Expect the Unexpected this Offseason?

[CGI_Ram]

With free agency just a couple of weeks away… I have no idea what our offseason strategy will be… The Rams have proven the ability to build their roster whatever the situation requires, so…

Do we sign a name FA? Or do we stay more in the value market?

Do we make a splash trade, reminiscent of that 2021 offseason? A big time player like L'Jarius Sneed?

What about pick #19? Do we trade down in attempt to stack the odds, by increasing the pick count?

Do we do something crazy like trade up?

The Rams have shown they can do it all, so maybe it’s a mashup of multiple strategies?

One thing is for sure… with the 12th most cap room in the league, the Rams have a plan. It’s going to be fun to watch, but hard to predict!

GO RAMS!

 

[Allen2McVay]

With free agency just a couple of weeks away… I have no idea what our offseason strategy will be… The Rams have proven the ability to build their roster whatever the situation requires, so…

Do we sign a name FA? Or do we stay more in the value market?

...

One thing is for sure… with the 12th most cap room in the league, the Rams have a plan. It’s going to be fun to watch, but hard to predict!

GO RAMS!

The 48-hour Negotiation Window starts one week from tomorrow ... March 11th.

Although nothing is official, there will be reports of agreements in place just eight days from now.

This week, teams will finalize Franchise Tags, and will need to make tender offers to Restricted free agents.

 

[LARAMSinFeb.]

It's nice we have the full range of options at our disposal, to build upon an already winning young team.

 

[Merlin]

Yeah they are bold and unpredictable. No telling.

My current expectation is they are going to sign the Dallas LT. He has been injured a lot but he wants a title and we have a stud vet QB to protect and it seems they are trying to figure out how to keep Boom at depth cost. Signing him they slide Jackson over to RG and draft a center round 3.

So at that point there are 3 high picks left and the OL is solved. This is an epic WR draft. Fucking insane. So one pick is wideout, could be first or second round.

2 high picks left. These are almost surely defense. Corner and edge.

Rounds 5 to 7 I expect RB, returner, teams, safety types.

If this is the plan then we probably see some cheap FA defenders too. The budget types to help fill that defensive roster here and there. Probably a couple. And maybe a vet RB.

Either way FA will clear up a lot thankfully.

 

[OldSchool]

Expect the team to improve and a lot of fans not happy about how they did it! We already have some throwing out the regular phrases like they have to do this or that or they aren't thinking or they aren't serious etc etc etc.

 

[Flatlyner]

I've seen on X (twitter) today talk that the Rams are working out a deal to trade for Sneed. I wonder if that has any legs to it and what we are giving up. The mention was day 2 picks. Personally, I'm not that excited by that. The easiest starting position to fill at 19 is CB IMO. Hell, there is an outside shot we could get a guy like McKinstry in the 2nd. Snead is getting 19.8/m on the tag and likely is expecting a contract in the neighborhood of 20m+. He's 27.

We have far less chance of filling the edge position via the draft, so that is where I'd prefer our capital went.

Of course this could all come from a Sports Illustrated column stating that the Rams should send an offer....

 

[OldSchool]

I've seen on X (twitter) today talk that the Rams are working out a deal to trade for Sneed. I wonder if that has any legs to it and what we are giving up. The mention was day 2 picks. Personally, I'm not that excited by that. The easiest starting position to fill at 19 is CB IMO. Hell, there is an outside shot we could get a guy like McKinstry in the 2nd. Snead is getting 19.8/m on the tag and likely is expecting a contract in the neighborhood of 20m+. He's 27.

We have far less chance of filling the edge position via the draft, so that is where I'd prefer our capital went.

Of course this could all come from a Sports Illustrated column stating that the Rams should send an offer....

Who said this on X?

 

[Flatlyner]

I saw Ellenbogen responding to it then saw a bunch more posts referencing that it was mentioned (no Schefy or anything). Again, no idea if this has legs or if it is from the SI article (likely). It sure would not be a surprise if they did it though. I suppose they are just shoring up weaknesses and CB could still be the pick at 19 if they traded. More likely, they'd be drafting a OL if this occurred unless Latu fell.

 

[OldSchool]

I saw Ellenbogen responding to it then saw a bunch more posts referencing that it was mentioned (no Schefy or anything). Again, no idea if this has legs or if it is from the SI article (likely). It sure would not be a surprise if they did it though. I suppose they are just shoring up weaknesses and CB could still be the pick at 19 if they traded. More likely, they'd be drafting a OL if this occurred unless Latu fell.

Linking the tweets is always good IMO. Sounds like it's some fan idea or something. Would be interesting if the Chiefs a SB favorite traded their best CB to an NFC contender.

 

[Flatlyner]

Linking the tweets is always good IMO. Sounds like it's some fan idea or something. Would be interesting if the Chiefs a SB favorite traded their best CB to an NFC contender.

Yeah, I was in bed this morning scrolling. If it had been a reputable source, I'd have definitely linked it.

 

[AvengerRam]

I break it down this way…

The only position group at risk of significant FA erosion is the OL, so that needs to be addressed in one way or another.

Once that is addressed, the Rams have areas that need bolstering (pass rush, ILB, DB) others that could use depth (QB, RB, WR, TE, DL).

That creates a lot of options which leads to unpredictability.

 

[Angry Ram]

My "bookmark thread" trigger finger is ready!!!

 

[Merlin]

LT, CB1, and ROLB are cornerstone need spots for us. So removing any of those via FA represents an enormous win. Trading that pick at 19, however, which is obviously going to be a fine player potentially, is not a good idea.

So using Sneed as an example I would not be willing to give that 19 overall pick up for him. This is because that pick can garner us a similar level of player with team control for 5 years.

I would be willing to move that second rounder for him, though, assuming we could work something out with him on the contract side that is palatable. This is because we are unlikely to find a player of his caliber in that pick range. Possible of course but much more iffy I think. He's a baller.

Alternate approach would be go get Kenny Moore to solve our slot position, and add Uche to give us a third down rush addition prior to the draft. Moore frees up Lake for the safety pairing. Now even with no more additions in the draft outside the hash we gotta fill two roles with Durant, Tomlinson, and Kendrick. Not nearly as ideal as adding Sneed. But certainly cheaper and you keep your picks.

Whatever they do if they dip into FA it should be to solve a cornerstone spot. Seeing as how they are unlikely to retain Dotson at this point.

 

[ScotsRam]

Yeah they are bold and unpredictable. No telling.

My current expectation is they are going to sign the Dallas LT. He has been injured a lot but he wants a title and we have a stud vet QB to protect and it seems they are trying to figure out how to keep Boom at depth cost. Signing him they slide Jackson over to RG and draft a center round 3.

So at that point there are 3 high picks left and the OL is solved. This is an epic WR draft. Fucking insane. So one pick is wideout, could be first or second round.

2 high picks left. These are almost surely defense. Corner and edge.

Rounds 5 to 7 I expect RB, returner, teams, safety types.

If this is the plan then we probably see some cheap FA defenders too. The budget types to help fill that defensive roster here and there. Probably a couple. And maybe a vet RB.

Either way FA will clear up a lot thankfully.

I would do unspeakable things to sign the Dallas LT.

 

[Merlin]

I would do unspeakable things to sign the Dallas LT.

He is extremely risky. But if they were to get a full season from him it would be fireworks. It's a tough call. At his age he's probably not gonna get a huge contract. So as long as they structure it to where they can escape I'd be fine with it.

 

[Flatlyner]

LT, CB1, and ROLB are cornerstone spots for us. So removing any of those via FA represents an enormous win. Trading that pick at 19, however, which is obviously going to be a fine player potentially, is not a good idea.

So using Sneed as an example I would not be willing to give that 19 overall pick up for him. This is because that pick can garner us a similar level of player with team control for 5 years.

I would be willing to move that second rounder for him, though, assuming we could work something out with him on the contract side that is palatable. This is because we are unlikely to find a player of his caliber in that pick range. Possible of course but much more iffy I think. He's a baller.

Alternate approach would be go get Kenny Moore to solve our slot position, and add Uche to give us a third down rush addition prior to the draft. Moore frees up Lake for the safety pairing. Now even with no more additions in the draft outside the hash we gotta fill two roles with Durant, Tomlinson, and Kendrick. Not nearly as ideal as adding Sneed. But certainly cheaper and you keep your picks.

Whatever they do if they dip into FA it should be to solve a cornerstone spot. Seeing as how they are unlikely to retain Dotson at this point.

Great post and I agree for the most part. In no way would I ever give up 19 for Sneed. It'd be different if he wasn't needing a contract right now, but he does and it will not be cheap at all. Though, as I mentioned, I'd much rather (if we are set on trading for a vet) make the trade at another position. I feel very good about this CB class and our chances at 19 in getting a top 2-3 guy, perhaps our #1 CB.

Not to mention, the drop off to 2nd round CB's isn't very steep (McKinstry, Lassiter, Rakestraw, KAD. Melton, Tampa). A lot of folks are down on McKinstry, I'm not. The opposing team only targeted his guy 39 times over the entire season (Arnold had 79). They simply were not throwing his way. I'll be very interested in his athletic testing once healthy.

 

[Flatlyner]

He is extremely risky. But if they were to get a full season from him it would be fireworks. It's a tough call. At his age he's probably not gonna get a huge contract. So as long as they structure it to where they can escape I'd be fine with it.

He did play 13 games this year, which is good for him as his last 3 years prior were 2-11-4. He hasn't played in all games since 2015.

 

[ScotsRam]

He is extremely risky. But if they were to get a full season from him it would be fireworks. It's a tough call. At his age he's probably not gonna get a huge contract. So as long as they structure it to where they can escape I'd be fine with it.

With Boom and Jackson on the roster there's room to take a swing IMO.

 

[Ram Ts]

He mentioned day 2 picks. So I’m guessing the thought was the #2 pick and a 3rd. That’s not a bad deal to lock dock a CB1 spot. Allows 19 to be used on anything else like OL edge or WR. Even trade back to recoup a day 2 pick.

 

[Merlin]

He did play 13 games this year, which is good for him as his last 3 years prior were 2-11-4. He hasn't played in all games since 2015.

Yeah and him just happening to play so many games his FA season is convenient isn't it.

But the guy locks it down on that blindside when he's healthy. So idk. My rationale in expecting the Rams to go after him is we probably only have 2 years left with Stafford. So why not roll the dice there and load up weapons and defense.