Rams waive Terrell Lewis

[fearsomefour]

And that mulligan could extend down to others on the offensive side of coaching. Hard to get a real true gauge on any position group with the affect the OL had on stuff, even Samples could have stayed around if not for his promotion back in college.

I don't disagree.
I have been saying the biggest benefit of Mayfield coming in is it allows the young WRs to develop more.

 

[BonifayRam]

Michael Hoecht’s versatility gives Rams the pass rush they need​

His emergence from special teams player to outside linebacker played a role in why the Rams waived Terrell Lewis​

Michael Hoecht’s versatility gives Rams the pass rush they need

His emergence from special teams player to outside linebacker played a role in why the Rams decided to part ways with Terrell Lewis this week.

www.dailybreeze.com

Last month, Rams defensive coordinator Raheem Morris surprisingly mentioned Michael Hoecht as a potential replacement for outside linebacker Justin Hollins, who was waived after struggling to make an impact as a starter.

Hoecht was a special-teams contributor and a backup for Aaron Donald as an interior defensive lineman. But Morris was a fan of Hoecht’s athleticism and size and noticed the intensity he provided during practice and on special teams.

Also, Morris neglected to mention at the time that outside linebacker Terrell Lewis was dealing with a back injury, leaving the Rams thin at the position. So what started as an experiment during an emergency situation might have led the Rams to find a hidden gem in Hoecht, who’s expected to start opposite of Leonard Floyd for the rest of the season.

“He’s the type of guy that you like to be around,” Morris said Friday about Hoecht. “A guy that you want to work with and keep going forward.

The Rams started the season with hopes of replicating Von Miller’s production with a two-man rotation of Lewis and Hollins. Now neither player is on the team after the Rams waived Lewis on Thursday.

Morris said the emergence of Hoecht played a role in why the team decided to part ways with Lewis, the Rams’ 2020 third-round pick out of Alabama. The Rams also want to see more of rookie outside linebackers Keir Thomas and Daniel Hardy.

Lewis was limited to 14 defensive snaps against the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 12 because of the back injury and was ruled out against the Seattle Seahawks and Las Vegas Raiders the past two weeks. Lewis returned to practice Thursday, but the Rams weren’t planning on having him be active Monday against the Green Bay Packers, according to Morris.

“What (Rams coach) Sean (McVay) says, he really means,” Morris said. “He’s people first, so in order to give Terrell the best chance to get back on the grass, we decided to part ways and let him move on and have an opportunity somewhere else, where it’s probably going to be more fruitful for him.

“These young guys are coming and playing and have done some really good things the last couple weeks. In order not to have a disgruntled worker … Sean really means what he says, and people first.”

Morris was asked if the team miscalculated attempting to have Lewis and Hollins replace Miller, the star pass rusher who helped the Rams win a Super Bowl last season before joining the Buffalo Bills in free agency. Morris mentioned that losing – the Rams are 4-9 – and trailing in games often this season didn’t allow Hollins and Lewis enough opportunities to rush the passer. The Rams will face Hollins and his new team, the Packers, on Monday night

“I think we knew it was going to be difficult to replace Von,” Morris said. “Hence, our intent in our desire to sign Von and our willingness to go another level to sign Von, and we got outbid and it is what is. I wouldn’t say or blame anybody. … It’s a hard shoe to fill. Von Miller is special.”

The Rams aren’t asking Hoecht to replace Miller, but they might ask him to change his body frame for next season to become a full-time outside linebacker. The 6-foot-4, 310-pound Hoecht delivered a breakout performance in Week 13 against the Seahawks after recording two sacks, three quarterback hits and forcing a fumble that was recovered by the Rams.

“Probably two weeks ago,” McVay said after being asked when he noticed Hoecht could make an impact as an outside linebacker. “Otherwise we would have done this (expletive) a lot sooner.”

Hoecht, a 2020 undrafted free agent who played for Brown in the Ivy League, had only 15 defensive snaps in the first 10 games of the season. He’s played at least 50 defensive snaps in each of the past three games.

Hoecht didn’t record a hit against Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes in his first game at outside linebacker, but he won his matchups often in Kansas City and put plenty of pressure on Mahomes during his 64 defensive snaps. Hoecht quickly put it all together for his second game on the edge, and the Rams desperately needed his impact plays in 56 defensive snaps because they were without Donald, Lewis and defensive tackle A’Shawn Robinson against the Seahawks.

“I think it’s just getting more comfortable at the position,” Hoecht said. “It’s something that (outside linebackers coach) Thad (Bogardus) and I have been working toward. And, you know, it started out as an in-case-of-emergency if somebody goes down. As you guys all know, the way the season has gone, we’ve had a lot of guys go down. So, thankful for the opportunity that my number got called, and I was able to do something with it.”

Hoecht had a rough start setting the edge against the Raiders, but he made adjustments and delivered a critical hit on Raiders quarterback Derek Carr, which forced him into throwing an interception to Rams safety Taylor Rapp to seal the victory last week. Hoecht also prevented Raiders running back Josh Jacobs from recording a first down to give the Rams the ball back and march for a 98-yard game-winning drive.

“I think you have to go through those struggles to be a great player,” Rams middle linebacker Bobby Wagner said about Hoecht’s early struggles against the Raiders. “When you go through those struggles, you learn from them and you make the corrections and then you start playing them better. Sometimes there’s things you just haven’t seen and so you’re playing things that you haven’t seen consistently. I think that’s when you realize you’re a great player.

“It’s not the mistakes, it’s ‘do you learn from those mistakes?’ And ‘can you correct those mistakes?’ Because the great players, they don’t let things beat them more than once.”

Hoecht said he had no experience as a standing edge rusher, but mentioned that he played a little bit of defensive end with his hand on the ground during his four seasons at Brown.

The Canadian-born defender who grew up in Ohio is accustomed to playing different roles for the Rams. Hoecht returned a kick in Week 6 against the Carolina Panthers and that led to him receiving one offensive snap as a tight end in Week 8 against the San Francisco 49ers.

“I’m a football player,” Hoecht said. “I think they saw the ball in my hand when I returned the kick against Carolina, I think they wanted to give it a shot and it was pretty fun. That was the first offensive snap I’ve taken since high school.”

Hoecht said he learned the importance of being versatile by practicing with Donald. He also studied Miller’s pass-rushing moves when he played with the Rams last season. The Rams gave it a shot with Hoecht as an outside linebacker and it now might become a permanent change. “His ability to just be active is exciting,” Morris said.


Here is another article :

Rams Assistant Explains Reasoning for Releasing ‘Long Limbed’ Defender

Raheem Morris took the podium to explain why the Rams parted ways with Terrell Lewis.

heavy.com

 

[OldSchool]

I don't disagree.
I have been saying the biggest benefit of Mayfield coming in is it allows the young WRs to develop more.

And we can remember McVay's comments the last time we had injury issues on the OL, though not sure how many of the current group last past this year. He talked extensively since then about guys like Edwards etc getting playing time.

 

[Merlin]

Another draft that looked great even a year ago.
Akers is doing his Akers thing.....
Jefferson is a key contributor.
Missing on Lewis hurts, but, he fell to where he did because of injury concerns. Those concerns were warranted it turns out.
Fuller and Burgess were contributors and looked like steals for where they were taken.
The cutting of Burgess was a bitter move.
Fuller not staying healthy has really crippled his career....when he is there to play, he is good.
The non development of Hopkins is a bummer too.
Its amazing how these drafts looked so great just a short time ago and now they look like a lot of misses.
The average NFL is about 3 years....maybe this is just par for the course?

Generally the most recent look the best. For us with the approach being mid to late rounders the hope is to find role players and I would think one starter at least per draft. So the 2019 draft seeing Edwards drop off is shitty and changes it to a haul that looks like they got one good rotation NT out of it. The rest simply not being good enough and that's even recognizing that Scott has been a fantastic teams player and choice overall for where we got him.

2020 draft whiffing on both third rounders and a fourth rounder really hurt. Akers was bad luck, don't think he was a poor pick just that injury plus the situation plus his position makes it look like he's not here for long. Van can still be a long term piece and no idea on what's up with Fuller but we'll know more in a year. Could end up being ugly or ok. But that draft had a ton of potential if they would have done better in round three alone.

 

[BonifayRam]

Generally the most recent look the best. For us with the approach being mid to late rounders the hope is to find role players and I would think one starter at least per draft. So the 2019 draft seeing Edwards drop off is shitty and changes it to a haul that looks like they got one good rotation NT out of it. The rest simply not being good enough and that's even recognizing that Scott has been a fantastic teams player and choice overall for where we got him.

2020 draft whiffing on both third rounders and a fourth rounder really hurt. Akers was bad luck, don't think he was a poor pick just that injury plus the situation plus his position makes it look like he's not here for long. Van can still be a long term piece and no idea on what's up with Fuller but we'll know more in a year. Could end up being ugly or ok. But that draft had a ton of potential if they would have done better in round three alone.

This upcoming draft might give McVay/Snead the opportunity to cease thier mediocre to poor draft history they have together. This 2023 draft has a bonified real chance to be much larger (in Ram selections) than it appears now.

DC Morris is sure to get some serious interviews with some NFL teams for HC. If that does happen Rams will be awarded two 2nd day draft selections in 2023/2024. In addition Rams are projected to be awarded four comp picks (two 5th's 6th & 7th). Twelve {12} selections is possible in 2023.

 

[Allen2McVay]

Man I hope Morris gets a head coaching job!

I don't know if I see him getting anything more than a minority-required interview or two.

God Damn! I hope I am wrong!

 

[Merlin]

I think Morris' skills are better suited to being the head coach than DC. He's personable and approachable for the players but also has some history on both sides of the ball as a coach. As a DC he's probably middle of the pack overall, somewhere around there. Sadly this season's issues might kill his chances for a real interview, though I do hope he gets a gig. Think he's got a better chance to succeed than most of your typical hot coordinators, due to all that plus he's well connected around the league.

 

[NJRamsFan]

Low risk high reward
All risk no reward

 

[kurtfaulk]

The big blow was poor drafting period. Look at the 2019 draft. That class being 3 years out should be performing this season but they didn't. Here's the class of 2019, only Gaines is anything nearing starter consistency:

View attachment 57868

yeah but nick scott was a huge contributor in the superbowl run in the playoffs, henderson was the most effective rb on the field in the superbowl and long made a great play on the last play of the superbowl to get the rams the win.

that makes it all worth it.

doesn't help now but the rams won the superbowl with these players.

.

 

[Merlin]

yeah but nick scott was a huge contributor in the superbowl run in the playoffs, henderson was the most effective rb on the field in the superbowl and long made a great play on the last play of the superbowl to get the rams the win.

that makes it all worth it.

doesn't help now but the rams won the superbowl with these players.

.

Indeed and that goes without saying. I think all of us are ecstatic about that championship just kicking around the current situation.

 

[Allen2McVay]

yeah but nick scott was a huge contributor in the superbowl run in the playoffs, henderson was the most effective rb on the field in the superbowl and long made a great play on the last play of the superbowl to get the rams the win.

that makes it all worth it.

doesn't help now but the rams won the superbowl with these players.

.

All good points.

 

[fanotodd]

Didn’t we Trust in Fisher, Spagnuolo and Linehan?

I’m all in on Sean McVay. I think he’s great (not perfect). I love Snead’s aggressiveness. I do NOT want a change.

That being said, the Rams have mostly drafted poorly in recent drafts. Too many misses, and a few good picks lost.

Let’s face the facts. The SB winning team of last year was put together by adding nearly every key player from OUTSIDE of the draft.

Donald, Havs, Higbee—inherited.
Whitworth, Floyd, ARob (DL), even Gay and Corbin—FAs
Stafford, Ramsey, Michel, and the final piece miller—trades

The platoon holding together the secondary throughout was drafted/UDFAs, 2 OL, a rookie inside LB, a rookie WR and a couple of banged up RBs (all drafted)had their share of starts. Does anybody see any of these guys getting another contract as a Ram?

When you let all of that sink in, no, the Rams have not been drafting and RETAINING very much talent.

…then there’s Cooper Kupp to skew the argument.

 

[fanotodd]

Looks like about 80-90% of all those players are still in the league. Doesn’t look like a lot of misses to me.

Some of those guys are gone because of the way the Rams pay the top end, not because the couldn’t play in the league.

Certainly a valid point. There are ex-Rams all over the league.
However, this is not unusual for a championship roster to do—help bolster rosters around the league. It was not that long ago the Rams could not finalize THEIR roster until the better teams finished their cuts. Those former Rams around the league though, weren’t necessarily good enough to justify another deal for THIS team.

The Rams are still one of the top teams, roster wise (when healthy) because of those stars. This is why I have maintained, and will ad nauseum, throughout this offseason that the Rams are in need of another star to backfill and build around for the future. The heroes of our SB run will not be stars much longer.

The Rams need to nail that pick in the early 30s, regardless of position.

 

[PARAM]

Certainly a valid point. There are ex-Rams all over the league.
However, this is not unusual for a championship roster to do—help bolster rosters around the league. It was not that long ago the Rams could not finalize THEIR roster until the better teams finished their cuts. Those former Rams around the league though, weren’t necessarily good enough to justify another deal for THIS team.

The Rams are still one of the top teams, roster wise (when healthy) because of those stars. This is why I have maintained, and will ad nauseum, throughout this offseason that the Rams are in need of another star to backfill and build around for the future. The heroes of our SB run will not be stars much longer.

The Rams need to nail that pick in the early 30s, regardless of position.

They need to grab a phenominal TE and/or a beast RB. Round 2 & 3.

 

[fanotodd]

They need to grab a phenominal TE and/or a beast RB. Round 2 & 3.

That is certainly doable. The 1rst round will always feature QBs, OTs, WRs and Edge rushers. So maybe the projected top TE and RB don’t turn out to be the best at those positions. Maybe it’s the second highest rated or even the third who ultimately proves to be the best player at his position to come out of this year’s draft. THAT guy should be there when the Rams pick.

 

[Allen2McVay]

Let’s face the facts. The SB winning team of last year was put together by adding nearly every key player from OUTSIDE of the draft.

Donald, Havs, Higbee—inherited.
Whitworth, Floyd, ARob (DL), even Gay and Corbin—FAs
Stafford, Ramsey, Michel, and the final piece miller—trades

The platoon holding together the secondary throughout was drafted/UDFAs, 2 OL, a rookie inside LB, a rookie WR and a couple of banged up RBs (all drafted)had their share of starts. Does anybody see any of these guys getting another contract as a Ram?

When you let all of that sink in, no, the Rams have not been drafting and RETAINING very much talent.

…then there’s Cooper Kupp to skew the argument.

Good summary of how the roster was built, except Corbett was also a trade acquisition and not a FA.

Unfortunately, I just don't think that is a sustainable Model for Success.

The top-tier talent the Rams have acquired via trade does not come available very often. When it does, the capital (premium draft choices and cap space) it takes to acquire these players is expensive and limited.

Stafford, Ramsey, Miller, Cooks and Watkins alone cost five #1s, two #2s and two #3s. The Rams didn't get Christian McCaffrey, in large part, because they lacked a fourth round pick to match the Niners' offer.

It also doesn't help that the NFL is a copy-cat-league; and teams have adapted the Rams' aggressive acquisition-style which drives-up the prices in draft choices and money to acquire top-tier-talent when it does become available. Wilson was more costly than Stafford. Buffalo in free agency and the Niners in a mid-year-trade were the Rams rivals for Miller and McCaffrey ... and THEY got those players.

Filling-out the roster with solid mid-round-picks; and then retaining some of the better ones beyond their rookie contracts is critical for this Model to be successful. The Rams have not done well in that aspect.

 

[PhillyRam]

Good summary of how the roster was built, except Corbett was also a trade acquisition and not a FA.

Unfortunately, I just don't think that is a sustainable Model for Success.

The top-tier talent the Rams have acquired via trade does not come available very often. When it does, the capital (premium draft choices and salary cap space) it takes to acquire these players is expensive and limited.

Stafford, Ramsey, Miller, Cooks and Watkins alone cost five #1s, two #2s and two #3s. The Rams didn't get Christian McCaffrey, in large part, because they lacked a fourth round pick to match the Niners' offer.

It also doesn't help that the NFL is a copy-cat-league; and teams have adapted the Rams' aggressive acquisition-style which drives-up the prices in draft choices and money to acquire top-tier-talent when it does become available. Wilson was more costly than Stafford. Buffalo in free agency and the Niners in a mid-year-trade were the Rams rivals for Miller and McCaffrey ... and THEY got those players.

Filling-out the roster with solid mid-round-picks; and then retaining some of the better ones beyond their rookie contracts is critical for this Model to be successful. The Rams have not done well in that aspect.

The Bengals had more outside FAs on their roster than the Rams did. The Rams were 5th in the league in homegrown players on their roster.

People want to ignore the 5 OL on IR and 2 more that missed the portion of the season when the season spun out of control (Allen & Shelton).

No team survives losing 7 or 8 OL. No one.

That led to QB injuries. That led to Kupps injury due to a bad pass from a back up QB.
They have now played 4 QBs.

Despite all of that mess...if they hold two last minute leads they would be very much alive for a playoff spot.

Yes, they need to add some young impact players...but you can't blame this season on draft issues.

 

[Allen2McVay]

People want to ignore the 5 OL on IR and 2 more that missed the portion of the season when the season spun out of control (Allen & Shelton).

No team survives losing 7 or 8 OL. No one.

I agree completely; and its Six OL on Injured Reserve ... not five.

I have two dozen posts on this Forum emphatically arguing that the Rams miserable 2022 season is primarily due to the devastating number and degree of O-Line injuries. In fact below is something I posted late-yesterday in the Rams' position-needs-thread:
"I believe the Rams played eight different Guards before the Season was ten games old. That's almost impossible. Also had their starting Left Tackle and top back-up-tackle go down to season-ending injuries.

I just don't think a team can prepare for that many injuries to a critical unit."

Unfortunately, the OL injuries this year and the impact on this awful season is a separate issue from the simple point that the Rams have not drafted well in the mid-rounds; and have not held on to the few good picks. I see that more as an observation than an opinion.

 

[Allen2McVay]

The Bengals had more outside FAs on their roster than the Rams did. The Rams were 5th in the league in homegrown players on their roster.

Also, the Bengals are a bad example because their top-tier talent is made-up mostly of their own draft choices … Burrow, Chase, Wilson, Bates, Hubbard, Boyd, Pratt, Higgins and Williams.

They fill-out their roster with free agents.

That's the opposite of the Rams' Model discussed above.

 

[PhillyRam]

Also, the Bengals are a bad example because their top-tier talent is made-up mostly of their own draft choices … Burrow, Chase, Wilson, Bates, Hubbard, Boyd, Pratt, Higgins and Williams.

They fill-out their roster with free agents.

That's the opposite of the Rams' Model discussed above.

Well they spent $130M on FAs the last 2 yrs so they added significantly to their roster.

Still, the main issue this yr was an unprecedented amount of injuries to the OL.