InvaderRam wrote:

wow. that makes me feel a little bit better about latu. i’m just worried about his neck injury he suffered, but if he checks out medically why not?

I’ve been doing more reading around on him. I am not so sure he checks out medically (?)

Why Rams invested heavily at guard position in free agency, and what’s next as the 2024 NFL Draft approaches

Stu Jackson

https://www.therams.com/news/rams-approach-initial-wave-2024-free-agency-what-s-next-draft

ORLANDO, Fla. – Externally, there may have been some ideas of the Rams’ biggest roster needs – namely on defense – and those positions subsequently being addressed as the new league year began.

But as free agency unfolded, the signings leaned toward the offense with the return of Kevin Dotson and the signings of Jonah Jackson, Colby Parkinson and Jimmy Garoppolo.

Of course, defense was addressed with the signings of defensive backs Kamren Curl and Darious Williams. Overall, though, each move was part of a strategic pivot and investment to best position the Rams in 2024.

“I think to (head coach) Sean (McVay) and (general manager) Les (Snead)’s credit, (as well as Vice President, Football & Business Administration) Tony (Pastoors) and the scouting staff, when you enter free agency with a lot of money for the first time, a lot of salary cap space, I think they looked at it as, ‘how do we build the best team?'” Rams President Kevin Demoff told theRams.com at the NFL Annual Meeting earlier this week. “Maybe not what the holes at the time were, (but) it’s always a long offseason. Last year proved you can fill holes all the way up through the season. I mean, I even think Carson Wentz right at the end. And the really good teams go out to the best players and (are) not just filling holes that stage. So I think, Sean, Les, the offensive staff, Tony, Matt Shearin, John McKay, Matt Waugh, had a vision that the best value in this year’s free agency is going to be at the guards, it’s where they thought the best player value alignment (was).”

Asked about their evaluation of the guard market, Pastoors said the entire offensive line as a market “has grown by leaps and bounds.” He pointed to what tackles on both sides are getting paid now, and how they’ve been fortunate with former left tackle Andrew Whitworth being on a team-friendly deal, as well as current starting right tackle Rob Havenstein and his agent Joe Panos always being great to work with.

“So we kind of had been fortunate to stay out of that, to some extent, out of the new heights of those markets,” Pastoors said. “From an interior, we’ve been kind of the same. We knew that growth was coming. We try to keep a pulse of what’s going on across the league, and you hear from other agents and what they thought it could be. And so when we were able to get the Kevin deal done prior to the start of free agency, I think that was really helpful because (it’s), ‘okay, we’re settled now.'”

According to Snead, Jackson got on their radar when he successfully made the jump from Rutgers to Ohio State as a grad transfer. They continued to follow his career after he got drafted by the Lions, and were monitoring him as a potential replacement for Dotson if they were unable to re-sign Dotson.

Pastoors said they were surprised that Jackson got to the negotiating period prior to the official start of free agency. They thought the Lions would try to bring Jackson back and do what the Rams had done with Dotson.

“When they didn’t, I think Sean and Les and the staff felt there was an opportunity to get bigger and stronger,” Pastoors said, adding that having two young, premier guards on deals that made sense was something they weren’t necessarily expecting, “but certainly excited to have.”

With Parkinson, it reminded Demoff of when the team signed Robert Woods as a free agent. Demoff emphasized he wasn’t saying Parkinson is going to be Woods, just that Parkinson is another really young player who they liked coming out of college and maybe didn’t have the role at his previous team where you see it a little bit differently for him.

“The size and fit for a Sean offense are really strong,” Demoff said. “And obviously Tyler (Higbee) has been such a workhorse for us, we’ve known we’ve needed to change that anyways, but where can you find a complement to a Davis Allen? And obviously coming off an injury, too.”

Demoff also said the Rams had been tracking Williams as a player who might potentially get cut. Meanwhile, Curl “was a player we really liked in the process,” but they thought he would be signed by another team right away. So when that didn’t materialize, they pivoted and worked to get him signed.

Curl’s situation is a little bit similar to Jackson’s, according to Demoff, in that you’re evaluating the entire market because you might lose a player – referring to Jordan Fuller’s market – but at the same time finding “a really valuable piece you might like.”

As for Garoppolo, Snead said they felt like his familiarity with their offensive system and playing style made him a better fit for the backup quarterback role, as much as they were “fans of” Carson Wentz.

So, what’s next?

Demoff points to last offseason serving as a lesson that some of the Rams’ best signings in free agency have come later in free agency, or after the draft, bringing up names like John Sullivan, Nickell Robey-Coleman, and more recently, Demarcus Robinson, Ahkello Witherspoon and Dotson.

“That’s where John McKay, Matt Waugh, our personnel department do some of their best work,” Demoff said. “I think you’ll see, we should never shut down that process.”

Along those lines, Demoff said you have to keep your finger on the pulse of the league. He recalled when the Rams were at the NFL Annual Meeting back in 2018 when Ndamukong Suh “kind of popped up out of nowhere, (and) we got the deal done.” They also left that year’s meeting with the chance that they might be able to trade for Brandin Cooks, and did so one week later.

“I think this is when you start to see some of the guys who may not get deals, or teams think they might better the price range, this is, as you get in and around the draft, when you can make those trades,” Demoff said. “Hey, a guy’s not there on draft day that you expected, there’s a vet you like, I think this is when we do our best work as a franchise. I’m excited to see what we do between now and that first Sunday in September, but then even from there until really through the trade deadline and the rest of the year. What you’re trying to do now is to set yourself up for success the rest of the time, and hopefully we will do that.”

As great as Rams Class of 2023 was last season, feel like one or more of these Day 3 picks are going to make a leap in Year 2:

Nick Hampton (OLB)
Warren McClendon (OL)
Davis Allen (TE)
Tre Tomlinson (CB)
Ochaun Mathis (OLB)
Zach Evans (RB)
Jason Taylor (S)
Desjuan Johnson (DL)

— J.B. Long (@JB_Long) March 28, 2024

InvaderRam wrote:

just saw the rams signed tre’davious white? boom or bust signing.

from https://www.turfshowtimes.com/2024/3/26/24113151/rams-tredavious-white-a-risk

The Rams signed former All-Pro cornerback Tre’Davious White for $8.5 million. Was this a good move? We will find out in time but here’s what we know. White has been an elite corner in his past, isn’t 30 years old yet but has suffered two of the most catastrophic injuries you can have as an athlete. White tore his ACL in 2021 and last year tore his achilles tendon. It’s safe to say that the risk is fairly evident in this signing.

Rodrigue, from: https://theathletic.com/5370135/2024/03/26/sean-mcvay-aaron-donald-retirement/

A common phrase around the Rams’ buildings right now: There is no replacing Donald. But the team is now in a position where they’ll have to at least build a new world for a defensive line that features two up-and-coming second-year players who started in 2023 — Turner, and outside linebacker Byron Young — and a lot of unknowns.

As things currently stand — and pending the draft at the end of April — Turner will move full-time to the three-technique. That means more pass-rushing opportunities. Turner finished 2023 with nine sacks and was a candidate for Defensive Rookie of the Year. Young had nine sacks.

The Rams also tendered Michael Hoecht, who started the entirety of 2023 — he signed the tender on Tuesday, according to VP of football administration Tony Pastoors — but there is a strong indication from the team that they are far from done with adding to the position room. All last season, a lack of consistent complementary pressure was evident.

“From a stability standpoint, we have two players who have played a lot of snaps for us at OLB, but we’ve always said we want to add partners for them to have a more disruptive arsenal compared to last year,” Snead said on Monday.

How aggressive will McVay and Snead be at finding more players who can improve their pass-rush?

“That is such an important part — you get better on the second and third levels of your defense by being able to affect and influence the pass game with the guys that are rushing,” said McVay.

“There’s different ways to apply pressure. It might be through (a) four-man rush. It might be through simulated pressure. Bringing five (rushers). Those are the things that we are in the midst of really figuring out. I think I’ll have better clarity once we get through the draft. You don’t want to just say, ‘OK, we lost Aaron Donald. So now, we’ve got to go address this position.’ You want to be able to still continue to find the right kinds of people that can influence and affect positive change for us in the rush, whether that’s from the edge, from the interior. … There’s a bunch of quality players in this draft. Exactly who we come away with and how many we come away with that can do that is something we’re still working through.”

from https://www.therams.com/news/top-takeaways-sean-mcvay-press-conference-nfl-annual-meeting-tyler-higbee-update-free-agency-offensive-line-jonah-jackson-steve-avila

zn wrote:

Mike Garafolo@MikeGarafolo

NFL’s Jeff Miller says they saw 230 instances of the swivel hip-drop tackle last season. So roughly once per game. Of those tackles, 15 players missed time due to injury because of the tackle.

Rich McKay: “Do we have a problem? The answer was yes.”

“This will be a hard one to call on the field, you have to see every element of it. We want to make it a rule so we can deal on the discipline during the week.” https://t.co/84Ny0FEq8s

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 25, 2024

Rams Brothers@RamsBrothers
The QB room now (if Bennett is able to stay on the roster) is so much better than it has been to start the season.

2024: Stafford, Garoppolo, Bennett
2023: Stafford, Bennett, Rypien, Wentz*
2022: Stafford, Wolford, Perkins, Mayfield*
2021: Stafford, Wolford

*added mid-year

Rich McKay making it clear multiple times there’s a difference between a hip-drop tackle and the swivel hip-drop tackle. The defensive player lifting himself off the ground and using his weight to fall on the offensive player is what they’re working to eliminate. https://t.co/gnSmMDwaGn

— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) March 25, 2024