Matthew Stafford is locked in for the Rams, so what are next steps on offense?

Jourdan Rodrigue

https://theathletic.com/2459016/2021/03/18/matthew-stafford-is-locked-in-for-the-rams-so-what-are-next-steps-on-offense/

We’re still a long way from seeing touchdowns, but No. 9 has finally touched down in Los Angeles.

On Thursday morning, the Rams officially completed their trade with the Detroit Lions for quarterback Matthew Stafford (which concurrently sent Jared Goff, another No. 1 overall pick, to Detroit along with a 2021 third-rounder, and first-round picks in 2022-23). Stafford threw on his brand-new No. 9 jersey (we’re still waiting to see what negotiation took place with backup John Wolford for the swap) and dug into the onboarding process with the Rams’ team of finance, media and front office personnel.

Friday at 10 a.m. PT, he’ll meet virtually with Los Angeles media for the first time as he re-introduces himself to the city and the fan base.

Yet even as Stafford ushers in a new era for the Rams at quarterback, many questions remain about what comes next for the offense as a whole, in both the short term and the long term.

In the short term, the Rams need to solidify their plan for the center position — a priority for them, but one on which they have focused privately as opposed to their splashy re-signing of outside linebacker Leonard Floyd earlier this week.

Instead, the front office is quietly waiting for the bottom to fall out of the center market. Last year’s starter, Austin Blythe, is currently exploring free agency.

Restructured deals for receivers Robert Woods and Cooper Kupp, cornerback Jalen Ramsey, defensive tackle Aaron Donald and left tackle Andrew Whitworth, plus a 2021-friendly structure of Floyd’s deal and the trading of veteran defensive lineman Michael Brockers were moves that helped the team officially get under the cap. But even as Rams got there, there is not much wiggle room.

The safety valve available to them, should they need it, is an automatic conversion built into the two-year contract they inherited with Stafford. If it came to that, they could open up as much as $9.5 million. But that would also mean proration of money into the future and presents its own risks on such a short deal. Sources expressed the desire to try to do a cap-relief extension with Stafford after the initial trade agreement in January in order to backload some money (this would also have to be negotiated with Stafford, who may well want to retire in Detroit by 2023, as hinted at in a beautiful “thank you — not goodbye” video published by the Lions on Wednesday night) — so again, these are safety-valve options.

If Blythe’s market drops, or if he opts into returning on another team-friendly deal, the Rams might not need it.

These seem to be the three scenarios for the Rams at center:

• Re-sign Blythe, who will be 29 when the season begins, and draft a developmental player.

• In the scenario that they can’t bring back Blythe, the Rams either will rely on backup Brian Allen, whose return from a serious leg injury is somewhat of an unknown, or sign another cheap veteran as a stopgap and still draft a developmental center. Earlier this month, general manager Les Snead indicated the team didn’t want to start a rookie at the position right away.

• A worst-case scenario is if the Rams can’t find a viable veteran, they don’t have Blythe and they are dependent on Allen, a relative unknown, and a drafted rookie — thus relying on the draft to completely fall their way and completely showing their hand. I think they need to draft a center/interior offensive lineman in all three scenarios, but only this one means they’d be broadcasting that plan to their competitors.

Along the rest of the offensive line, the Rams may find a little continuity (depending on what happens with Blythe), because they were able to restructure Whitworth’s contract and return him in 2021. The veteran left tackle expects to be fully recovered from the knee injury that sidelined him for eight games in 2020, but still, the team has to start looking toward the future at the position. This year’s tackle draft class may be a good time for that, and Snead praised reserve left tackle Joe Noteboom’s development, too. They’ll also get back Chandler Brewer, who opted out last season because of COVID-19.

Meanwhile, the Rams have made it clear that they aren’t competing heavily at receiver in free agency this year — something that has been obvious for a while. They have not been in on conversations with some of the popular names, such as former Lions receivers Marvin Jones (who just signed with the Jaguars) or Kenny Golladay (who is visiting the Giants and the Bears this week), nor were they connected to a much cheaper vertical threat in John Ross (who signed with the Giants).

That doesn’t mean they shouldn’t add someone to their receivers room, which features co-No. 1s in Woods and Kupp (each neared 1,000 yards last season) and emerging No. 2 in Van Jefferson. It’s a great draft to find pure vertical speed in the later rounds. That player would probably get somewhere between 10 and 25 percent of the target share among all of the pass-catchers (which will include tight ends Tyler Higbee and Brycen Hopkins and running backs Cam Akers, Darrell Henderson and Xavier Jones), so it doesn’t make sense to pay big money (or even medium money!) if the Rams believe that layer can be added to their offense through the draft.

Unprompted, Snead also brought up the notion of adding still more layers to the passing game via a good contested-catch receiver or tight end who can “rebound” well. To me, that points toward Hopkins — a former basketball player — whose real development is a bit of a mystery after he spent most of the season running with the reserve players, even though he was on the active roster. I wouldn’t try boxing Higbee out, either.

The only offensive position that has true clarity on the roster — aside from quarterback, thanks to Stafford’s entrance — is running back, where Akers is positioned to be the lead back after emerging in the second half of last season. The Rams lost veteran back Malcolm Brown in free agency (he signed with the Dolphins) but were able to retain blocking tight end Johnny Mundt with a one-year extension, as opposed to a restricted-free-agent tender. Mundt will help open up some holes, and I’ll be interested to see if he plays in the fullback role we saw tight end Gerald Everett, now with the Seahawks, assume with some success last season.

Akers projects as an “every-down back,” according to head coach Sean McVay, but he’ll still be complemented by Henderson and Jones in a room filled with so much potential, this might actually break the Rams’ streak of drafting running backs with early picks.

It might break a streak of not throwing to them, too. Stafford has thrown to his running backs on 22 percent of his career passes. Akers on a wheel route, anyone?

MarkMaske@MarkMaske
The preseason is expected to be shortened to three games per team in conjunction with the owners’ expected approval of a 17-game regular season beginning with the 2021 season.

InvaderRam wrote:

i don’t get it. why is the salary cap so low now?

Well it’s a good question. But the ostensible answer is, they had to make up for lost revenue from 2020, and the new network contracts don’t kick in until after this year?

If that’s not the answer I don’t know what the answer is.

NFL media deals worth $10 billion a year, per @AP.
That is over $300M per team, just from media.

The player Salary Cap is now $182M, may not reach $300M for many years. What a business..

— Andrew Brandt (@AndrewBrandt) March 18, 2021

–

The NFL will pull in $10 billion per year – a stunning number – from the media deals it that it makes official today. Here's SBJ's story: https://t.co/iBGyPHXa91

— John Ourand (@Ourand_SBJ) March 18, 2021

canadaram wrote:

I would appreciate it if somebody praised me for my prophetic ability.

I knew you were going to say that.

😎

Everett going there is at least partly cause Seattle’s new OC is the former Rams coach, the young Mr. Shane Waldron.

With Leonard Floyd locked in, how can Rams answer other questions on defense?

Jourdan Rodrigue

https://theathletic.com/2455595/2021/03/16/with-leonard-floyd-locked-in-how-can-rams-answer-other-questions-on-defense/

The Rams’ biggest move this week (and second-biggest of free agency, behind trading for quarterback Matthew Stafford) was an extension for outside linebacker Leonard Floyd, at four years and $64 million, a source with knowledge of the terms confirmed Monday.

As far as free agency goes, it might not get much splashier than that for the Rams, who, once solidifying Floyd’s yearly average, spent most of Tuesday restructuring a few of their core contracts to swan-dive underneath the shrunken salary cap. One league source believes that the Rams are sitting tight for now, and while they may be open to adding here and there, it’s more likely to be for players in minimum-salary range.

But that doesn’t mean they’re done sprucing up their roster altogether. And on defense, they’ll need more than a spruce, and more than the addition of Floyd, to really create the kind of balance that brought them so much success in 2020 as the NFL’s top unit.

The ideal balance for the Rams’ defense is predicated by their rush-coverage tandems. They made this philosophical commitment the moment they, after already spending big on star defensive tackle Aaron Donald, doubled down on a massive contract extension for star cornerback Jalen Ramsey. So it’s best to envision the sequencing of the entire defense, and where the Rams will invest their top financial and draft resources, via those tandems (even as they rotate and interchange based on scheme and system).

One tandem, connected by status, the attention they draw from others, contract and near-autonomy at their respective positions, is of course Donald and Ramsey. Donald’s pressure opens up what Ramsey can do; Ramsey’s coverage gives Donald a little extra time to get pressure. Both rotate within their respective position groups — Donald along the defensive line, and Ramsey from the outside to the slot, or all over the field depending on whether he’s shadowing a receiver.

Another tandem, connected by their complement to Donald and Ramsey and how the former two players impact their own matchups, plus their transaction alignment, is Floyd and cornerback Darious Williams, upon whom the Rams placed a first-round tender Monday — just a few hours before agreeing to the extension with Floyd.

Arguments about his salary number aside, Floyd has proven durability and doesn’t really need to come off the field, and it’s clear the Rams view him as a three-down rusher and run defender on one side of Donald. He played 90 percent of defensive snaps in 2020, the highest among Rams defensive linemen. Meanwhile, Williams will man the lead spot opposite Ramsey and usually stay there depending on whether new defensive coordinator Raheem Morris switches up some of the Rams’ secondary rotation from last season.

But what about on the other side of Floyd?

Depth players Samson Ebukam and Derek Rivers have departed in free agency, although that was expected. Third-year outside linebackers Obo Okoronkwo and Justin Hollins are still available, but neither played a proven (or, in Okoronkwo’s case, fully healthy) role in 2020. Second-year outside linebacker Terrell Lewis missed eight games last season due to what I understand to be lingering concerns over a recurring knee issue. Lewis showed he can be productive even if he’s held on a “pitch count” out of regard for his health, but it’s not a full answer for the Rams.

Floyd’s salary number crept higher than anticipated in part because multiple teams were also interested in signing him, and the Rams felt he was a priority to extend. His leverage increased not only because of other interested parties but also because he and his agent knew that depth on the perimeter is a concern and the starter-ready talent in this year’s draft basically bottoms out by the time the Rams’ first pick arrives in the second round. But what if the Rams could find a player who can rotate with Lewis in specialized situations, thus offering him more time to develop and Lewis a more efficient snap count for his own long-term durability?

And what about the “coverage” part? There, more questions remain as free agency prepares for its second wave.

For example, if the Rams can’t work out an extension with versatile veteran cornerback Troy Hill, who may have played well enough in 2020 to price himself out of the Rams’ plans, they’ll need help at corner. Even though Ramsey and Williams have the lead cornerback spots locked up, the Rams were in nickel on nearly 60 percent of their defensive snaps and in dime on nearly 25 percent. They have David Long Jr. on the roster as a corner who can play nickel, and second-year safety Terrell Burgess can project into their larger nickel spot, but otherwise it’s pretty bare — and unproven. Hill also could move into the slot or play on the outside, a trait that was incredibly valuable when the Rams schemed Ramsey up to travel or to play in their Star position — strategy that should not change, if they want to maximize Ramsey’s ability.

Unless they can bring in a versatile, savvy corner at well under $5 million to $6 million per year, the Rams will need to invest in this position in the draft.

There is a similar — though less depth-concerning — situation on the interior defensive line, where the Rams are preparing to possibly lose up-and-coming versatile defensive lineman Morgan Fox, who had a career-high six sacks last year. Like Hill, Fox may have priced himself out of the Rams’ rotation.

But unlike the cornerbacks room, the defensive line is crowded with interior players in Sebastian Joseph-Day and A’Shawn Robinson. The Rams feel good about their depth there, despite reaching a trade agreement with the Lions on Tuesday that will send veteran defensive tackle Michael Brockers to Detroit for a small (yet still undisclosed) return.

Meanwhile, the Rams have depth at safety even after the departure of starter John Johnson, who will officially sign with the Cleveland Browns this week. The Rams are high on their young, middle-round drafted players such as Taylor Rapp and Burgess, and one source with knowledge of the team’s plans said they believe Jordan Fuller could call the defensive signals and assume a role much like Johnson had in 2020.

Inside linebacker may then become the “odd position out” once again for the Rams, should they continue to pursue this investment/balance model. Recently, general manager Les Snead all but gushed over their previous decision to play relatively unproven starters once Travin Howard suffered a season-ended injury, and then to keep riding with those players even as Micah Kiser, their eventual starter, also got hurt. There could even be a sense that, if the Rams were able to hold a No. 1 defense without elite middle linebacker play, then there is little motivation to devote financial or top draft capital to that position.

All of those linebackers — (adding) Howard, Kiser, Troy Reeder, Kenny Young and practice squad-er Christian Rozeboom — will return in 2021.

That position could even get left out when, as we continue through the spring, the Rams talk internally about where the real balance of their defense lies … and ultimately, where their limited resources will go.

I couldn’t love him more. An amazing human being. To know him is to love him. The Whitworth’s always will https://t.co/FiesnQwywI

— Melissa Whitworth (@mrs_whit77) March 18, 2021

Elderly Asian woman was attacked on Market Street in San Francisco this morning…she defended herself and sent her attacker to the hospital https://t.co/EAOam4DmNt#StopAsianHate
Via IG:kpixtv pic.twitter.com/EpjpL5aFMR

— Wu-Tang Is For The Children (@WUTangKids) March 18, 2021

From Free Agency Frenzy: The #AZCardinals are all in. pic.twitter.com/cHfqxGNhrX

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 17, 2021

Ramily!!!! @RamsNFL pic.twitter.com/KGNwWSV6Hd

— Maurice Jones-Drew (@MJD) March 17, 2021

Jourdan Rodrigue@JourdanRodrigue
They had to either move or restructure MB to get under so they wouldn’t have to borrow too much from others. He was the final piece.

Leonard Floyd's deal:
Signing bonus: $16M
2021 salary: $2M
2022 salary: $16.5M
2023 salary: $15.5M
2024 salary: $16M

— Field Yates (@FieldYates) March 17, 2021

—

Based on my math, his cap hits will be $5.5M, $20M, $19M and $19.5M.

Looks like the Rams can get out of it after two years

— Cameron DaSilva (@camdasilva) March 17, 2021