Of the three veteran players the Rams parted ways with last week, Peter King of TheMMQB.com thinks defensive end Chris Long could be the one the team regrets releasing. According to King, Long – who turns 31 next month – is already being pursued by contending teams. However, it’s not clear yet whether the veteran pass rusher will sign quickly, since he and his wife are expecting their first child in the near future, says King.
Here’s more from around the NFC:
- According to Jordan Raanan of NJ.com, two Giants sources recently questioned wide receiver Rueben Randle‘s “work ethic and desire to be great.” Raanan estimates there’s only about a 15% chance of Randle re-signing with New York this winter.
- “The salary cap is not our enemy. It can be our friend,” Lions president Rod Wood said last week in an appearance on WMGC-FM in Detroit. Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press passes along some other Wood quotes from that interview, and examines the state of the Lions’ salary cap as the new league year approaches.
- Cowboys executive VP Stephen Jones expressed disappointment in defensive end Randy Gregory over his four-game suspension for a substance-abuse violation, as Charean Williams of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram details. However, the Cowboys should also shoulder some of the blame, since they knew what they were getting into when they drafted him and were responsible for helping to avoid repeating his failed combine drug test, writes Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk.
- Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle takes a look at three key positions of need for the 49ers heading into this week’s draft combine, and considers potential targets for the club’s No. 7 overall pick.
Long will certainly be appealing to other teams, as he still should have another couple of productive years in him if he can stay healthy, but given his age and injury history, it would have been awfully hard for the Rams to turn down the $12MM they created by releasing him.