Memento
Your (Somewhat) Friendly Neighborhood Authoress.
- Joined
- Jul 30, 2010
- Messages
- 18,324
- Name
- Jemma
Havenstein is the last St. Louis Ram that is still on our team, and one of the few remaining in the league, now that AD has retired.
I love the guy's stability, consistency, and ability to get leverage for such a tall man...but he is getting much older, and he has had nagging injuries that have kept him off the field occasionally.
I'm not saying get rid of Havenstein at all. I'm saying we need to start thinking about succession plans on the bookends, particularly if A-Jax leaves in free agency. Warren McClendon played well in Havenstein's stead during the Seattle game. He's not a left tackle, he proved that against the Lions, but as a right tackle, he could be more than just serviceable; he could be an answer.
Which leaves left tackle to figure out. I believe in the Avila/Limmer combo at left guard and center. Dotson's rock-solid, but I worry about injuries; he's been playing hurt all year, and he's got a similar contract to Jonah Jackson, which makes it easy to get out of, just in case. We have guys like Leveston, Dedich, McMahon, and Bruss as potential backups and J-Jax as a potential trade chip; teams will go for offensive linemen on relatively cheap contracts.
But if A-Jax leaves in free agency - or even if we franchise tag him - we need to think of a plan for eventually getting a left tackle. I don't like the options available in free agency for left tackles, A-Jax aside, so I think someone is going to pay him a ridiculous amount of cash.
I love the guy's stability, consistency, and ability to get leverage for such a tall man...but he is getting much older, and he has had nagging injuries that have kept him off the field occasionally.
I'm not saying get rid of Havenstein at all. I'm saying we need to start thinking about succession plans on the bookends, particularly if A-Jax leaves in free agency. Warren McClendon played well in Havenstein's stead during the Seattle game. He's not a left tackle, he proved that against the Lions, but as a right tackle, he could be more than just serviceable; he could be an answer.
Which leaves left tackle to figure out. I believe in the Avila/Limmer combo at left guard and center. Dotson's rock-solid, but I worry about injuries; he's been playing hurt all year, and he's got a similar contract to Jonah Jackson, which makes it easy to get out of, just in case. We have guys like Leveston, Dedich, McMahon, and Bruss as potential backups and J-Jax as a potential trade chip; teams will go for offensive linemen on relatively cheap contracts.
But if A-Jax leaves in free agency - or even if we franchise tag him - we need to think of a plan for eventually getting a left tackle. I don't like the options available in free agency for left tackles, A-Jax aside, so I think someone is going to pay him a ridiculous amount of cash.