5:35pm: The Floyd market moved fast. The Giants pushed to sign him, but the Rams will win the sweepstakes, Anderson tweets. Floyd will stay in Los Angeles on a four-year, $64MM deal, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets.
This represents a major win for Floyd, who saw the Bears release him prior to his fifth-year option vesting in 2020. Floyd will follow Fowler in riding a Rams contract year into free agency success. The Rams are making their biggest commitment to an edge defender in years here, doing so after trading Robert Quinn and letting Fowler walk. The team’s journey toward cap compliance will continue, however, with the team now having three front-seven bastions — Donald, Floyd and Michael Brockers — signed to veteran deals.
5:15pm: Although the Rams let Dante Fowler walk in free agency last year, they are not quite ready to lose another edge rusher. They remain in talks with Leonard Floyd, according to veteran NFL reporter Josina Anderson, who notes the discussions are going well (Twitter link).
The Rams will still need to clear considerable cap space to keep Floyd. They reside more than $30MM over the cap. Teams must comply with the $182.5MM salary ceiling by 3pm March 17, when the 2021 league year starts.
Like Fowler, Floyd produced in a contract year. The former Bears first-round pick, whom Chicago cut after an inconsistent tenure, recorded a career-best 10.5 sacks while teaming with Aaron Donald in Los Angeles. After battling injury issues early in his career, Floyd has now played in 16 games in each of the past three seasons.
More edge rushers are available this year, compared to a 2020 offseason in which several received franchise tags. Like Fowler, Floyd did not. And he is in much better position to land a strong deal than he was last year, when the Rams signed him to a one-year pact worth $10MM. It will be interesting to see if Floyd can improve on that salary soon.
Kind of relieved as a Giants fan. That’s a lot of money, and I’d rather have Tomlinson back rather than a guy who put on a career year lining up alongside Donald.
Ahh so your from New York, makes sense why your perspective is so flawed.