Cooks' visit with specialist went well, Rams to be cautious

[tomas]

ean McVay said Cooks was doing well the day after the game, which was a good sign. Still, it’s unclear exactly when Cooks will be back on the field. Expect the Rams to exercise extra precautionary measures before he suits up again

McVay is being politically correct- Cooks passed the concussion protocol 100% guarantee he plays Sunday.

 

[BonifayRam]

McVay is being politically correct- Cooks passed the concussion protocol 100% guarantee he plays Sunday.

Just maybe McVay may want to utilize Higbee/ Everett/ Woods/ Kupp/ Reynolds & Thomas going over the middle of the field instead of dinky Cooks.

Yes use Cooks in the line up but let him run those much safer routes away from those head-hunting safeties & deep large Lb'ers for a while ...you think?

 

[Zaphod]

Even if he was healthy the offense has changed since we signed him. He isn't nearly the fit he used to be. Fewer deep passes.

While I agree with your sentiment, I think we all know that there will be a time that McVay has to exploit vertical threats again, and then it's really just a matter of whether or not we believe the team has the players to do that now, considering what that vertical stretch may evolve into.

 

[tomas]

Just maybe McVay may want to utilize Higbee/ Everett/ Woods/ Kupp/ Reynolds & Thomas going over the middle of the field instead of dinky Cooks.

Yes use Cooks in the line up but let him run those much safer routes away from those head-hunting safeties & deep large Lb'ers for a while ...you think?

Yep- use cooks to stretch the field vertically and take the top off the defense.

 

[Zaphod]

Just maybe McVay may want to utilize Higbee/ Everett/ Woods/ Kupp/ Reynolds & Thomas going over the middle of the field instead of dinky Cooks.

Yes use Cooks in the line up but let him run those much safer routes away from those head-hunting safeties & deep large Lb'ers for a while ...you think?

I think that's been their plan all along, but it's also an aspect of predictability if you compare the routes he's running outside with the targets/touches he's getting.

 

[Merlin]

Obviously we're going to see even more 12 personnel going forward. Not to mention JRey splitting snaps with him. And when he's on the field the Rams will lower his number of digs, slants, etc., as well as have Goff be careful throwing to him on reads when he is running those types of routes.

It's time to get back to running the ball well and taking shots over the top. That's who we are and you can still do that in 12 personnel.

 

[ramfan46]

Cooks needs to learn how to get down like Bruce and Holt. He takes on contact, but comes out on the losing end of it. He plays with a tough guy mentality. It’s time to play with a smart guy mentality of keeping yourself healthy. An extra yard or two doesn’t mean much at the end of a 15-20 yard pass completion. Get out of bounds or get down!

 

[PressureD41]

re: 12 personnel I just hope we can fix the interior OL so we can do so. I been banging the table for more 12 personnel, BUT I question if we have the push up front. Edwards appears to be an improvement but to what extent tho. RG needs help as Hav doesn't have the skill set to be the baby sitter for them.

 

[Ram65]

I don't know what McVay will do with Cooks and the player personnel groupings. Just when you think he will go to 12P he doesn't. I have not looked at the Steelers defense this year. I think he will attack them with the groupings he likes. I can see him being somewhat mindful of keeping cooks safe but, doubt he changes much because of Cooks. When you change things up injuries can happen more. Cooks might be smart to go down as Bruce did. He also needs to stop ducking his head before hits.

 

[OldSchool]

View: https://twitter.com/LindseyThiry/status/1191807992603262978

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

I never understood the Moncrief hype, he's one of the most average to under achieving WR's in the league. I'd rather Reynolds get Cooks' snaps if he were shut down.

I remember when Greg Fossella was a thing. He had very detailed Evals on players. He tabbed Donte Moncrief as a real sleeper and possibility the best WR in his class.

I guess statements like that are why we don't hear much from Cossell these days.

 

[MadGoat]

View: https://twitter.com/gregbeacham/status/1192187162453630976

 

[Memento]

Cooks should really, really think about retiring. I'm worried for his health.

 

[PhillyRam]

Cooks should really, really think about retiring. I'm worried for his health.

True, its sad seeing these guys who become a shell of themselves. The guy is a wealthy man, he needs to enjoy it. It would horrible if he could not.

And we certainly could use a settlement and the cap space as well so it would not kill the Rams either.

 

[Loyal]

True, its sad seeing these guys who become a shell of themselves. The guy is a wealthy man, he needs to enjoy it. It would horrible if he could not.

And we certainly could use a settlement and the cap space as well so it would not kill the Rams either.

I mean, even if it did hurt the Rams, the guy deserves to have a good life if he can. That trumps football with me.

 

[SeminoleRam]

Cooks should really, really think about retiring. I'm worried for his health.

 

[SeminoleRam]

Stupid Question! IF, Cooks (Or, Todd Gurley OR Any NFL Player) decided to retire due to health reasons what IF ANYTHING does that do to their (Any NFL Team?) with their salary cap situation? Would the Rams be stuck with Cooks and Gurley’s current contracts?

 

[Ellard80]

Stupid Question! IF, Cooks (Or, Todd Gurley OR Any NFL Player) decided to retire due to health reasons what IF ANYTHING does that do to their (Any NFL Team?) with their salary cap situation? Would the Rams be stuck with Cooks and Gurley’s current contracts?

When a player retires they only have to pay his signing bonus... everything else is cleared.

When he got hit and I saw him go limp.... my first instinct/reaction was he is done, that's twice in a month and he had one last year.

 

[PhillyRam]

I was just looking this up on overthecap.com ... I am no expert, but from what I can see they have two options.

They can come to a settlement after June 1st and then his accelerated cap hit for his remaining prorated bonus money can be spread over two years.

So his accelerated bonus money comes to $17.8M in 2020. He also gets a $4M roster bonus when the new league yr starts. So that's $21.8M cap hit in 2020.

So if you spread it over two yrs, his 2020 cap hit is $10.9M per yr. Then again in 2021.

His current cap hit for 2020 is $16.8M. So by doing the post June 1st cap hit, it lowers his cap number by $6M in 2020.

Now they still have $10.9M of dead money in 2020 and also in 2021, but it saves the Rams $6M of additional cap space in 2020 over what they are on the hook for now. Might let them keep a guy like Littleton.

The other option would be if he decided to retire they could take the entire $17.8 hit this year and not have to pay him the $4M roster bonus in March.

So in that case the cap takes an additional $1M hit over his current cap number of $16.8M, but then no hit in 2021.

This obviously causes more pain now, but he would be off the books thereafter.

 

[OntarioRam]

Gotta hope Cooks makes the right decision. Everyone is saying that retirement would be for the best. I'll leave that to the doctors to opine on. If they recommend retirement, however, I sure hope Cooks listens. If the doctors feel he can safely keep playing as long as he rests up until this is fully healed - and that might well mean shutting him down until the 2020-21 season - that is fine too.

From a purely business perspective, the cap relief would be nice. However, the team would certainly need to find another deep threat to replace what Cooks brings to the roster. I also find Cooks has a habit of coming up big in key games. He seemed to always make some big catches against New Orleans last year. And in the Super Bowl he was quite effective - Goff was just a tick late finding him, although you'd still like to see Cooks be able to hang onto at least one of those would-be TD passes.