JT’s Chat Highlights
—They do not need to shed any of the big 3 contracts. In fact, as I’m writing for Wednesday, the cap numbers of Long and Laurinaitis drop considerable after 2014. By design, not coincidence.
—Long is 28; Laurinaitis 27. So I think they both should have several years of good football left. Long’s contracts expires after the 2016 season, so he’ll be 31 by then. Laurinaitis has four more years on his contract, so he’ll also be 31 when his contract expires.
—I’m not sure the Rams will pursue Byrd. I would be surprised if they didn’t pursue Verner.
—J.Long Back For Game 1? Rams seem fairly optimistic. I’m thinking he might miss a game or two. So I’d say 47 to 53 (percent) he’s back on opening day.
—During his Fisher’s interview before being hired the Rams brought up the relocation topic and asked a few questions to Fisher about what the relocation process with Houston/Tennessee. And it made him a little uneasy.
—I’ve been suggesting a second-rounder (plus a swap of 1s) in any Atlanta trade as only a hypothetical for instance. I don’t know if the Rams would get more from the Falcons. It depends largely on how badly the Falcons want to move up for Clowney. As for the Vikings, I’m not sure the Rams want to move back that far (to No. 8 overall).
—Quick did improve noticeably as a blocker over the second half of the season. (As did the WR unit as a whole.) The Rams suspected it would be kind of a slow-go on Quick for several reasons. But I think we’ve all got to see something out of him in Year 3.
—Sign A Vet OG if Saffold Leaves? Although it’s generally considered a weak guard class in free agency, you could throw Geoff Schwartz and Jon Asamoah on that list as well. And what you’re suggesting could very well happen if Saffold doesn’t re-sign with STL.
—The $10 million of cap space I tweeted about on Friday was based on NFLPA figures, which are normally very reliable. But I’ve also seen $7-8 million floated out there by normally reliable sources as well. But yes, I think both Verner and Saffold can be done.
—I know there are people at Rams Park who really like Clowney, but it’s not like I put that name in my first mock knowing that would be the pick. And the mock assumes there is no trade down. I also want to point out that you can have as many as four defensive ends on the field at one time; as opposed to one quarterback.
—Finnegan Returns at lower salary? That’s what the Rams must decide. All indications are that if he returns, he probably plays nickel back. I think Finnegan deserves at least some slack because he was injured 3/4ths of the season because of that eye injury.
—The Rams can only hope the disarray continues and intensifies. I’m sure before all is said and done, Kaepernick will be under contract as a 49er. Who knows what happens with Harbaugh and Baalke.
—Fisher is on record as saying he would like to bring Chris Williams back. Wells is under contract; he’s not a free agent. You’d like to think Clemens would be back (and not precluding drafting a Q
. I think Giordano might be back for a modest amount because of his special teams value. Not sure on Dunbar. As I mentioned before, I don’t think the Rams would extend themselves contract wise on Dunbar.
—Wells Return at $1 Mil? Always a possibility. Keep in mind though, Wells played pretty well when healthy. I don’t think he’d want a reduction to say $1 million. I’m sure he’d rather test the market.
—Jones As Starter? He played a few snaps on special teams late in the year, but other than preseason games, that’s it. But with a strong offseason, yeah, I think he could compete for a job if Wells isn’t back.
—Jones At OG? He could be in the mix. He worked a lot at guard on the practice field during the season.
—Who Most Impressed You at the Combine? OK off top of my head: Taylor Leewan, Henry Josey, Sammy Watkins, Greg Robinson, Kony Ealy. This is in no particular order. This is based both on interviews and workouts. (And I’m sure media interviews aren’t part of the evaluation by NFL teams?) I would give honorable mention to Justin Gilbert, Jadeveon Clowney, and a few others. If we’re just basing it on workouts _ at least the part of the workout Clowney did _ he’d be the gold medalists.
Read More JT Chat Highlights
*Credit to RamBill*
—They do not need to shed any of the big 3 contracts. In fact, as I’m writing for Wednesday, the cap numbers of Long and Laurinaitis drop considerable after 2014. By design, not coincidence.
—Long is 28; Laurinaitis 27. So I think they both should have several years of good football left. Long’s contracts expires after the 2016 season, so he’ll be 31 by then. Laurinaitis has four more years on his contract, so he’ll also be 31 when his contract expires.
—I’m not sure the Rams will pursue Byrd. I would be surprised if they didn’t pursue Verner.
—J.Long Back For Game 1? Rams seem fairly optimistic. I’m thinking he might miss a game or two. So I’d say 47 to 53 (percent) he’s back on opening day.
—During his Fisher’s interview before being hired the Rams brought up the relocation topic and asked a few questions to Fisher about what the relocation process with Houston/Tennessee. And it made him a little uneasy.
—I’ve been suggesting a second-rounder (plus a swap of 1s) in any Atlanta trade as only a hypothetical for instance. I don’t know if the Rams would get more from the Falcons. It depends largely on how badly the Falcons want to move up for Clowney. As for the Vikings, I’m not sure the Rams want to move back that far (to No. 8 overall).
—Quick did improve noticeably as a blocker over the second half of the season. (As did the WR unit as a whole.) The Rams suspected it would be kind of a slow-go on Quick for several reasons. But I think we’ve all got to see something out of him in Year 3.
—Sign A Vet OG if Saffold Leaves? Although it’s generally considered a weak guard class in free agency, you could throw Geoff Schwartz and Jon Asamoah on that list as well. And what you’re suggesting could very well happen if Saffold doesn’t re-sign with STL.
—The $10 million of cap space I tweeted about on Friday was based on NFLPA figures, which are normally very reliable. But I’ve also seen $7-8 million floated out there by normally reliable sources as well. But yes, I think both Verner and Saffold can be done.
—I know there are people at Rams Park who really like Clowney, but it’s not like I put that name in my first mock knowing that would be the pick. And the mock assumes there is no trade down. I also want to point out that you can have as many as four defensive ends on the field at one time; as opposed to one quarterback.
—Finnegan Returns at lower salary? That’s what the Rams must decide. All indications are that if he returns, he probably plays nickel back. I think Finnegan deserves at least some slack because he was injured 3/4ths of the season because of that eye injury.
—The Rams can only hope the disarray continues and intensifies. I’m sure before all is said and done, Kaepernick will be under contract as a 49er. Who knows what happens with Harbaugh and Baalke.
—Fisher is on record as saying he would like to bring Chris Williams back. Wells is under contract; he’s not a free agent. You’d like to think Clemens would be back (and not precluding drafting a Q
—Wells Return at $1 Mil? Always a possibility. Keep in mind though, Wells played pretty well when healthy. I don’t think he’d want a reduction to say $1 million. I’m sure he’d rather test the market.
—Jones As Starter? He played a few snaps on special teams late in the year, but other than preseason games, that’s it. But with a strong offseason, yeah, I think he could compete for a job if Wells isn’t back.
—Jones At OG? He could be in the mix. He worked a lot at guard on the practice field during the season.
—Who Most Impressed You at the Combine? OK off top of my head: Taylor Leewan, Henry Josey, Sammy Watkins, Greg Robinson, Kony Ealy. This is in no particular order. This is based both on interviews and workouts. (And I’m sure media interviews aren’t part of the evaluation by NFL teams?) I would give honorable mention to Justin Gilbert, Jadeveon Clowney, and a few others. If we’re just basing it on workouts _ at least the part of the workout Clowney did _ he’d be the gold medalists.
Read More JT Chat Highlights
*Credit to RamBill*
