zn wrote:

from Nate Atkins,

Q: What best explains Sean McVay letting defensive backs coach AubreyPleasant go the same offseason they upgraded the secondary? That suggests they want to change both the coaching/scheme and the players. Which in turn implies they don’t like how the secondary was put together and coached.

A: I believe this has less to do with Pleasant himself and more to do with Jimmy Lake and Kliff Kingsbury.

McVay wanted to add a coach with Kingsbury’s experience to the staff. He needed a role for him that was better than passing game coordinator, and that was the job left after promoting Nate Scheelhaase to offensive coordinator as a way of keeping him for at least one more season. The other option was assistant head coach, which was one of the two roles Pleasant held.

The other was defensive backs coach, and the Rams have been big believers in Jimmy Lake since they added him as a senior defensive assistant following his firing as defensive coordinator of the Atlanta Falcons a year ago. Jimmy Lake was once Chris Petersen’s hand-picked successor at the University of Washington after creating one of the best defensive back pipelines to the NFL in recent seasons.

At 49 years old, he’s viewed as a rising star in this sport, and the Rams couldn’t keep him in a role like senior defensive assistant for much longer.

And so Pleasant’s departure was mostly circumstantial. The Rams have to pull out all the stops to chase a Super Bowl this season, and they don’t feel like they can wait to see whether the coaches they had could adjust schematically and personally to the influx of talent they were bringing in with McDuffie and Jaylen Watson.

Pleasant has to wear some of the blame for last year’s second-half regression that culminated in Sam Darnold’s breakout playoff performance to end the season. The Rams tried to capitalize on the midseason playmaking breakouts of Cobie Durant and Emmanuel Forbes Jr. and paid for the increased complexity with Quentin Lake off the field because of elbow surgery.

By the later stages of the playoffs, they had to dial back into shells and zone coverages that were too predictable against great offensive schemes. But that also came after Young hurt his knee, and the pass rush couldn’t carry the defense the way general manager Les Snead built it to.

Pleasant was ultimately a fall guy for the Rams’ lack of investment in this group. The talent at cornerback was never good enough, as illustrated by what has happened with Darious Williams retiring and Durant, Ahkello Witherspoon and Roger McCreary all signing one-year deals to compete for jobs elsewhere.

I’m sure he’d love to coach talents like McDuffie and Watson, but his Rams tenure featured much more cost-effective options.

But in a year that’s all about trying to win the Super Bowl with a 38-year-old Matthew Stafford, the Rams couldn’t mess around with this group anymore. That meant leveling up the talent and also finding the best coaching fit for those players, and they believe they have it now since Jimmy Lake recruited and coached McDuffie at Washington. Time will tell if they’re right.

“The upshot of all which is, that, if I mistake not,” said Tom sturdily, “the Rams are fully loaded, and will win what is commonly called the Super Bowl.” ~ Washington Irving, sort of.

Would never have noticed, probably, except at some point I mighta noted that the shitty “bone” hadn’t been used all year.

I guess that alone makes this an improvement.

But we all know what they SHOULD do.

zn wrote:

Too bad Jared Verse doesn’t come with an “off” switch.

At least he hasn’t bitten anyone yet.

I don’t know who Diana Russini is.

All I know is there is some kinda small scandal with Mike Vrabel.

Do I want to know anything about this story? Can someone TL;DR it for me?

zn wrote:

On nearly half of the Rams’ passing snaps, at least one eligible target is actually a disguised blocker. That type of confusion is huge for an offense, and it’s likely partially why the Rams have a 0.25 expected points added per play when five eligible receivers are on the field.

Inter restin’.

NFL execs unfiltered on free agency: Thoughts on Kyler Murray, the bold Rams and all NFC teams

San Francisco 49ers
Added: $50.8M (10th) | Lost: $11.6M (30th) | Differential: $39.2M (6th)

The 49ers recently declared their practice facility safe, citing a study they commissioned to determine whether a nearby electrical substation was causing injuries.

“Everyone starts talking about the substation and, ‘Why are we always hurt?’” an exec said. “It’s because you sign hurt players. Mike Evans is going to miss 4-6 games this year, Dre Greenlaw is going to miss eight and you are going to wonder why your players are always hurt.”

Evans and Greenlaw, the 49ers’ most expensive additions in free agency, each missed nine of 17 games last season.

“A one-year deal for $14 million, that is low risk (on Evans),” another exec said. “It gives them a big body. You get a vet in that locker room at that position. I do not mind it for a one-year rental.”

There were conflicting opinions over just how much Evans would help the offense.

“They are going for it, man,” another exec said. “The red zone production is going to go up even more. Now you have the backside X that can win one-on-one.”

A different exec challenged what he heard from a national analyst suggesting Evans would help create space and stretch the field.

“This guy runs 19 mph,” this exec said. “He is a back-shoulder, possession X, which has not been Brock Purdy’s game, and he’s not going to run in the middle of the field like Jauan Jennings did on those bang 8s (skinny posts) and daggers and the deep-ins, catching it on the go and being a run-after-catch guy.”

One move everyone liked: adding Osa Odighizuwa to the defensive line via trade with Dallas.

“That was a good get and a total upgrade,” one of the execs said.

Seattle Seahawks
Added: $3.0M (32nd) | Lost: $61.5M (8th) | Differential: -$58.5M (30th)

The Seahawks have added zero players for more than $1.8 million per year, choosing instead to make homegrown receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba the NFL’s highest-paid receiver, while exercising a $21.2 million fifth-year option on cornerback Devon Witherspoon, who could be next to cash in with Seattle.

Meanwhile, the Seahawks watched a long list of contributors leave in free agency, including rotational pass rusher Boye Mafe, Super Bowl MVP running back Kenneth Walker III, safety Coby Bryant and cornerback Riq Woolen.

“I don’t mind them letting the back go for that price,” an exec said. “They will draft one.”

It’s tough to say the Super Bowl champs got better, and with only four picks in the upcoming draft, this figures to be a mostly quiet offseason until the team is sold. Execs felt the team wanted Bryant back, but not Woolen. Most understood the investment in Smith-Njigba.

“The receiver (Smith-Njigba) is one of their own, and (GM) John (Schneider) has never really made an outside guy the highest-paid player,” an exec said. “(Smith-Njigba) is a good player, great kid, does it the right way, and he has really developed into one of the best receivers in the NFL.”

The team’s upcoming sale had some execs looking into the future.

“Do we think Sam Darnold is the long-term answer at quarterback?” one asked. “What happens a year from now when there’s a new owner who is not emotionally connected?”

Darnold has two years left on his contract. An extension could make sense one year from now.

“Dak Prescott is making $60 million without a Super Bowl,” the exec added. “Sam is at $33.5 million, so …”

It’s early for that kind of talk.

One small surprise for Seattle: re-signing receiver and game-breaking return specialist Rashid Shaheed for $17.5 million per year.

“We had $15 million-$18 million listed for him,” an exec said. “You throw in the return factor and how it flips the field, that is a huge piece of that $17.5 million. You are starting at the 40-yard line if someone lets him return the ball. Then he has such an explosive element that … I don’t want to say Jaxon is not explosive, but Rashid has that dynamic speed.”

Arizona Cardinals
Added: $38.6M (20th) | Lost: $18.3M (28th) | Differential: $20.3M (11th)

The Cardinals released quarterback Kyler Murray instead of trading him, and it’s easy to see why. The team began telegraphing Murray’s exit last season when handing over the job to Jacoby Brissett, limiting its leverage in trade talks.

Some saw that as a missed chance.

“I feel like they could have done a lot of different things, but they chose not to,” one exec said. “They just wanted him off the roster, wanted to save the $19.5 million (in 2027 salary that would have become fully guaranteed this month). They did not want to mess with it. I don’t know why. They don’t have a good enough roster where that $19.5 million really matters.”

Cutting Murray now meant there was zero chance the team would be on the hook for that $19.5 million in 2027 salary, in addition to the $22.8 million already locked in for 2026. (Minnesota is paying $1.3 million of that after signing Murray as a free agent and promising not to use the franchise tag on him next offseason.)

“I don’t know why you would not just keep him on your roster for the whole season and then figure it out next year,” another exec said. “You could probably trade him straight up off the $19.5 million, or if you cut him, then he’s making $1.5 million next year with someone else, so it’s an $18 million risk. If you can get a third-round pick for him, that is well worth the risk.”

The Cardinals did not want to take that risk, and so first-year coach Mike LaFleur heads into the draft with Brissett, Gardner Minshew and Kedon Slovis on the QB depth chart. Arizona possesses the No. 3 pick.

“How were the Cardinals not able to trade him to the Jets, eat $35 million this year and then the Jets are on the hook for the $19.5 million next year?” the exec added. “That is basically two years at $25 million. The Jets would not have signed up for that?”

The Jets went with Geno Smith instead. Whatever the Cardinals do at quarterback, they will be banking on better health in 2026, without Murray’s presence defining the narrative. Their free-agent class was modest, led by former Steelers guard Isaac Seumalo at $10.5 million per year.

zn wrote:

“Kirk has made more money than God,” stated the source. “This guy wants championships so bad

“On the other hand, he would consider signing with the worst team in the league.”

zn wrote:

This right here is IMO the best and most succint account of what happened to the Rams defense in the 2nd half of 2025.

And they’ve fixed that.

Which means more sacks, probably more turnovers, and more of my favorite thing: 3-and-out.

zn wrote:

The source also stated a big reason the Rams would be interested is that expectations do not lower if Cousins has to enter the game.

Yes, they do.

Cousins may be able to get the job done, but he is not Matthew Stafford.

wv wrote:

Zooey wrote:

I don’t really have him in this high esteem any longer, I must say.

Well, at least he wasnt sucking up to Epstein, like, ya know, that bum Chomsky.

sigh

w
v

Humans are disappointing, wv.

zn wrote:

Again, though, the police report was made in January. It would be impossible for the Rams not to have known about it very early on.

Which makes me wonder if it was Adams whose name was being bandied about in trade scenarios.

If nothing else, the Rams could learn how much value OTHER teams put on Puka. That would be useful to know.

wv wrote:

OK, give him 43 million a year. Not bad for a 5th round pick, making one million, thirty thousand a year.

But there needs to be a special puka-clause in the contract — he’s not allowed to say anything spontaneously. Or do anything, spontaneously.

w
v

Bad news on that front.

wv wrote:

These are the only 7 confirmed meetings at the combine. Seems like the Rams usually meet with more than 7.

Teams get up to 30, right?

Well, I would think the Rams might trade down, but I can’t think of a single example of them doing that in, like, a fucking YEAR.