Rams and Will Witherspoon in contract talks?

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RamsJunkie

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Rams, Will Witherspoon in contract talks
By Ryan Van Bibber@justRVB on Jul 7 2014, 11:57a 12
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Pat Lovell-USA TODAY Sports

The Rams could be looking to bring back to veteran linebacker this season.
The St. Louis Rams may not be finished molding their linebacker unit for 2014. Former Ram and current free agent Will Witherspoon told another group of Rams, at his old high school in Florida, that he's in contract talks with the Rams and the Falcons at the moment.
Deja vu? Probably. The Rams signed Witherspoon a year ago this month to give them some veteran depth at a linebacker position that was thin on experience beyond James Laurinaitis. Though it wasn't publicly known at the time, the Rams were bringing Witherspoon in with the knowledge that they'd be losing Jo-Lonn Dunbar to a PED suspension that fall.
Is there another suspension coming? Who knows. More than likely, this is about shoring up depth and adding some experience. There's really not much more than Ray Ray Armstrong behind the starting trio of Laurinaitis, Alec Ogletree and Dunbar, and Armstrong's really hit or miss. There's also the chance that Ogletree could continue to struggle this season.
Witherspoon ended up playing 137 snaps last year, mostly through the first six games of the season. This would be Witherspoon's third stint with the Rams. He also has a cattle ranch specializing in locally raised, grass-fed beef not far outside of St. Louis.


http://www.turfshowtimes.com/2014/7/7/5877567/rams-will-witherspoon-contract-talks
 
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HometownBoy

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Seems more like a retire with the team you like the most thing going on.
 

Boffo97

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Seems more like a retire with the team you like the most thing going on.
There wouldn't be negotiation if that was the case.

That'd be sign for one year, no signing bonus, then retire the next day.
 

HometownBoy

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There wouldn't be negotiation if that was the case.

That'd be sign for one year, no signing bonus, then retire the next day.
That's implying he thinks he's done, which he may not. Or he's sticking around to be an impromptu coach for a relatively young team. I can't imagine he's coming into play a lot, last season pretty much showed he was all about had.

Perhaps I should say, sit around, be a locker room mentor then retire.
 

André

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Ogletree could continue to struggle?

Ummmm... since when is this considered gospel?

He had rookie moments last year, but overall he was much more good than bad, yes?
 

Fatbot

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Agreed. Would have liked to see Bullough or Skov drafted late or signed on. Obviously neither has the elite speed, but both are guaranteed faster than 80-year old Spoon.
 

PowayRamFan

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I sure as hell wouldn't say that Tree struggled, he already has way more forced fumbles than most players EVER get. Plus a TD. Plus he got better and better as the season went along.
This guy probably read somewhere that AO had struggled.
 

Akrasian

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The author probably read that Ogletree missed some tackles last year, and didn't look up how many tackles he did make, nor how many missed tackles were early in the season with him showing improvement as the season went along.

Pretty much typical, really. Easier to speculate that one of the starters is underperforming, or that somebody is going to be suspended, than to just figure that the Rams might want a veteran backup just in case, and Witherspoon knows the team already.
 

PowayRamFan

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Agreed. Would have liked to see Bullough or Skov drafted late or signed on. Obviously neither has the elite speed, but both are guaranteed faster than 80-year old Spoon.
I would've taken Skov instead of Sam in a heartbeat. Need way more depth at LB
 

JackDRams

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Agreed. Would have liked to see Bullough or Skov drafted late or signed on. Obviously neither has the elite speed, but both are guaranteed faster than 80-year old Spoon.

I really wanted to take Shane Skov as well. The kid has game, and a good story. Then we took guys like Van Dyk and Rhaney. I was like "oh come on man". If Van Dyk or Rhaney pan out, cool. But Skov would have made me much happier.
 

So Ram

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Ogletree could continue to struggle?

Ummmm... since when is this considered gospel?

He had rookie moments last year, but overall he was much more good than bad, yes?

Yeah like leading the team in tackles & forced fumbles.I think turnovers as well.

I don't know who the MLB would be though.First thought was Dunbar again.How bad would it be for a LB to go down.Scary as well hearing Ray Ray was going to play a lot.Which I hope,but only if it is not by default.
Never a bad thing to have veteran leadership if that is the case.
 

BRF Back

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Well, let me chime in here.
I re-watched all the games last year in season, and have recently re-watched 5 of them.
Ogletree "struggling" means:
A. the writer never watched a 2 or more Rams game live
B. the writer never watched a Rams game on tape
C. The writer watched the Rams-Cowboys game, and maybe some game highlights along the way.

At the start of the season, Ogletree played a limited role in term of defensive alignments, and duties. Yes, they started him slowly. After the first 4 or 5 games, he had lined up at (my rough estimate) maybe 5 different positions at the snap. All on the left side.

As the season went on, he was slowly moved to several other spot, presnap. I counted 11 or 12. Two of them were on the RIGHT side, and 1 was in the MLB area. While some didn't like what the DC did last year, he was certainly (or maybe the LB coach or Fisher) educating Ogletree.

Several time Ogletree ran guys down on the opposite side of the field from where he lined up. Not always runs, screens and bubble screens. His threat of speed, along with Chris Long's helped Quinn get his sacks. Rolling out into those two wasn't done hardly at all by opposing QB's. I don't recall playing a left handed QB last year.

Did he make mistakes? Yes, especially early, by misjudging which gap to fill, or filling too quickly, and a good RB (Gore) read him and went to the next gap. But his overall play and noted forced fumbles and INT's showed the true potential.

If he was playing on the Packers or Steelers, he would be the next budding stud LB. Instead, he played for the Rams, where he was inconsistent and struggled.
 

RamWoodie

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This is the type nonsense you go through between OTAs and Camp...guys have nothing to report, so they spin stuff.

On another note...I think you have to think economics...Spoon is no longer an every play LB...but there are spots where his experience can be invaluable.

Keep in mind he was paled out of necessity last year. If this guy can help the LB corps from the bench...so be it. He was a pretty good LB in his prime, and the knowledge he can provide *could* be worth it.

Wait and see.
 

Ramhusker

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I don't get this at all. Like already stated, the Rams had a chance to draft some pretty decent LBs in the late rounds but chose not to and now are talking to a player that doesn't have much left in the tank? A little puzzling to me. Of course, this could be for a camp mentor with not much chance of making the roster. Just bringing him in as a veteran mentor for the pre-season?