General Manager Les Snead – March 10, 2021

(Opening statement)
“I know we all want to ask about the trades. Obviously, we know the rules on that, so I won’t be able to really elaborate. We’ll talk about free agents and free agency; I know you will want to do that. Again, I will not share a lot of details, but we’ll try to definitely share some context of this probably unprecedented year, but there’s also some similarities. I’m sure we’ll get into the draft and probably the adjustments we’re having to make in that process and things like that. So, that’s how we’ll open. I think we’ll go with questions from there.”

(On how the skillsets of the quarterback affects the type of players and skillsets he looks for in free agency and the draft)
“I like to keep it simple, especially when you talk about offense and the five eligibles. The reason I always use a basketball analogy is just because it’s actually five and you’re trying to build the best basketball team. Again, system comes into play. Philosophy comes into play. Who you actually have in your lineup, on your roster, and presence comes into play. Do we need a shooting guard? Do we need a rebounder? Do you need a center, things like that. So, I think there’s different flavors and genres that you look at and try to assess. And the quarterback, we can talk ad nauseum about it and try to figure out all the characteristics that make a great QB, but that definitely probably matters. I’ll keep it as simple as when you have someone really big, maybe (Former Titans QB) Steve McNair in his day, and there’s a chance for a guy who’s 250 pounds to not get sacked, break tackles, go east and west, keep plays alive, and has a really strong arm, so maybe it’s good to have a subset of receivers that are larger and bigger, so that he can throw it up, things like that. So, there’s definitely some nuances in the flavor of QB that you would have to build around to maximize the strength of the 11 people playing on offense for him, probably more. You get to 12 because there’s slots, you get to 13 because there’s a second tight end, you get to 14, maybe a third tight end or fullback, you get to 15 because you may go four wide receivers sometimes. So yeah, this game’s gotten sophisticated.”

(On when was the decision made to move on from former QB Jared Goff)
“As we said earlier, I think there will be a better time when we can actually discuss it.”

(On does he agree with Head Coach Sean McVay that the assessment of Goff didn’t change)
“I’m a relatively open person. There are some things, obviously, we’re not going to ever discuss in public, you’re going to keep within the walls, but it’s hard to address this while tippy-toeing around it and things like that. I mean, I think that’s a better question and I certainly don’t mind sitting down at that point in time and discussing it because what we’re talking about is a big move and definitely deserves to be talked about at the right time. I can say I agree. I do think it would be nice to be able to talk about it just because the move was agreed upon, it seems like forever ago, and we still can’t talk about it. But I’m going to respect those rules and hopefully by respecting them, we might have a chance of evolving or being a part of the evolution of some of these rules, if this is the way cycle of roster movement is going to go.”

(On the challenges and opportunities of this years’ salary cap)
“I think the unprecedented part being, for the first time in modern era, the cap decreases instead of increases. But again, I think many people on this planet, not just us in NFL football, have had to make sacrifices, some probably harder than others over the past year. I think in history, generations before us have had to make sacrifices for unprecedented circumstances and those sacrifices paid off to help make a strong place. So that’s the unprecedented part with the cap definitely going down. That’s definitely basically spurned us to have to make difficult decisions and actually have some difficult discussions with current players and figure out if we can – goal number one is for us to get under the cap so that we can begin to resign some of the players we want, but take the unprecedented pandemic and situation circumstances out of it, I do think this is where we are as an organization, as a football team right now. Moving forward is, every year even when the cap does go up, there’s going to be players – a lot of the guys we will talk about, or you might want to talk about specifically, we’re talking about them because (Head Coach) Sean (McVay) and his coaching staff penciled them into probably a very significant role in previous seasons, and we maybe basically forced to allow them to move on or choose other players and not some, things like that, and that’s all what we’re working through now.

(On what are the impacts of Pro Day constraints)
“It’s interesting with pro days, just because a lot of times, different than this year, there’s been a combine. So, do you need to attend a pro day or do you not? I think for every Pro Day attended, there should be a specific reason. Maybe the case or the file on that player is not necessarily complete yet. Is there anything that we can get from a pro day to complete that file, to help us be more certain that we could onboard that player and he becomes a contributor for us. So the interesting thing this year, with no combine, all pro days we will share data but that occurs every year in a system that’s referred to as the APT system where every club doesn’t have to attend a pro day, but let’s call it a player, subset school, didn’t go to the combine, we can get the standard 40-yard dash standard short shuttles, and that data is shared. So, I think this year, unlike combine, some of those numbers, some of those measurables would just get to us later in the process. And then as a club, there is times where maybe you don’t want to attend the pro day just because you don’t want to show your cards or what have you, and things like that. So, there’s always some of that game theory going on. Nothing different than in years past, because in most situations, we probably haven’t sent three to a pro day anyway. But I do think because there’s no private workouts this year, there’s definitely a cap, but maybe allow three, because a lot of times with position coaches, coordinators, even head coaches, if they wanted to get out to a pro day, they could but a lot of times nowadays that is done somewhat privately to try to keep – what we try to do is keep people from going, ‘oh the Rams had defense coordinator, offensive coordinator at this position’ and now teams will try to take note of that and try to use it against you maybe.”

(On what are some of the priority positions for free agency and the draft)
“I don’t want to get in – I can’t totally do that without maybe giving some teams a leg up in the draft if they wanted to move up and jump us per se at a position, but there’s definitely some players that we feel like we have a shot, once we get under the cap, to resign during whatever we call that period when we can negotiate. I hate calling it the legal tampering period because that just seems like that’s a debacle of the English language, ‘legal tampering’ and tampering is illegal. But we’ll have to adjust based on that because there’s no guarantee that you can resign. I think we would love to get to, from a big picture standpoint, and we’re very close to in the draft, where for the most part there is a lot of returning starters returning so that when you do go to the draft, there’s multiple positions alive each time you pick. It’s not going to always be the case, but when you do take positions out of the mix, there is a chance that you could pass on a really good player at another position who might not necessarily help you day one, but could really begin to contribute somewhere during the season and even become a valuable starter down the line. A free agent that we have this year (S) John Johnson III is a great example of that right. When we drafted him back in 17’, we had starting safeties, but it was one of those we really liked this player, we think – I always say there’s not a good reason to not take a really good football player. That player usually finds a way to contribute and somewhere along the way, I think it was – I still remember post Dallas game, maybe it was the Dallas game where we inserted John into the starting lineup over a previous star and it worked out.”

(On is restructuring contracts a priority over cutting players to get under the salary cap)
“That would be priority number one. So that’s the process that’s occurring now. Our vision is to get there without having to do that, but again – and if we have to do that, player agents definitely know that there is a deadline and we have to be under the cap. So, if you can’t work something out before then, that’s a possibility. We definitely didn’t want to surprise anyone. This has been an ongoing process probably for the last, really getting, getting into the weeds, two or three weeks trying to work with everyone to come up with win-win solutions for player and club at this point in time.”

(On what sort of traits is needed to best maximize a quarterback)
“I think the first part of that question is, Sean and his coaching staff right now and this is probably one of the benefits of not doing a combine and there’s a lot of benefits that you try to find the roses of maybe the thorns that we’re going through, but by let’s call an entire organization, moving to Indy (Indianapolis) for over a week and then taking about a week to recover from Indy, it has allowed the coaching staff to get to watching the upcoming players in the draft play football, get to that, get to the film quicker and probably a more quality and focused environment but it’s also allowed them to again, looking at the just the overall scheme and what maybe Sean and his staff want to do differently. That’s even probably taking the QB out. I do think depending on what you think that your QBs, and every player is different, right? We say it a lot, right? What’s the player’s superpower? Or one to two to three or however many there are, and all of us have an element of kryptonite to us and you try to definitely put those players in positions and use those superpowers. And then again, how can the five eligibles that are going to be on the field at the time enhance that process? If our offense is a sword, you want those five eligibles and they don’t have to be the same five eligibles at the same time, but you want those players to make that sword sharper.”

(On his reaction when the salary cap was set)
“My stepson, Tate, asked me this morning when he said, ‘Hey, does that $2.5 million help you?’ I’m like, I don’t think the $2.5 is really going to help us. If you kind of look at where we are and look at how much we’re over. So, $2.5 is probably a little bit of a drop in the bucket. I do think along the way, we’d always said, ‘Look, let’s build models, design models, engineer models, where we got to get to that original minimum,’ and then when the news did break that the minimum now was going to be $180 (million), that did allow us to get a little more breathing room without having to make sacrifices or tougher sacrifices within, but we’ve always worked off of the minimum model. So, I do think that’s helped along the way. That was about probably a week ago or within the last few weeks, but then today’s news is the extra $2.5 million doesn’t necessarily going to really move the needle with us but it is very, very helpful now to know that, ‘Okay, it’s not going to be 188 per se,’ and that would have been a little more breathing room. So, that is to know now, we know what the finish line is. So, we’ve been running a marathon right now, and didn’t know whether we were going to run 25 miles, 24, 26 or 28. So, at least now we know it’s 26.2 and let’s roll.”

(On if he has had any discussions or informed any veteran plays that they will not be returning)
“Yeah, we’ve definitely had discussions. It’s interesting. They haven’t been with players on rookie contracts because deleting those contracts do not help the team in terms of cap for the most part. So, what makes this unprecedent, we’ve had to knock on the door of a lot of our key figures, key pillars and ask them to, in some cases, make sacrifices and in some cases, adjust their contract to help us get under the cap and the vision right now is to get to the finish line without having to release players. And with that being said, and we are well aware that we’ve had to have some calls with a subset of our unrestricted free agents and restricted free agents and let them know our intent, whether we were going to be attempting to resign them, or assuming they’re going to have a better market than what we would be able to pay and allowing them to know their path and how they need to move forward. So, that’s where we’re at, but it’s evolving. It’s changing. It’s unprecedented. But I do think the positive thing is, I think everybody in the environment, ecosystem, realizes this is different. This is tougher. So, I think all of us have been willing to somewhat make sacrifices, somewhat think out of the box, that wouldn’t necessarily normally occur in a normal year.”

(On what were the positives and negatives of not using the franchise tag)
“I think the first of all, you’ve got to have cap room to use the franchise tag. So, that’s number one. And I think I had mentioned to someone earlier that strategically, probably philosophically, you’d love to be able to not utilize the franchise tag and work to get something done long-term, just because usually when there’s a franchise tag used, the history of it says, it’s very hard to get something done longer term off of that tag and one of the reasons because of that is, whatever the tag is, a lot of times a player, player rep knows, ‘Okay, that’s the P5 for one year,’ and to get something long-term maybe, ‘Hey, we want more than that P5 over the long term,’ where a lot of times a longer-term deal, they may be less P5 but more guaranteed things like that. So, I think that would be the reason not to, and try to come up with a win-win to I will say not have to go through it again. If you tag someone, they stay on the tag, then you’re going to go through the process again in a year. So, I think when you’re constructing the team for not necessarily just a microscopic 2021 season, but with the telescope in mind, we’d love to know with a few of these players that there’s an element of certainty. That they’re going to be around longer, that affects how you might draft, might not draft in this draft. So, that would be the reason, but you’ve definitely got to have cap room to use the tag and even when you do have cap room and you use the tag, I mean, that’s definitely a lot of cap that goes to a single player.”

(On finding a receiver in free agency or the draft to be a deep threat)
“Yeah, we definitely have discussed that, based on looking at, and I think, I know Sean had used (Texans WR) Brandin Cooks and going back to ’18 and ’19, Brandin, he didn’t play every game based on some of the injuries, so it was really starting in ’19, even ’20 and going back to even when (Chiefs WR) Sammy Watkins was here. I would say this, deep threat can be many things, right? It’s not just speed and throwing the ball deep. There’s an element. If there’s a vertical presence, whether the guy might not be as fast, but he’s tall and big and he can go get a rebound and you can throw the ball up. When there’s an element of a vertical presence and they come in all shapes and sizes, it definitely loosens the defense. There has to be the defense coordinator, the defensive staff will want to protect. You want to protect explosions. The analytics say, the more explosions, explosive plays you have, the better chance you have to win along with turnovers. So, what that actually does, even though a Sammy Watkins back in ’17, Brandin in ’18, let’s just say Brandin had a lot more yards than Sammy did and I know in ’17 and ’18, but it’s not necessarily just the yards that those players are actually catching, it’s what they’re doing to the enemy and then that does loosen up some things underneath. But again, that can come up. The New England Patriots maybe made that happen with a freak tight end. So, when you say that, it doesn’t have to just be a speed receiver, but I think we’re all saying the same thing. There’s an element of presence vertically that the defense now has to ensure against and that usually means less compact, more space and more allies to throw to the shorter, intermediate stuff.”

(On what veteran players contracts are in discussions)
“I’m definitely not going to mention any names here, but a rookie contract doesn’t help you with the cap. So, it’s definitely veterans who are on their second, maybe even third contracts and those are the ones that can help you gain cap space in the immediate.”

(On his reflection on being over the cap and if it reflects a plan that’s working or situational)
“I think it’s probably a combination of both with some of our higher paid players. Aaron Donald, that’s probably one that’s gone right. Jalen Ramsey, one that’s gone right. So the plan that there is who are some of your pillars? Who are some of the core players that you’re going to somewhat build schemes around, maybe strike fear, maybe change the math of the enemy? And that’s part of it and you definitely realize when you do that, I think number one is to do this plan per se, we definitely needed to breakthrough. We definitely needed it and with breakthrough I mean, who of you can win and not just win one year, but prove you can be, I call it a contender for division, more than once. And then at that point, it is probably sound to begin going, ‘Okay, we’re in this window,’ and again, when I say contend, I’m contending for divisions, but let’s keep this subset together. With that comes, yes, there’s going to be some mistakes along the way and that’s where some of the dead money comes into. And it sometimes, there could be a subset where some of those players really helped but then post-contract visit didn’t help as much for unforeseen circumstances or things like that. But that’s where the dead money comes into but I do think, whether there’s a lot of dead money or not, and we see it with teams that are maybe in this window is, they’re going to have players that played for them, they’re going to not be able to resign them. So, at that point in time, you definitely know that there’s going to be change over every year. So, what we’ve tried to do too, is know that, so if we lose good veteran players in free agency, and I think you’ve heard us say, try to play the comp form in it. So with that being said, instead of maybe replacing a player we lose in unrestricted free agency with another unrestricted free agent. So, whether you now replace that player with a free agent, who’s not an unrestricted that doesn’t affect the comp formula or a rookie, or maybe Sebastian Joseph-Day, who wasn’t necessarily a rookie, but he was a sophomore. He was coming into his sophomore season, little lesser known because if you kind of spend that rookie season as a redshirt, that sophomore-type player is not as sexy, not as known. Nothing against that. So, that’s kind of the model, but by being able to be disciplined with the comp formula, I do think and I know (ESPN writer) Lindsey (Thiry), I did read your article, did a nice job of kind of, if you want to call it, the method to the madness is, even though we’ve utilized or we may not have used our number one picks on necessarily draft picks. We definitely used them on going to get an All-Pro corner, the trade we just made. So, instead of using them on, let’s go to a rookie, we’ve gone after more known commodities, but how can you still be fruitful in the draft and by utilizing being disciplined with the comp formula, since 2017, we’ve had the eighth most draft picks in the league. Not number one, but the eighth most. Now on day one, Thursday, we’re 32nd. We’ve had zero, but day two, which is really your second, third round, we’ve had the third most, and there’s an element there of the comp formula coming into play. We traded for (Falcons DE) Dante Fowler, hit (Saints QB) Drew Brees in overtime, John Johnson makes an interception, we get a chance to go to the Super Bowl, plays well for us, moves on and we more than likely get a third rounder this year. So, with those day two picks, and then we’re sixth in day three picks in total number. The interesting thing, we’re sixth in receiving comp formula picks and I do think after this year, when they’re announced, we’ll probably move into the top three or two. And what’s interesting too on that, is we’re fourth in the league in acquiring extra draft picks via trade, whether it’s having the 31st pick post Super Bowl and trading, not necessarily using them on a draft pick and trading back, but also could be taking some of our veteran players like a BrandIn Cooks and receiving a second rounder. So, that’s kind of the, I call it the model, the method to the madness and what that does take, is discipline and I can’t stress this enough. It takes a special coaching staff and they matter, not only in partnering with the front office, partnering with our scouting staff to help identify players, and every player we identify, at each subset of the draft, doesn’t necessarily have to come in and become a starter, but there definitely needs to be a plan. Like we’ve mentioned, what traits do they have that can help us fill a role? It definitely takes right development, not only from the coaches, but everybody in this building, from the athletic performance staff, from the player engagement, helping these young players that were playing college football. Some of them were playing high school three years ago and to be able to handle the pressure of coming to a team that wants to win now, and one of the things that’s underrated is the coaching staffs courage to play those players. A good example this year, linebacker. We were going into this year with an inexperienced group of linebackers in the first place and (LB) Travin Howard, somebody we really liked, was having a really good camp and everybody was just jacked, stoked about how he was improved and how he was involved in the plays we were making and then he had the unfortunate injury, but for our coaching staff, for us to sit down and go, ‘Okay, you know what, let’s have the courage to continue to model, not necessarily go out and get a veteran with experience, but to play the young players,’ What that does for you now, is just about everybody in that linebacker room has played and started games for us that we’ve won and big games. So, it allows you to have this healthy depth. It allows you to figure out the sophomores maybe on your team, that can help you. The (CB) Darious Williamses in time, the (CB) Troy Hills. So, that’s the model, that’s the method. You have these core players that are pillars. Definitely use cap space and cash and salary on those players, but it will take discipline on the backend to utilize the draft and make the most of that, even when you are using your number one picks for known commodities and that type of thing. So that’s the model. Good question. I probably went longer than you wanted, but yes, along the way, you’re going to make some mistakes or even have more dead money than you want. I’ve said this, even about (Falcons RB) Todd Gurley’s dead money. There’s not a moment that you regret the seasons he had for us and what he made even the year we made a run for the Super Bowl.”

(On if he is comfortable being in the current cap situation)
“Yes, definitely. Because again, this is an unprecedented year. But, I do think we’ve seen over the years with teams that have won consistently, Baltimore Ravens, Pittsburgh (Steelers), see right there, New England Patriots, they had players that would unfortunately have to move on. And when they moved on, they gained some comp (compensatory) picks. They use those comp picks wisely and they developed from within and they were still able to keep some core players. So, I don’t think it’s anything that we’re doing really differently here, other than the fact that we had determined that it might be beneficial to use some of our late first-round picks, and even bet that we’re going to have some later first round picks on the future, to get known commodities instead of rookies. And I say that, if we are winning and you are using cap, the reason I say you’re comfortable with is that, usually means you’re paying right quality players that have at least been definitely a key contributor to you sometime along the way. For instance, I’ll say this, I would rather pay (DL) Aaron Donald a lot of money than not have Aaron Donald, but have this cap space. If that answers your question very simple.”

(On if there is value in free-agency visits)
“Yeah, I actually think that the age of the visits are a dinosaur. They were still be a few, but I do think that’s in the past. I even think, probably I would bet you, that we probably changed what I said was a debacle of English language, or the ‘illegal tampering period,’ from let’s call it starting on a Friday or Saturday and ending on a Monday, I bet you, that was made with collaboration with networks going, ‘Hey, you know, there’s no visits and all the fun news occurs on a Saturday when you all are hiking and not necessarily working per se.’ And then by the time you ring the bell on Monday, it’s like, ‘Well, you’re all ready to Phase C of free agency. So, I think that’s why we started on Monday night. I can’t confirm that. They may not admit it, but I do think the age of the visit is less important. The part about the visit that is important though, I think players will research organizations, especially coaches, with other players with people they trust. Maybe things like that. We’re in a society now where, you can live somewhere else and go to work somewhere else. I think the one thing that still has to occur is, and, and we saw it last year, maybe with (DL) Mike Brockers is, at some point there has to be a visit. And at some point there has to be a physical and there has to be a passed physical to execute the contract. And that would be the negative of this area is when those visits don’t happen right now and they’re delayed. If there is a hiccup in the physical, that can be negative dividends for both the club and the player. With the club being, ‘Wait a minute, you might not want to go to that club or sign early because of, wow, they failed some people with physicals in the past’ and we didn’t all of a sudden have a seat at the table. And obviously, a player could be hurt where he made a turn down other things, and now he doesn’t necessarily have a seat at the table.”

(On whether OL Joe Noteboom is ready to succeed OL Andrew Whitworth)
“(OL) Joe (Noteboom) played some really good snaps for us this year in meaningful games and proved (himself), to keep it simple, you could watch a Rams game and usually when you’re discussing Joe Noteboom or Andrew Whitworth, it’s usually when something went wrong. It’s not as fun to talk about looking at that guy making blocks down there. It’s usually, ‘Holy Cow, there’s a lot of pressure or what have you coming from somewhere.’ So, I think that’s definitely a thumbs up for Joe. You’re always projecting with Joe’s traits, even though he came from a spread offense, where we’re never going to execute that technique that he came from TCU. We’re now going to have to re-teach him how we do things. But, you’re betting on the traits. The one time when you really know, the one QB let’s say we could talk about – we now know (QB) John Wolford can be a backup QB. Why? He went in the game and played and won it. Not necessarily, ‘Ok, you had a really good scrimmage.’ You can start, ‘Ok, we might make that bet, which we did last year, but you now somewhat confirm it when they actually get in the game and play and think he has done that.”

(On if OL Brian Allen could step in if OL Austin Blythe doesn’t re-sign with the Rams this season)
“Yeah, I think that if we’re not able to re-sign (OL) Austin (Blythe), he moves on, I do think that’s one position, where the good thing with (OL) Brian Allen. Similar to Joe (Noteboom), he’s actually started for us and played. The key that what we don’t necessarily know with Brian is, how will he play, how will he play post-injury? That was pretty serious injury that has gone through, and he’s done a heck of a job rehabbing it. That’s always going to be something he’s got to do. But I do think in the center, because it’s such a nuanced position of almost being the second QB on the field, it’s hard just to project a rookie can do it. It’s even hard just to project a player that may be with another NFL team can do it just because they will still have to learn our system and still at that point have to quickly process football within our system. So, a little bit harder to project them than other positions.”

(On which non-starters he believes took a step forward this past season)
“I think I mentioned John Wolford, that’s an obvious one, right? I can mention (WR) Van Jefferson, but that doesn’t seem like an unknown one. Again, I think a good one that would be (RB) Xavier Jones. Heck, we were ready to run him down the stretch there in important games, but (RB) Cam (Akers) was able to get through it (injury) and be the warrior. But, as players like him, where I call those the sophomores, they may have played on special teams. I can mention a lot of them because even the runner we signed or claimed, I forget what it was, (RB Raymond) Calais from Tampa and Southwest Louisiana, and it’s really not that they would get mad at me at Louisiana. How this world works, right, to (Special Teams Coordinator) Joe DeCamillis who comes here – he was a big fan of Calais as a returner in Jacksonville. But, now he’s a Los Angeles Ram. I think we like big (OL) Tremayne Anchrum (Jr.). Again, didn’t necessarily play in games. He did dress for a couple of games, but going back to some of those camp practices and you definitely saw some things there. A very interesting one is getting a (OL) Chandler Brewer back from an opt-out who actually played well in our San Francisco game way back in ’19 when we went up there and geez-louise, the game still bothers me the way we lost that game, even though it might not have mattered at all. But, it was a heavyweight fight, he played well. So, it’s those moment. Hey, all of those defensive linemen, we kept on practice squad. I probably couldn’t even name them all, but there were four of them and we kept them for a reason and liked them and those guys. The linebackers speak for themselves and I think the safeties because a lot of those guys got to play. Even someone like (DB J.R.) Reed that we signed from Jacksonville someone we really liked really liked in the draft didn’t get him, he went to Jacksonville and then we ended up signing him. So, it’s players like that again, not household names, not sexy, but sometimes you have to take the knowledge and doubt, you have to make a bet on them to help play a role. And again the posterchilds of that working out, (DL) Sebastian Joseph-Day, (CB) Troy Hill, (CB) Darious Williams, even to an extent, the (LB) Kenny Youngs and (LB) Troy Reeders and people like that. So, those are kind of the posterchild. It doesn’t always work out, but that’s the vision and I tried to mention a lot of names because if I just mentioned one or two, if somebody is really listening to this press conference, will their feelings hurt?”

Gov. Ron DeSantis faces deepening controversy over vaccines for ultra-rich Florida community https://t.co/UuqOrvPHZW

— Jon Cooper 🇺🇸 (@joncoopertweets) March 10, 2021

Tom Pelissero@TomPelissero

Here’s the

2021 compensatory draft picks that just went to clubs.

Note: these tweets overlap a bit but they also each have a detail or 2 the others don’t.

…

Jourdan Rodrigue@JourdanRodrigue
Snead says the Rams are in the process of restructuring multiple contracts and have been in that process for a couple weeks. He adds their preference is to do that fully to get under the cap without cuts or trades. Several top contracts can be maneuvered.

“Difficult decisions” ahead, says Snead, as the Rams move to get under the cap. Adds it means that some guys who otherwise may have stayed may have to move on.

Stu Jackson@StuJRams
Rams GM Les Snead on restructuring deals to navigate their current salary cap situation: “That would be priority number one.” Says team is working on that right now, and preference is to get under the cap without making cuts or trades.

Lindsey Thiry@LindseyThiry
Rams GM Les Snead says there have been conversations with players/agents about restructuring contracts and that the “Vision is to get to the finish line without releasing players.”

Stu Jackson@StuJRams
Rams GM Les Snead on NFL teams being limited to 3 representatives at pro days this year: Nothing different than previous years, because the team hasn’t usually sent that many reps to a pro day in the past.

Les Snead on the new guy we can’t technically talk about yet. pic.twitter.com/D0HDLfb4I0

— Rams Brothers (@RamsBrothers) March 10, 2021

Jourdan Rodrigue@JourdanRodrigue
Not expecting any last-minute Rams tags today, as we previously reported. S John Johnson, OLB Leonard Floyd are on track for free agency.

Not getting tagged doesn’t put a nail in either player’s journey with the Rams. Am expecting both to have great external opportunities – but in a year this strange, not tagging also opens VERY slim possibility that at the end of the cycle, you can re-sign short &under tag value.

Why John Johnson, Leonard Floyd weren’t tagged: Rams free agency tracker, grades, news

Jourdan Rodrigue

https://theathletic.com/2438737/2021/03/09/why-john-johnson-leonard-floyd-werent-tagged-rams-free-agency-tracker-grades-news/

The Rams already opened the offseason with a blockbuster trade agreement of their franchise quarterback, but as free agency draws closer, they opted out of using the franchise tag on a couple of key defensive starters.

As Tuesday’s franchise tag deadline passed, the Rams chose not to apply it to either John Johnson III, their starting safety in 2020, or outside linebacker Leonard Floyd, who ranked second in sacks (10.5) last season. Only nine players received the tag this year; three safeties (Jets’ Marcus Maye, Saints’ Marcus Williams and Denver’s Justin Simmons), and no edge-rushers.

We knew, through our own previous reporting, that the tag was unlikely for any Rams player this spring — even less likely than the already-improbable scenario of a long-term extension for either. Tuesday, that became official.

The tag number for a safety is estimated to be around $10.5 million (as of the deadline, the actual salary cap had yet to be confirmed by the league, and tags are based in part on that valuation). Sure, the Rams felt that Johnson, especially last season, was a valuable member of their defense (he even called the signals for the top-ranked unit) — but as a part of their long-term financial plan, they simply do not invest in safeties outside of drafting and developing, or signing cheap veterans. Instead, higher-priority positions on defense are within the pass-rush, and at cornerback.

This is dictated, in part, by the way the league continues to move toward the passing game. Elite cornerbacks and pass-rushers become invaluable to counter that, and the Rams were particularly effective here in 2020, ranking first against the pass and in limiting explosive passing plays (and in total yards), while finishing second in sacks (53). The Rams have the bulk of their salary cap’s defensive allocations tied up in All-Pros Aaron Donald (DT) and Jalen Ramsey (CB), and will tender restricted free agent cornerback Darious Williams. Around Ramsey and Williams, the Rams’ strategy in the secondary has developed into the drafting of starting-caliber safeties in mid-to-late rounds (current depth includes Terrell Burgess, Jordan Fuller, Taylor Rapp and Nick Scott) and/or bringing in cheap veterans. They plug in extra cornerbacks in similar ways.

Because they have Donald, the three-time Defensive Player of the Year whose team-leading sack production and pressure rates often come from the interior, the Rams also get flexibility with how they can build their outside pass-rush. They have the ability to bring in outside linebackers on year-long, team-friendly and incentive-heavy deals that also are easy on their annual cap limitations. They seek out slightly under-the-radar players with good build, durability and upside as fits in their system — first, because they can get them on cheaper deals, and second, because of the Donald factor.

Donald draws so much attention from opposing blockers — who double-team him at a league-high 70 percent rate — that outside linebackers and other pass-rushers get an automatic single-block advantage on the majority of snaps.

Of course, Floyd breezed through his incentive clauses on a career season, and also proved to be an excellent addition against the run. For the Rams, Floyd may have extra leverage in understanding the lack of depth currently on the roster at outside linebacker. The three viable pass-rushers left, should Floyd depart in free agency, are Obo Okoronkwo (who has real potential but has also battled through a few injuries), third-year hybrid outside linebacker Justin Hollins (who was in a rotational role in 2020) and second-year rusher Terrell Lewis, who was sidelined by recurring knee issues during an otherwise very productive rookie season. And, Floyd has proof of production — plus is a fit for the style of pass-rusher new defensive coordinator Raheem Morris likes.

The Rams’ own leverage may come from real-world examples of players who left on longer deals elsewhere after a standout season. Outside linebacker Dante Fowler was replaced by Floyd when the former signed a three-year deal in Atlanta, but recorded just three sacks in 2020 and may even become a cap casualty. If they can’t re-sign Floyd, they’ll be in the mix for several of the many intriguing outside linebackers who are preparing to hit free agency — such as Romeo Okwara, Trey Hendrickson, Justin Houston and maybe even Haason Reddick, depending on how competitive that position gets.

Floyd is No. 18 in The Athletic’s free agent rankings this offseason, while Johnson is No. 23.

All through free agency, I’ll be providing analysis and grades for the moves the Rams do — or don’t — make via this tracker:

Not using the tag

There’s a difference here between “not retaining valuable players” (which always stinks) and “not using the tag”, the latter of which is a smart move by the Rams — not least because they simply cannot be investing a hard $10 million or more on their non-core positions. Tag money can’t be restructured on any sort of back end to ease the pressure in 2021, and the Rams (who are $20 million to $30 million over the cap) will be in the restructure/relief business as the new league year begins.

Would a tag-and-trade have worked? Perhaps, but some league insiders believe that teams may be holding on tighter to inherited, non-financial capital (like draft picks) in a year in which just about everybody is in debt. The Rams need draft picks — and didn’t have much leverage in a trade for a player like Johnson. Why would a team offer high draft picks if they didn’t have to, knowing that the Rams couldn’t, and wouldn’t, want to keep Johnson’s tag number on their books?

Both players will undoubtedly draw interest in free agency from teams who are now coached or run by former Rams personnel. Brad Holmes, who helped draft Johnson in the third round in 2017, is now the general manager in Detroit (and he’s got former Rams director of pro personnel Ray Agnew in the front office with him, too). Aubrey Pleasant, who formerly coached the Rams’ cornerbacks, is now the Lions’ secondary coach. Former Rams defensive coordinator Brandon Staley is now the head coach of the Chargers. Staley placed Johnson in his leadership role on the Rams’ defense, and raved about his communication abilities. A new head coach always tries to bring in one or two of “his guys” in his first few years, to communicate his system and his culture to the rest of the locker room. The Chargers will likely at least have a conversation with Floyd, too — the outside linebacker followed Staley from the Bears to the Rams in hopes of reviving his career (it worked!).

After the season he had, Floyd may be looking for as much as $12 million-$13 million per year. Over the Cap has him valued at $11.5 million per year, and the projected tag number for his position would even be well over that, at $17.8 million.

The safety market is notoriously and annually fickle, but one league source postulated that Johnson’s market could even get as high as $14 million per year — a sum the Rams certainly would not pay — and of course, much higher than the projected tag.

Yet for both players, my sense is that if the free agency market becomes too clogged for such deals as it floods with cuts and tough-decision free agents from cap-strained teams across the league, and then bottoms out, the Rams would be able to re-sign one or both on a short-term deal … well under the tag value.

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Had some down time and was able to catch up with my friend who is a long time Rams scout.  He’s mainly focused on college player evals of course (which he can’t talk about and I don’t bother asking), but we did talk about existing Rams sleepers and here is what he passed on.  Will all these guys make the leap, who knows, but they are ones to watch:

Eric Banks – when this UDFA made the 53 out of training camp, everyone said “who?” (including me).  He’s a very powerful kid.  He ended up back and forth from the practice squad, but they view him as a piece to the DL depth equation, particularly if they make a cap cut or trade (i.e. Brockers or Robinson) or don’t resign Fox.  He’s better against the run right now than the pass, which is not unexpected.

Chandler Brewer – the year before last, he graded out as one of their top OL’s in the preseason.  He can play guard or tackle.  His game and build are similar to Edwards, not as powerful but with quicker feet.  If they end up trading Havenstein, in large part its because they have Evans, but you don’t make that move if you don’t also have swing depth, and that is Brewer.

Triston Jackson – when an UDFA makes the 53 and stays there for the entire season without playing but never gets released to the PS, its obviously a dead giveaway that they really like this kid and other teams do too.  He caught a lot of deep balls at Syracuse.  He’s not a straight burner per se, but has good game speed and route talent, and they are not resigning Reynolds.

From a FA perspective, this is not earth shattering news, but he said there will be a few restructures and cuts, potentially more cuts than anticipated, because there will be lots of FA’s out there in the middle/end of the free agency period looking for a deals of any kind, so they think they’ll be able to fill holes with team friendly contracts.  Also, don’t completely rule out a tag on JJ if they can restructure enough existing contracts, although he’ll be pissed.

From a draft perspective, again not earth shattering and he can’t go into specifics, but they are anticipating much greater variability than normal since its harder to grade prospects with the lack of film, interviews, combine. etc., and they think the other teams’ grades and draft boards will be all over the place.  Their strategy will be BPA but centered in the early rounds around certain positions, he mentioned edge in particular – with Floyd likely gone, Ebukam likely gone, Lewis a question mark with injuries, its their number 1 hole by a long shot.  If they had to play tomorrow, they have or could get a center quickly/cheaply, and they have enough at ILB (Howard is back and he also mentioned Rozeboom as a sleeper), but who is going to start at either OLB?

Anyway, not saying I agree with all of the above, just passing on the info.