(Poll) Which Rams players are most likely to be released during the offseason?

[BonifayRam]

#1-OG Rodger Saffold- Using 5 million of 2016 Cap $$ to keep him here to be a back up looks to me to be a sure waste of funds. Rams will have OG's Jamon Brown, Garrett Reynolds & Cody Wichmann all who started & played better than RS in 2015 season. Would you not desire to spend that $$ on those departing starters? Saffold gets released ASAP!

#2-DE Chris Long- That near 12 million must be available to capture those departing starters. CL should be permitted to have the opportunity to find his true value on the free agent open market. Hayes who has started more games the last two seasons will want a pay raise as a FA & he made a little less than 5 mil.

#3-Nick Foles-I do not want NF here taking up any master roster spot no matter what guaranteed $$ is due I want a better 3rd QB than NF.

#4-TE Cook, #5-WR Britt & #6-MLB JL can be determined after the May draft. But I sure have no major issues with these last 3 departing either in order to secure JJ, Tru, Barron, Hayes, Barnes & Fairley.

 

[LACHAMP46]

Not guessing any cuts/releases... Re-structure CLong, JL55, and maybe Cook.....Everyone else with contracts should return....We'll only cut Foles if we draft a QB & Mannion takes a huge step forward this off-season.

 

[Prime Time]

http://www.turfshowtimes.com/2015/12/26/10666784/the-lowest-rated-rams-players-in-2015

The lowest-rated RAMS players in 2015
By jorgeocampo

After reading the excellent article from Frank "Dubs" Dobozy: For A Few Dollars More, I realized that there's a difference between how us -the fans- see some players, and how the people making a living from this sport see them.

Nick Farley and James Laurinaitis are good examples

• James Laurinaitis is (for a lot of fans) a "key player" in our defense, he's the "leading tackler". But deeper analysis reveals that "tackles aren’t always a good indicator (in coverage, it normally means you’ve been beaten)"
• Meanwhile Nick Fairley only has 0.5 sacks this season, many fans don't want him back in 2016, but he has been dominant on film, with lots of defensive pressures

So, let's check the PFF ratings involving some players listed among the 2015 top dozen salary cap hits:

• Nick Fairley - Grade 82.2 (ABOVE average), top 25 NFL interior defender. From PFF: "While playing only 65 snaps through four weeks, Fairly has the 12th-highest grade amongst DT/NT. Solid as both a pass rusher (+4.2) and run stopper (+1.7), Fairley has proven a solid complement to Aaron Donald inside, grading positively in every game to date."
• ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
• Chris Long - Grade 54.5 (below average), at 31 years old appears passed his best form, he also accounts $14.25 million against the Rams' salary cap in 2016
• ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
• Jared Cook - Grade 61.9, slightly below average, and not far from the ranks of Vernon Davis or Jordan Cameron, the problem is a $8.3 million salary cap hit in 2016
• ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
• Rodger Saffold - Grade 38.2 (way below average)
• -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
• William Hayes - Grade 82.9 (above average), still a great performer at 30 years old
• -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
• Kenny Britt - Grade 73.9 (average), his grade is better than the grade of Travis Benjamin, Dez Bryant, Devin Funchess, Jermaine Kearse or Torrey Smith, even when he was playing along one of worst-rated QBs in the league
• -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
• James Laurinaitis - Grade 35.6 (way below average), he is a team leader, but his prime passed long ago, from PFF: "Laurinaitis is continuing his string of horrible games, as he’s now graded below -1.3 overall in his last eight games. If a blocker gets even a hand on him, it’s over, because he doesn’t even try to beat blocks. Just waits for the play to be over. He finished this game with only two defensive stops and a -6.2 run defense grade".
• -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
• In fact Linebacker position is a big problem for the RAMS, every player (but Mark Barron) is rated below average, and that includes Alec Ogletree (Grade 59.4 after 4 games) and Akeem Ayers (57.3)
• ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
• In fact, not many -among the top dozen salary cap hits- are in the lowest-rated RAMS players list:
  
  1. Greg Robinson 30.1
  2. James Laurinaitis 35.6
  3. Andrew Donnal 35.5 (rookie - not starter-level)
  4. Rodger Saffold 38.2
  5. Jamon Brown 41.0 (rookie - not starter-level)
  6. Eugene Sims 44.8 (not starter)
  7. Maurice Alexander 46.2
  8. Tim Barnes 46.4
  9. Cody Wichmann 47.5 (rookie)
  10. Brian Quick 50.0
  11. Lance Kendricks 50.0
  12. Nick Foles 53.9 (not starter-level)
  13. Chris Long 54.5
  Many are asking for the Jared Cook release, but he´s not THAT bad, negotiate a pay cut may be better, Saffold and Laurinaitis are another story, Long also must be released if we want back our top-10 CBs: Trumaine Johnson (grade 87.2) and Janoris Jenkins (grade 81.9)
  If you see any mistake please let me know

 

[BonifayRam]

• James Laurinaitis is (for a lot of fans) a "key player" in our defense, he's the "leading tackler". But deeper analysis reveals that "tackles aren’t always a good indicator (in coverage, it normally means you’ve been beaten)"
• Meanwhile Nick Fairley only has 0.5 sacks this season, many fans don't want him back in 2016, but he has been dominant on film, with lots of defensive pressures

So, let's check the PFF ratings involving some players listed among the 2015 top dozen salary cap hits:

• Nick Fairley - Grade 82.2 (ABOVE average), top 25 NFL interior defender. From PFF: "While playing only 65 snaps through four weeks, Fairly has the 12th-highest grade amongst DT/NT. Solid as both a pass rusher (+4.2) and run stopper (+1.7), Fairley has proven a solid complement to Aaron Donald inside, grading positively in every game to date."
• ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
• Chris Long - Grade 54.5 (below average), at 31 years old appears passed his best form, he also accounts $14.25 million against the Rams' salary cap in 2016
• ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
• Jared Cook - Grade 61.9, slightly below average, and not far from the ranks of Vernon Davis or Jordan Cameron, the problem is a $8.3 million salary cap hit in 2016
• ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
• Rodger Saffold - Grade 38.2 (way below average)
• -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
• William Hayes - Grade 82.9 (above average), still a great performer at 30 years old
• -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
• Kenny Britt - Grade 73.9 (average), his grade is better than the grade of Travis Benjamin, Dez Bryant, Devin Funchess, Jermaine Kearse or Torrey Smith, even when he was playing along one of worst-rated QBs in the league
• -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
• James Laurinaitis - Grade 35.6 (way below average), he is a team leader, but his prime passed long ago, from PFF: "Laurinaitis is continuing his string of horrible games, as he’s now graded below -1.3 overall in his last eight games. If a blocker gets even a hand on him, it’s over, because he doesn’t even try to beat blocks. Just waits for the play to be over. He finished this game with only two defensive stops and a -6.2 run defense grade".
• -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
• In fact Linebacker position is a big problem for the RAMS, every player (but Mark Barron) is rated below average, and that includes Alec Ogletree (Grade 59.4 after 4 games) and Akeem Ayers (57.3)
• ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
• In fact, not many -among the top dozen salary cap hits- are in the lowest-rated RAMS players list:
  1. Greg Robinson 30.1
  2. James Laurinaitis 35.6
  3. Andrew Donnal 35.5 (rookie - not starter-level)
  4. Rodger Saffold 38.2
  5. Jamon Brown 41.0 (rookie - not starter-level)
  6. Eugene Sims 44.8 (not starter)
  7. Maurice Alexander 46.2
  8. Tim Barnes 46.4
  9. Cody Wichmann 47.5 (rookie)
  10. Brian Quick 50.0
  11. Lance Kendricks 50.0
  12. Nick Foles 53.9 (not starter-level)
  13. Chris Long 54.5
  Many are asking for the Jared Cook release, but he´s not THAT bad, negotiate a pay cut may be better, Saffold and Laurinaitis are another story, Long also must be released if we want back our top-10 CBs: Trumaine Johnson (grade 87.2) and Janoris Jenkins (grade 81.9)
  If you see any mistake please let me know

A few comments on this article/post above......

Ref. JL grade...
#1-what I have seen is JL's best on field work is done before the ball hits the QB's hands.
#2-JL makes all the calls & is the on field captain of this very good defense.
#3-JL never departs when the defense is on the field.
#4-JL assigns himself the responsibility of taking on the mismatches that happen in the favor of the offense after he makes the adjustments. Thus we see his major flaws often. Which means he sacrifices himself & will always grade bad like in this article.
#5-JL works real hard in placing Aaron Donald in the right position so he can make the play...said that to make the point that JL is partly responsible for some of the great play-making being heaped upon all pro Aaron Donald & the DL & blitzes.

Summary here on JL ...its a hard thing to really judge JL's worth to this complex Gregg Williams defense and if JL were no longer a Ram how well this defense would work with another LB'er making the calls.

DT Nick Fairley....The big knock on NF since his arrival in the NFL was his ability to play hard for a full game as a starter. I am a big fan of NF but I need to remind myself that NF spent the 2016 season as a relief'er! Not a starter. So NF looked really good & graded out very high. What would his grade be if he was on the field like Donald & Brockers were? So I am very suspicious of that high grade given to NF for those thinking that he will demand & get a massive new high contract. Bottom line is NF was used very wisely here by Gregg. My final thought here is that a needy DT NFL team who does cough up big to purchase NF to be a full-time starter with the thinking that NF will grade out the same as he did as a Ram will be very sorry.

 

[shovelpass]

Why do people want to get rid of Britt? He's been our best WR two years in a row despite iffy QB play. Is he being massively overpaid?

 

[Zaphod]

Why do people want to get rid of Britt? He's been our best WR two years in a row despite iffy QB play. Is he being massively overpaid?

Excellent question. I don't know, I'm genuinely curious as well. I'm not a wide receiver guru at all, but it looks to me like he's been our best and most consistent wide receiver, and I don't think he's being massively overpaid at all given as you said the iffy quarterback play.

But more than that, our depth after Kenny Britt worries me quite a bit.

 

[shovelpass]

Excellent question. I don't know, I'm genuinely curious as well. I'm not a wide receiver guru at all, but it looks to me like he's been our best and most consistent wide receiver, and I don't think he's being massively overpaid at all given as you said the iffy quarterback play.

But more than that, our depth after Kenny Britt worries me quite a bit.

Yes. For WR's it Britt, Tavon and .....? Quick, Marquez, Bailey, and Welker combined are still less productive than Tavon in receptions and yards. Tavon: 47 rec, 443yrds, 5 TD. Those 4: 44 rec, 435 yards, 1 TD. Cook is still a better option despite all of the hate he gets.

 

[thirteen28]

I picked Long, Saffold, Foles, and Cook.

Long is a tough one emotionally, but not so tough logically. From an emotional perspective, he's always been a guy who gives 100% and has been a bona fide leader. Plus, he's been very effective when healthy, even if it doesn't always show up on the stat sheet. Logically though, he's been hurt for much of the last two years, he's been hurt. He's getting up their in years, and given his injury situation vs. his salary cap number, it's hard to justify the latter in the face of the former. I'd be willing to keep him under a restructure. But at this point, if I had to decide between him and Hayes, I'd go for Hayes.

I picked Saffold for his injury situation. Our biggest problem with our OL for the last several years is injuries that ruin continuity. Saffold has been a Ram for 6 years, and 4 of those have seen him missing significant time with injury, including two stints on injured reserve. I most definitely don't want to see him as a starter next year, and I don't think his salary justifies keeping him as a backup. So I think it's time to cut ties.

Foles is easy, even though it doesn't save us squat against the cap. Keeping him would be falling for the sunk cost fallacy. His regression was so bad that I just don't believe he's salvagable. If he somehow is salvagable, I think it will require a change of scenery for him. Don't waste a roster spot on him. I'd rather go into next year with Keenum, Mannion, and a high draft pick.

Cook has frustrated us all with his play this year without a doubt. Nevertheless, I do put an asterisk on him. First of all, we can wait until August to cut him from what I understand, so there is no reason to rush the decision. And he has played a little better since Boras took over. Finally, if we come away with a good TE in the draft, we can let that factor into our decision. Needless to say, if there are better options, we should reap the cap savings. And if Cook's cap dollars are the difference between keeping one our defensive starters or letting them go, I say get rid of Cook first.

 

[RamFan503]

I personally think Foles is the only one I would outright release. Others on the list could be given the option to restructure and I think there may be a fair amount of that. KD is going to have his work cut out for him this off season.

 

[RamFan503]

Good stuff.

 

[Memento]

I voted all of them...and also Trey Watts, who is suspended for a year. No sense in keeping a pure special teams player who can't stay clean.

 

[jrry32]

Cook and Foles need to go. Long needs to go if he doesn't take a significant pay-cut.