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- May 26, 2013
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- River
If I have to be pessimistic over something about our future, I suppose it would involve our CAP situation going forward. I can't worry over health issues, all teams gamble with that bug, although good depth can help mitigate this. No, i'm more concerned with how we will pay for Donald, Gurley & Goff as these three will all be making top dollar by 2020. 2018 should be a breeze for our CAP guru (Demoff), the following years will be far more difficult.
We've already acknowledged that contracts like Austin's, Barron's & Quinn are likely to be dealt with in some manner this coming off-season, and if we wish to retain most of our own players that may be entering free agency soon, a few CAP casualties provide the means. Will TruJo re-sign at a CAP friendly price after gouging our team for the last two years, or will we and he move on ? Will Watkins re-sign for under $10.mil per on a long term deal ? Will Whitworth have the same success in 2018 as he did in 2017, or will age start to seriously take its toll ?
Hopefully the Rams find Whitworth's eventual replacement soon, but unless a top LT falls to us in the 1'st round as BPA, this seems unlikely with what may be more immediate needs elsewhere. There is some conjecture that big Orlando Brown will still be available with our #23 pick should Kromer fall for his size and potential at the next level. If the Rams can't find future starting possibilities at LT in the 2018 draft, perhaps they go all in by trading up in the 2019 draft. I can see a scenario where the Rams could give up several draft picks to move up next year, not only to protect Goff, but to minimize future CAP repercussions as the Rams get closer to the wall, and there is a very good chance the team may have to move up a lot more than this year to accomplish such a goal.
Re-signing Joyner, Robey-Coleman & Sullivan are at the top of my wish list for getting our own guys back under contract, extending Donald & Saffold equally so, ... following that I believe finding a replacement for Tru Johnson won't be all that difficult in free agency, and if we must replace Watkins and Barwin, those guys may already be on our team in Reynolds & Ebukam. Re-signing the remaining players in Easley, McQuaide, Isiah Johnson, Walker, Lucas & Cody Davis as well as tendering our RFA's should be a relatively easy process.
It's going to be a very interesting off-season watching how the Rams re-tool and take us up a notch, one i'm looking forward to with much anticipation. jmo.
We've already acknowledged that contracts like Austin's, Barron's & Quinn are likely to be dealt with in some manner this coming off-season, and if we wish to retain most of our own players that may be entering free agency soon, a few CAP casualties provide the means. Will TruJo re-sign at a CAP friendly price after gouging our team for the last two years, or will we and he move on ? Will Watkins re-sign for under $10.mil per on a long term deal ? Will Whitworth have the same success in 2018 as he did in 2017, or will age start to seriously take its toll ?
Hopefully the Rams find Whitworth's eventual replacement soon, but unless a top LT falls to us in the 1'st round as BPA, this seems unlikely with what may be more immediate needs elsewhere. There is some conjecture that big Orlando Brown will still be available with our #23 pick should Kromer fall for his size and potential at the next level. If the Rams can't find future starting possibilities at LT in the 2018 draft, perhaps they go all in by trading up in the 2019 draft. I can see a scenario where the Rams could give up several draft picks to move up next year, not only to protect Goff, but to minimize future CAP repercussions as the Rams get closer to the wall, and there is a very good chance the team may have to move up a lot more than this year to accomplish such a goal.
Re-signing Joyner, Robey-Coleman & Sullivan are at the top of my wish list for getting our own guys back under contract, extending Donald & Saffold equally so, ... following that I believe finding a replacement for Tru Johnson won't be all that difficult in free agency, and if we must replace Watkins and Barwin, those guys may already be on our team in Reynolds & Ebukam. Re-signing the remaining players in Easley, McQuaide, Isiah Johnson, Walker, Lucas & Cody Davis as well as tendering our RFA's should be a relatively easy process.
It's going to be a very interesting off-season watching how the Rams re-tool and take us up a notch, one i'm looking forward to with much anticipation. jmo.
