step in the two-part process. Sean McVay especially pursued Adams as a large-framed target for Stafford, who can get open from several alignments.

McVay especially led an aggressive pursuit of Adams in recent days, a league source said.

2025 impact

A trio of Nacua, Adams and Atwell at receiver, plus running back Kyren Williams and tight end Tyler Higbee gives the Rams more of a schematic feel akin to what we’d seen in the first half of Super Bowl LVI, except with a much more productive run game. Then, Kupp was the focal point (now Nacua) and Odell Beckham Jr. provided pop as an all-around asset in the receiving game, with downfield receiver Van Jefferson taking the top off the defense. Substitute in the modern iteration: Nacua, orbited by Adams and Atwell, with Williams as the lead back and Higbee back for at least one more ride and there’s a sense McVay is hoping to field an explosive and multiple offense.

Outlook

It’s hard to picture a McVay-led offense that doesn’t feature Kupp. That said, the Rams were aggressive in their overhaul and added skills complementary to Nacua via their two signings. In Adams, the Rams have another new star receiver in L.A., and Stafford has an “X.”

“The Rams think they can win a Super Bowl in the next two years with Davante Adams & Matt Stafford”@colincowherd on Rams adding Davante Adams pic.twitter.com/XuzojrIeMP

— The Volume (@TheVolumeSports) March 10, 2025

.@nyjets @RamsNFL @tae15adams is a RAM..Great fit…The king of the "releases" takes his act to the City of Angels. #BaldysBreakdowns pic.twitter.com/iSdVCcU1hU

— Brian Baldinger (@BaldyNFL) March 10, 2025

Jourdan Rodrigue@JourdanRodrigue
To me, it feels like McVay is going for the 2025 iteration of how the first part of the SB unfolded back before Beckham Jr got hurt – but with a better run game and healthy Higbee.

from https://theramswire.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/rams/2025/03/09/nfl-free-agency-rams-davante-adams-grade-signing/82181078007/

In Sean McVay’s eight years as the head coach, the Rams have only had one other year where they averaged fewer yards per game than they averaged (331) in 2024. That was the 2022 season where things went off the rails and everyone was hurt in the second half of the year.

It became clear that the offense needed help around Matthew Stafford, Kyren Williams and Nacua, and the front office wasted no time making a splash. The team agreed to a two-year, $46 million deal with Davante Adams on Sunday, bringing in one of the top wide receivers on the market.

With Cooper Kupp on his way out of Los Angeles via trade or release, the Rams could use another wide receiver to pair with Nacua. Adams is a terrific fit in L.A., specifically with the offense McVay runs. Even at the age of 32, Adams is still a threat no matter where he lines up on the field.

His route running is among the best of any wide receiver in the league, with eye-popping releases at the line of scrimmage that allow him to create easy separation. According to ESPN, Adams was 14th in separation score last season, showing just how often he got open for his quarterbacks.

Older comment (from 2020) from James Jones, former Packers receiver: https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/30252122/why-davante-adams-turned-better-all-green-bay-packers-special-receivers

Jones: “When you look at the receivers in the league, you can say that this is their strong point and this is their weak point. With Davante, you can’t say any of that. I watch [Cardinals receiver DeAndre] Hopkins, and he’s not very good releasing at the line of scrimmage, for example. But when you talk about Davante, you’re talking about release, he’s phenomenal. [Yards after catch] yardage, he’s phenomenal. Route running, he’s phenomenal. The ability to go up and make the tough catch, he’s phenomenal. Speed, yeah he’s not 4.3 [seconds], but he’s always getting behind and catching the deep balls or not getting caught from behind. He’s just special in every category.”