OFFICIAL 2023 NFL trades, cuts, free agents, and more

[Ram65]

Calais Campbell reportedly adds Lions to free agency tour

The Jaguars have another competitor for Calais Campbell.

www.yahoo.com

I wanted C Campbell when he was a FA and left the Cardinals. Hard to believe he has already played 6 seasons since then. He has been very good and I bet he has a bit more in the tank. He is amazing. Too late for the Rams.

Calais Campbell Career Stats | NFL.com

www.nfl.com

 

[dieterbrock]

The only real difference is that they have an all world 26 yr old QB. So they can continue to shuffle the deck around him.

Right, but they had to go all in to get him, with no guarantees that he'd even be better than the QB they already had. So like the Rams, they seemed to invest in areas that werent necessarily need and paid a high premium for it.

 

[Tumak61]

Atlanta signing Calais Campbell is interesting. They seem to be positioning for a run this year. Does Stafford get traded to the Falcons?

 

[AvengerRam]

Atlanta signing Calais Campbell is interesting. They seem to be positioning for a run this year. Does Stafford get traded to the Falcons?

Yes. In exchange for their next 27 first round picks.

 

[PARAM]

The one thing you have not mentioned is the historic failure of the Detroit Lions. The funny phrase "The Rebuilding Since 1957 Detroit Lions" was funny because it was painfully true. Motor City Dan Cambell and Brad Holmes have been praised by long tine sports writers in Detroit for making smart decisions and turning the franchise into a capable one. They are actually crazy happy over Holmes' leadership.

Snead and Fisher made the Rams into a solid organization before McVay arrived to take it to that next level. Will Cambell and Holmes take the Lions to the next level? I don't know. But I think the Lions are looking better than the Rams right now, as painful as it is for me to admit.

The Lions look good.....on paper.
The Rams don't.....on paper
Let's see what happens. I have a feeling the Lions might not be as good as some think and the Rams might not be as bad.

But I gotta laugh just a bit. Fisher (and Snead) made the Rams into a "solid organization"? Since when in the hell is 7-9 SOLID? Proof of what 2-14, 1-15 and 4-12 can do to perspective!!! If that's your bar, you should be over the moon ecstatic with McVay and Snead.

On the " sure thing" picks in the draft, I'm talking about "no brainers"...read: the obvious great choices. Who would you take with the 6th pick in the draft (assuming they're both available) Will Anderson or Charlie Jones? There's no guaranted they're going to be what they're projected to be but it doesn't make one of them any less of a "no brainer". If there aren't "no brainers" isn't it a little ridiculous to criticize any pick made?

Though it might seem a concession to admit there are "no brainers" (as described), at least when you criticize a pick or a GM, it won't appear hippocritical. For instance, who was the "no brainer", Creed Humphrey or Tutu Atwell?

 

[Loyal]

The Lions look good.....on paper.
The Rams don't.....on paper
Let's see what happens. I have a feeling the Lions might not be as good as some think and the Rams might not be as bad.

But I gotta laugh just a bit. Fisher (and Snead) made the Rams into a "solid organization"? Since when in the hell is 7-9 SOLID? Proof of what 2-14, 1-15 and 4-12 can do to perspective!!! If that's your bar, you should be over the moon ecstatic with McVay and Snead.

On the " sure thing" picks in the draft, I'm talking about "no brainers"...read: the obvious great choices. Who would you take with the 6th pick in the draft (assuming they're both available) Will Anderson or Charlie Jones? There's no guaranted they're going to be what they're projected to be but it doesn't make one of them any less of a "no brainer". If there aren't "no brainers" isn't it a little ridiculous to criticize any pick made?

Though it might seem a concession to admit there are "no brainers" (as described), at least when you criticize a pick or a GM, it won't appear hippocritical. For instance, who was the "no brainer", Creed Humphrey or Tutu Atwell?

2007 St Louis Rams 3-13 Linehan
2008 St Louis Rams 2-14 Linehan
2009 St Louis Rams 1-15 Spags
2010 St Louis Rams 7-9 SPags
2011 St Louis Rams 2-14 Spags

5 years = 15-65

2012 St Louis Rams 7-8-1 Fisher
2013 St Louis Rams 7-9 Fisher
2014 St Louis Rams 6-10 Fisher
2015 St Louis Rams 7-9 Fisher
2016 LA Rams 4-12 Fisher

5 years of Fish = 31-48-1

I said solid, not good. Doing over twice as well over the previous 5 years before Fish, is solid but not good enough. How is that lowering standards? Fisher's reign was not a dumpster fire as much as we didn't like his performance in the end. Look again at those records before Fish and how fucking bad it really was.

As for the "no-brainer" stuff, my comment stands. One can have a strong feeling about a draft pick, but you don't really know until they prove it on the field. I was stoked about Donald and Humphrey and was right about them. I sure as hell was wrong about Greg Robinson, among others. The list of 1st round busts is extensive, who were all picked by experts around the league and who thought particular players as being at the top of their draft boards. Even Creed Humphrey was not the first Center taken off the board.

 

[OldSchool]

Atlanta signing Calais Campbell is interesting. They seem to be positioning for a run this year. Does Stafford get traded to the Falcons?

 

[PhillyRam]

2007 St Louis Rams 3-13 Linehan
2008 St Louis Rams 2-14 Linehan
2009 St Louis Rams 1-15 Spags
2010 St Louis Rams 7-9 SPags
2011 St Louis Rams 2-14 Spags

5 years = 15-65

2012 St Louis Rams 7-8-1 Fisher
2013 St Louis Rams 7-9 Fisher
2014 St Louis Rams 6-10 Fisher
2015 St Louis Rams 7-9 Fisher
2016 LA Rams 4-12 Fisher

5 years of Fish = 31-48-1

I said solid, not good. Doing over twice as well over the previous 5 years before Fish, is solid but not good enough. How is that lowering standards? Fisher's reign was not a dumpster fire as much as we didn't like his performance in the end. Look again at those records before Fish and how fucking bad it really was.

As for the "no-brainer" stuff, my comment stands. One can have a strong feeling about a draft pick, but you don't really know until they prove it on the field. I was stoked about Donald and Humphrey and was right about them. I sure as hell was wrong about Greg Robinson, among others. The list of 1st round busts is extensive, who were all picked by experts around the league and who thought particular players as being at the top of their draft boards. Even Creed Humphrey was not the first Center taken off the board.

Fisher's biggest problem was no QB...Bradford couldn't stay healthy and they couldn't find a replacement. That ultimately lead to teams that could have been 10 win teams in 2013'-15' with just solid QB play.

He also couldn't hire a legit OC, especially after Schottenheimer left. Everyone knew he was on last last legs as the HC so that job was a dead-end role.

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

Did Snead pick draft Greg Robinson as the #2 overall pick in 2014 when Khalil Mack was still on the board? We picked him because he was a freak physical specimen, but didn't know of his mental limitations. So no, there is no sure thing ANYWHERE in the draft.

I give Snead a pass on Greg. The Rams were desperate for an OLT. Greg was a physical freak. The next best OLT threatened to rape a rape victim if she talked. He had few options. Also Fisher valued athleticism over character. So He may have been a big influence.

Just look at Donald. If the Rams knew he'd be that dominant they would have taken him at 2 overall. Same with Kupp. We had some folks like Jrry screaming for Kupp in that draft but if the Rams knew he'd be that good they would have taken him a round earlier.

So like Les says he prefers the amount of picks to translate into more shots to hit on the top guys. I think he's right in that regard but they do need to do better with those round 2 picks. Whatever the dysfunction is identify it first then implement constraints to contain it. If they do that plus eliminate the raw athlete and oft-injured picks they should have a fine draft.

Les gambles. He gambled on Bobby Wagner for two nothing picks. He loves his extra picks strategy too much. It feels like he’s trying to outsmart the rest of the league with his idea. It doesn’t work all that well. I’d rather he go BPA with first and second round picks. Two mediocre players are not as good as one very good one. He also falls in love with freak athletes, even injured ones.

Fisher's biggest problem was no QB...Bradford couldn't stay healthy and they couldn't find a replacement. That ultimately lead to teams that could have been 10 win teams in 2013'-15' with just solid QB play.

He also couldn't hire a legit OC, especially after Schottenheimer left. Everyone knew he was on last last legs as the HC so that job was a dead-end role.

Fishers problem was that he knew nothing about offense but insisted on having his hands all over it. He was beyond conservative. He turned Bradford into Captain Checkdown. He couldn’t evaluate receivers, put out a terrible Oline, and brought in a lot of bad attitude ‘Me,me’ players. The defense was always good.

 

[Angry Ram]

I think...he was making a funny.

At least i hope he was. Hard to tell these days.

 

[OldSchool]

I think...he was making a funny.

At least i hope he was. Hard to tell these days.

I've seen too many people talk about the Rams trading Stafford to take anything for granted

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

I've seen too many people talk about the Rams trading Stafford to take anything for granted

They get asked about players every year and Les always explores the offers to see if it would be worth it.

Then the media translates that into the Rams are shopping so and so.

Les said he wasn’t shopping Stafford, Kupp, or AD.

 

[OldSchool]

They get asked about players every year and Les always explores the offers to see if it would be worth it.

Then the media translates that into the Rams are shopping so and so.

Les said he wasn’t shopping Stafford, Kupp, or AD.

Correct but I'm not talking about media idiots. I'm talking about Rams fans.

 

[El Chapo Jr]

---

The Lions look good.....on paper.
The Rams don't.....on paper
Let's see what happens. I have a feeling the Lions might not be as good as some think and the Rams might not be as bad.

But I gotta laugh just a bit. Fisher (and Snead) made the Rams into a "solid organization"? Since when in the hell is 7-9 SOLID? Proof of what 2-14, 1-15 and 4-12 can do to perspective!!! If that's your bar, you should be over the moon ecstatic with McVay and Snead.

On the " sure thing" picks in the draft, I'm talking about "no brainers"...read: the obvious great choices. Who would you take with the 6th pick in the draft (assuming they're both available) Will Anderson or Charlie Jones? There's no guaranted they're going to be what they're projected to be but it doesn't make one of them any less of a "no brainer". If there aren't "no brainers" isn't it a little ridiculous to criticize any pick made?

Though it might seem a concession to admit there are "no brainers" (as described), at least when you criticize a pick or a GM, it won't appear hippocritical. For instance, who was the "no brainer", Creed Humphrey or Tutu Atwell?

Look I'm not saying Fisher brought us to glory but he did bring us out of being the most embarrassing team to mediocre. He also played a part in some important pieces that McVay used to get us to get to the first aSB. The Rams did the right thing and got rid of him after Fisher took us as far as he could. I'm a true believer that you gotta embrace that history even if it wasn't ideal because it makes appreciating the struggle to success that much more. I mean he did have a had in drafting Jared Goff, Todd Gurley and Aaron Donald. We wouldn't have what we have today if Fisher wasn't part of our history. Ya can't discount that can you?

 

[FarNorth]

You are talking about CJ Gardener Johnson and who else? Cam Sutton? Emmanuel Moseley? That's the bar right now? Historically the Rams have been good at draft DBs and finding guys undrafted so why would they chase these guys in the first place?

Calais Campbell, isn't he like 40? This isn't 2013.

Also are you referring to David Montgomery? He's not better than Cam Akers. Couple things there...David Montgomery was outplayed by Khahil Herbert. Detroit didn't want to give Jamaal his contract demands, so they signed a guy to replace him, simple as that. More so, they signed a guy because so far D'Andre Swift (easily the most talented guy) hasn't worked due to injury. Let's not over value a slightly above average RB like David Montgomery. I think the Bears aren't gonna lose sleep over him...i actually think they're gonna take the Texas RB but thats a different subject.

And no the Rams wouldn't "kill" to be in their shoes. Can't imagine the conversation like this...

Sean: "Hey Les, I know we got a Super Bowl and all, but man wouldn't it be awesome to have the 6th pick right now?

Les: "But Sean, the 6th pick is only there because we stunk. Which is something we weren't expecting...a lot of things went wrong to be at 6."

Sean: "I knoooowww but it would be so awesome!"

Les: "Sean, I made the trades to win a title. Those things are hard enough to win, but we did and now it'll be forever in history long after we're gone."

Sean: "But the Lions have it now! Oh gosh darn it, they are gonna make headlines in April."

Les: "April....my focus is on September. And so should yours. More so actually."

One bad season isn't gonna deter our guys.



I'll admit i grilled the shit out of him and to his credit got a lot better last year. I still think he's a "perfect conditions" guy. The ultimate "if, then" QB. We'll see how he does when everything isn't perfect.



CJ Gardner Johnson is a decent player. But being ranked No. 11 (or 7 on NFL.com) in FA this year isn't anything to brag about. Guys like Daniel Jones are on the top 10 on those lists.

CJ wanted to get paid the big bucks, no one bit, and then Philly re-signed their top 2 CBs. CJ had to take less money w/ the Lions. I think he's the equivalent of Nickel-Robey Coleman. Let's not act like the Lions signed Darrelle Revis and Jalen Ramsey.



NFC Central?? The Bears have gotten better. The Vikings have gotten better. It's not gonna be an easy road for them.

Respectfully disagree.

Sutton and Gardner-Johnson are proven players who started for the Steelers and Eagles and were certainly sought after as free agents. Mosely started for the Niners and signed a two year $10m contract before being sidelined by injury which cut into his free agent value. So all three started for quality defensive teams with serious coaches. Not clear to me that the Rams have defensive backs who could be considered as proven or effective.

As for Montgomery, Lions signed him for 3 years $18m while Jamal Williams got $12m for three years from New Orleans. So that's a measure of market value. The Lions did want Williams back, but Montgomery is younger, better, and more versatile. Of course the Lions also have D'Andre Swift, who has been averaging 900+ combined yards for three years in the league.

As for Akers vs Montgomery, I would like to think Akers could be as good but he hasn't shown it. Akers has 1664 combined yards and 10 tds in three years. Montgomery has 4849 combined yards and 30 tds in four years. (stats below).

As for the Rams would kill to be in Detroit's shoes... I'm not saying the Rams regret trading for Stafford. We got what we bargained for and won the Super Bowl.

The Lions also got what they wanted. The Lions now have a young and talented team with a top 5 offense, led by Goff, and a defense that is likely about to be stacked with talent from free agency and the draft. In fairness, the Lions started a rebuild two earlier than the Rams, and with much higher draft picks. But the result is they are not only already a serious team but have a chance to get a lot better with 5 top 80 picks and salary cap left to spend.

The Rams have a much tougher road at the moment than the Lions, both to build a really first class roster overall (especially the D) and to win their conference. Not saying they can't compete. I hope they can. It's the NFL, winning or losing isn't set in stone. But imo right now the Lions objectively have a much better opportunity to be seriously competitive sooner.


AKERS: Career stats

Year	Team	ATT	YDS	AVG	TD	REC	YDS	AVG	TD
2022	Rams	188	786	4.2	7	13	117	9.0	0
2021	Rams	5	3	0.6	0	3	10	3.3	0
2020	Rams	145	625	4.3	2	11	123	11.2	1
Career		338	1,414	4.2	9	27	250	9.3	1

Montgomery:
Career stats

Year	Team	ATT	YDS	AVG	TD	REC	YDS	AVG	TD
2022	Bears	201	801	4.0	5	34	316	9.3	1
2021	Bears	225	849	3.8	7	42	301	7.2	0
2020	Bears	247	1,070	4.3	8	54	438	8.1	2
2019	Bears	242	889	3.7	6	25	185	7.4	1
Career		915	3,609	3.9	26	155	1,240	8.0	4

 

[PARAM]

5 years previous to Fisher 15-65
I said solid, not good. Doing over twice as well over the previous 5 years before Fish, is solid but not good enough. How is that lowering standards?

Well I didn't accuse you of intentionally lowering the standards. Conditioning lowered the standards. 15-65 is horrible and it could certainly make 31-48-1 appear solid to a hungry fanbase. But it isn't solid. Better yes but not solid. Look at it this way. The difference between the two, 16-17-1 is still under .500 which tells us how we were fooled. Not by any reasonable standard is either solid. Not the 16-17-1 or the 31-48-1.

Fisher's reign was not a dumpster fire as much as we didn't like his performance in the end. Look again at those records before Fish and how fucking bad it really was.

Oh it was a dumpster fire. It just wasn't the California-type forest fire (in Missouri) of Linehan and Spags.

Look I'm not saying Fisher brought us to glory but he did bring us out of being the most embarrassing team to mediocre. He also played a part in some important pieces that McVay used to get us to get to the first a SB. I'm a true believer that you gotta embrace that history even if it wasn't ideal because it makes appreciating the struggle to success that much more. I mean he did have a had in drafting Jared Goff, Todd Gurley and Aaron Donald. We wouldn't have what we have today if Fisher wasn't part of our history. Ya can't discount that can you?

Thank you. It went from embarrassing to almost mediocre. Mediocre would be 8-8 and that was never achieved once in 5 years. It certainly didn't go from terrible to solid. In no vocabulary is mediocre solid. Solidly mediocre? That fits.

Yes, we obtained Gurley, Donald, Goff (and don't forget Brockers, Havenstein and Higbee) under Fisher. 6 pieces that were a big part of the 2018 run to the Superbowl, so for that, I will always be grateful. I will also be grateful that Goff only had to spend 7 starts under Fisher because any more than that, 12, 14, 16, etc and he might have been ruined beyond repair.

 

[FarNorth]

Why are you quoting me?
I'm talking about the players he gets the credit for. He wasnt the GM here, he was a scout. And yet he doesnt want the guys the Rams drafted. He's doing an amazing job in Detroit, I think its great. But the idea that has been floated that he was some sort of mastermind here is laughable
Oh, and Fisher hand picked Goff

Not singling you or anyone out. But you pointed out that Holmes didn't want the guys the Rams (collectively, not just Holmes) drafted. To me the reason is that Holmes has signed other free agents who he wanted more. They also cost more than most of the Rams current castoffs, but Detroit had the cap space to sign them.

I am very aware that Goff was Fisher's choice for the top pick in the draft. Holmes however chose to trade for him (and two first round picks). So Goff was a Rams draft pick who Holmes did want. At the moment it seems to be working out for both of them in Detroit.

 

[FarNorth]

Just look at Donald. If the Rams knew he'd be that dominant they would have taken him at 2 overall. Same with Kupp. We had some folks like Jrry screaming for Kupp in that draft but if the Rams knew he'd be that good they would have taken him a round earlier.

So like Les says he prefers the amount of picks to translate into more shots to hit on the top guys. I think he's right in that regard but they do need to do better with those round 2 picks. Whatever the dysfunction is identify it first then implement constraints to contain it. If they do that plus eliminate the raw athlete and oft-injured picks they should have a fine draft.

My view: don't get too cute with trading down. Such as in trading down to enable the SeaHawks to draft Bobby Wagner instead of the Rams.

 

[PARAM]

My view: don't get too cute with trading down. Such as in trading down to enable the SeaHawks to draft Bobby Wagner instead of the Rams.

Actually trading down works if there are more guys on the top of your board than the slots you trade down. When your first pick is #36, after you stack your board, you can put a line under 36. If 5 guys above the line are still on the board when you number comes up, trading down 4 slots gets you one of those guys and another pick. Because chances are, if you take one at 36, the other four will be gone by the time 67 comes around.

 

[FarNorth]

Actually trading down works if there are more guys on the top of your board than the slots you trade down.

Whoever we had else we had on the top of our board for those slots that draft year wasn't as good as Bobby Wagner.