HEADLINES

Offseason In Review: Los Angeles Rams

July 6th, 2017 at 2:40pm CST by Zachary Links

You only get to make one first impression and the Rams’ Los Angeles debut was less than impressive. The Rams got uneven performances out of rookie quarterback Jared Goff (to put it mildly), finished 4-12, and wound up sacking coach Jeff Fisher before the season was through. Now, the Rams are sharing the L.A. market with another team and they hope to set themselves apart with a better showing in 2017.

Notable signings:

Last year, the Rams had two standout cornerbacks set to hit the open market and only one franchise tag to use. They opted to retain Trumaine Johnson while allowing Janoris Jenkins to test free agency. The Rams were apparently close to keeping Jenkins, but he ultimately left to sign a big money deal with the Giants. After watching the 2016 season play out, the decision to roll with Johnson over Jenkins doesn’t look so great. Determined to not lose a star cornerback two years in a row, the Rams used the tag on Johnson for the second year in a row, resulting in a hefty one-year, $16.742MM tender. Trumaine Johnson (vertical)

Now, the two sides have until July 17th (not July 15th) to hammer out an extension. Unfortunately, it doesn’t sound like we will see a new deal struck in the coming days. Unless things change, Johnson will play out the year with the highest yearly salary of any cornerback in the NFL. Johnson graded out as Pro Football Focus’ 26th-best cornerback last season, indicating that he is starting caliber, but far from elite. Los Angeles would like to tamp down that bloated cap number and lock Johnson up through his prime years, but he seems willing to bet on himself.

The Rams landed this year’s most talented free agent tackle when they signed veteran Andrew Whitworth. A three-year deal with strong cash flow in the first two years may not seem ideal for a 35-year-old, but that’s the cost of doing business when trying to add top offensive tackles. In 2016, PFF rated him as the second-best tackle in the entire NFL and he’s been a Top 5/Top 10 guy for the last five years in a row. The Rams are hoping that the addition of Whitworth will help to give Goff extra time in the pocket, allowing him to make better throws when he’s not under duress. Last year, the Rams finished out with the sixth-worst offensive line in the NFL, according to PFF’s metrics.

Goff will have some new mouths to feed this year, including free agent Robert Woods. Woods made a name for himself in Buffalo as a solid stand-in for Sammy Watkins when he dealt with injury. Now, he’s being counted upon as the WR1 in Los Angeles. Even though he signed a five-year deal, it should be noted that he won’t be long for Los Angeles if he can’t handle his new responsibilities. Woods is due $5MM on the third day of the 2018 league year and nothing is guaranteed for the former Bills complementary target past Year 2.

Kayvon Webster (Vertical)Kayvon Webster was blocked by corners Chris Harris, Aqib Talib and Bradley Roby and safeties Justin Simmons and Will Parks in Denver. He was vocal about wanting playing time in 2017 and he’ll get his shot with the Rams. Wade Phillips imported Webster to serve as a starting CB opposite Johnson and we’ll soon find out whether he’s top 60 at the position or simply a talented special teams guy.

The Rams may have found two of the offseason’s best values by signing Connor Barwin (one-year, $3.5MM deal) and slot specialist Nickell Robey-Coleman (one-year, minimum salary deal). Barwin played for Phillips with the Texans from 2011-12, and the 30-year-old chose L.A. in part because of the lovable defensive coordinator.

 “Wade did a lot for me in the two years I was with Houston,” said Barwin. “He taught me so much about being a pro, enjoying being around the game every single day, and he really elevated my game as a pass rusher.” 

Barwin now joins a talented linebacker group which includes Robert Quinn, Alec Ogletree, and Mark Barron. Coupled with the great potential of the defensive line, Phillips has one heck of a front seven to work with.

Robey-Coleman’s release from the Bills was a surprised rivaled only by the low price tag on his deal with the Rams. Last year, the corner earned a higher grade from PFF than former Buffalo teammates Stephon Gilmore and Ronald Darby. It would be a surprise if he bested both of them again in 2017, but there’s no question that there is great potential for Robey-Coleman to outperform his contract.

Notable losses:

This offseason, the Rams said adios to Kenny Britt. The highly talented Rutgers product was never able to put it all together at the NFL level until last year when he had managed to turn in his first career 1,000+ yard campaign, despite playing in the league’s worst offense. Britt’s work ethic frequently came into question during his college days and it’s possible that the Rams had questions about his maturity when it came time to pay him. It’s also possible that they just saw a four-year deal worth $32.5MM with $17MM guaranteed (the deal he got from the Browns) as too rich of a price tag. Ultimately, they’re betting on better production out of Woods than Britt and you won’t find many talent evaluators willing to support that choice. The Rams will also forge ahead without Brian Quick, who projects to be the WR4 in Washington. Kenny Britt (Vertical)

A couple other familiar faces are gone on the offensive side. The Rams’ old regime had high hopes for Lance Kendricks, signing him to a four-year, $18.5MM pact some time ago. The new regime wasn’t as crazy about him. The Rams got out of the deal two years early, even though he had a career-high 50 receptions last year for 499 yards and two scores. There’s now a youth movement going down at tight end, something that we’ll explore a little further down the page.

In two years with St. Louis/Los Angeles, Keenum appeared in ten games with nine starts. The results were less than spectacular and it didn’t seem like the team made much of an attempt to retain him. Now that he’s gone, Sean Mannion will be the primary backup for Goff.

McDonald was the Rams’ starting safety since entering the league in 2013 all the way through 2016. This spring, however, the Rams made no attempt to retain him. The safety is facing an eight-game suspension for violating the league’s substance abuse policy, but that will be a headache for another team (the Dolphins) in 2017.

Sims, 31, appeared in all 16 games for the Rams last season and made eight starts. The advanced numbers at PFF have never been high on Sims and neither was Phillips, apparently. Sims was dropped during a major player purge around the start of free agency and we haven’t heard any word of teams being interested in him in the last four months. That’s a sign that Sims is still not healthy enough to play (he was cut with a failed physical designation) or that teams no longer see him as a quality defensive end.

Trades:

  • Acquired a 2017 sixth-round pick (No. 206) from the Dolphins in exchange for DE William Hayes and a 2017 seventh-round pick (No. 223).
  • Acquired a 2017 second-round pick (No. 44; TE Gerald Everett) and a 2017 third-round pick (No. 91; S John Johnson) from the Bills in exchange for a 2017 second-round pick (No. 37; WR Zay Jones) and a 2017 fifth-round pick (No. 149).
  • Acquired a 2017 fourth-round pick (No. 117; WR Josh Reynolds) and a 2017 sixth-round pick (No. 197) from the Bears in exchange for a 2017 fourth-round pick (No. 112; S Eddie Jackson).
  • Acquired a 2017 fourth-round pick (No. 125; LB Samson Ebukam) from the Jets in exchange for a 2017 fourth-round pick (No. 141; WR Chad Hansen) and a 2017 sixth-round pick (No. 197; CB Jeremy Clark).
  • Acquired a 2018 sixth-round pick from the Lions in exchange for T Greg Robinson.

It’s hard to find fault with the William Hayes deal from the Dolphins’ perspective. From the Rams’ side, however, the deal is a bit perplexing. Hayes had two years to go on his three-year, $17.5MM contract, a good value considering the way that lesser pass rushers have gotten paid since then. It seems that Phillips didn’t like his chances of transitioning from a 4-3 to a 3-4 defense. If Hayes (and McDonald, for that matter) breaks out in Miami, there will be a lot of second guessing going on in L.A. On a related note, Hayes’ deal was shortened to allow him to reach the free agent market after the 2017 season.

The Rams moved back in the second round and got themselves a new starting tight end seven spots down. Gerald Everett will now take the place of Kendricks in the offense and the Rams are hoping for better results. Interestingly, the Rams’ failsafe for Everett is also a relative youngster. Tyler Higbee, who slid down draft boards in 2016 thanks to his off-field behavior, is expected to see significant snaps behind the rookie. Beyond them, there’s Cory Harkey – a relatively unknown holdover from the old regime – and 2016 sixth-round choice Temarrick Hemingway. If the Rams don’t like what they see from the TE group in August, don’t be surprised if they look at external options.

Rams fans were tired of waiting for Greg Robinson to do something at the professional level and so were the Rams. When Taylor Decker went down with an injury, the Rams pawned the former No. 2 overall pick off on the Lions in exchange for a sixth-round choice. Maybe a change of scenery will do Robinson good, but it was abundantly clear that things were just not going to work for him with the Rams. In each of the last three seasons, the advanced numbers have pegged Robinson as one of the league’s worst tackles.

Draft picks:

The Rams did not have a first-round choice in this year’s draft thanks to the Jared Goff trade of 2016. After this year, we might have a better handle on whether that was a smart trade for L.A.

Other:

This offseason, the Rams made Sean McVay the youngest coach in the NFL’s modern era. He might not have as much experience as other candidates, but his fresh perspective is exciting to GM Les Snead.

“Exciting, because you see the young head coach but you also see him bring this unbelievable energy and passion to the job with that thought of how he wants to put together his staff and the puzzle there and what he’s trying to accomplish,” the GM said. “You’re working together to problem-solve, come up with solutions, come up with decisions and try to come up with what’s best for the Rams…. You can feel the chemistry developing based on just rolling up your sleeves and going to work and making your first decisions together.”

The former Redskins offensive coordinator has developed a reputation as a quarterback whisperer after helping to turn Kirk Cousins into a top signal caller. Goff was inconsistent under center last year and the Rams are hoping that McVay will be able to get him on the right track. Ultimately, the fates of the young quarterback and the young coach may be tied together.

McVay is not daunted by the challenge of being a 31-year-old head coach and he’ll even be calling the plays on offense. On the other side of the ball, veteran defensive coordinator Wade Phillips is calling the shots. The Broncos effectively let Phillips skip town this offseason and the Rams were thrilled to give him a new home.

Top 10 cap charges for 2017:

  1. Trumaine Johnson, CB: $16,742,400
  2. Tavon Austin, WR: $14,977,116
  3. Mark Barron, LB: $11,000,000
  4. Michael Brockers, DT: $11,000,000
  5. Robert Quinn, LB $10,750,334
  6. Andrew Whitworth, T: $9,166,666
  7. Alec Ogletree, LB: $8,369,000
  8. Robert Woods, WR: $7,000,000
  9. Jared Goff, QB: $6,349,471
  10. Rodger Saffold, G: $6,190,983

The worst contract in this bunch probably belongs to Tavon Austin, and he inked his extension less than one year ago. Austin, 26, hasn’t done a whole lot to justify being taken No. 8 overall in 2013. Now, he has a deal that averages $10.5MM through the 2021 season. Last year, Austin set a career high with 58 catches, but he averaged only 8.8 yards per grab. Next year, the Rams can drop Austin if they’re willing to take on $5MM in dead money while saving $3MM against the cap. If he can’t take a step forward, don’t be surprised if McVay & Co. cut ties.

Information from Over the Cap and Roster Resource was used in the creation of this post. Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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