Heresy in the age of Free Agency

[Loyal]

Been saying it too, Mack, that it might be necessary. Fans don't want to hear it, but if the dude refuses to consider anything but shattering the bank the Rams need to move on. Hope they can get 'er done, but if not so be it make the hard call and make sure you don't F up the picks.

No DT is worth $20M. I love AD but the dude ain't a QB, and he's not a DE either who can get more consistent pressures due to the nature of the edge and difficulty doubling out there. Hope it gets done, again, but if not gonna move on and watch them assemble a great defense without him.

You guys are serious.....

 

[Billy Baroo]

“Easley replaces AD”.
Bwaaahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!!!

 

[dieterbrock]

Long winded answer,

No

 

[Stl2La]

Been saying it too, Mack, that it might be necessary. Fans don't want to hear it, but if the dude refuses to consider anything but shattering the bank the Rams need to move on. Hope they can get 'er done, but if not so be it make the hard call and make sure you don't F up the picks.

No DT is worth $20M. I love AD but the dude ain't a QB, and he's not a DE either who can get more consistent pressures due to the nature of the edge and difficulty doubling out there. Hope it gets done, again, but if not gonna move on and watch them assemble a great defense without him.

Aaron Donald leads the entire nfl in qb pressures. That includes all edge rushers. He’s doing that as a 3 tech that faces double teams all the time. Not his fault the edge rushers on the rams aren’t that great this season. Let’s ship Quinn and others out before we move the arguably the best defensive player in the league.

 

[Tron]

Love ya Mack but have to say no to this. If for some stupid reason they did trade AD, that is not nearly enough compensation.

 

[Corbin]

Mac as unpopular as your idea and discussion is you got balls of steel, Duke Nukem would be proud of you! Haha


Trading AD is not a crazy idea IMO especially since he seems to be a problem waiting to happen due to his holdout BS already. Not of big fan of that shit and regardless I think he’ll be a huge issue this next off season.

Not only that but we have Jared coming up for contract in 3 years, with paying AD all this money that would put us in a bind with less than decent players elsewhere because of two high paid players. Send his ass to the Browns if he wants to have attitude and only play for money.


That being said couple things to comment on your ideas.

1. As @Rams43 pointed out what AD would fetch in a trade is underestimated. IMO we could get a lot more and trade with the Browns makes a lot more sense with their available cap room. I would take their 2018 1,2,3 2019 2,3 and Jabril Peppers.

Imagine would Snead could do in trades for our team without Fishers ass around with those extras picks?


2. We can’t rely on Dominique Easley for 2 reasons. He has huge health issue concerns and he has potential attitude problems which is part of the reason the Pats let him go. I rather go after someone in the draft or FA TBH.

3. I love the idea of the Alabama NT. Dudes a beast and would be a cheap way of continuing the consistency of the DL.

 

[Debacled]

Trading your best player pretty much never makes a team better. Doesn't matter if they have to pay him 20m a year. They are paying Tru 16m a year for middling at best CB play and it hasn't hamstrung the team. Develop talent to pay your own dudes, not go out and blow buku bucks on guys who played for other teams especially when you don't even know if they'll be a great fit.

Its a Browns move.

 

[1maGoh]

I kind of feel, just based on my own intuition and nothing else, that AD either wants oodles and oodles of money or to play for the Steelers... where he'll only get oodles and half an oodles of money (meaning not that much less but more friendly).

People have really irrational devotions to the places they're raised. Lots of people. He might be one of them. It seems that way to me from the way far outside.

If he's made it clear that he either wants all the money or to leave for the East coast, trading him might be the best option.

I'd love to keep him, but one thing I've learned in life is that it's all going to crap and nothing breaks your way. I wouldn't expect this to work out well either. Might as well get what we can before we walk away with nothing.

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

Draft picks are hit or miss. Donald is a sure thing.

He's the best interior DLinemen to come along in years. You don't trade that for picks unless you think he is close to going over the hump.

If I did pick that high, I would target Christian Wilkins over Payne. Space eaters are available later and Wilkins is a do it all DT with size and speed.

 

[bluecoconuts]

I'm not big on trading a future HOF talent and best defensive player in the NFL for a bunch of question marks, personally. I'll pass.

 

[RamsOfCastamere]

Don't say that! That's like saying Voldemort!

 

[CanadaRam]

The scenario could happen but not this off-season,
The Rams have Donald on the cheap for 2 years still, one year at 8.5M and the first tag year.
Also it will be much easier to agree. For this year, AD was probably looking for somewhere close to 18M per year. This year will be about the same so the Rams did not have to add an additional 16M this year.

He will remain a Ram a long time, especially now that he sees the needle pointed in the right direction and playing on a train inning team.

 

[Mojo Ram]

Firstly, I know that even the idea of this is heresy to RamNation.

I get it. Thing is... if the goal is winning the Super Bowl, there's an off-chance that this might be the better road.

So, this is simply a scenario. I'm not promoting this. I just think it's important for discussion (and you can bet that in the quiet moments away from the building, Snead and Demoff have had this conversation... probably more than once.

Okay, enough. Here goes.

It involves the trade of Aaron Donald. (ducks) Hear me out. I dunno what the issue was with signing the deal this past off-season, but JJ Watt has started to make me rethink this whole notion that Donald HAS to be a Ram at any costs.

So, here's what I thought:

Now, understand much of this is predicated on Dominique Easley coming back full strength.

Trade Aaron Donald to the Indianapolis Colts. Easley replaces AD.

The trade would be AD for the Colts' 1st and 3rd rounders this year and 2nd next year. For a top 5 NFL defensive talent still on his rookie contract, that's honestly a steal, but the upcoming contract mitigates that.

FA – Acquire Malcolm Butler, CB. Resign Trumaine Johnson. Sign Longacre to an extension and Resign Barwin to a short contract.

Draft:

1a) Da'Ron Payne, NT, Alabama. Dude's a physical freak at the NT spot with already developed pass rush moves and the strength and ability to move the pile. The more I read up on him, the more I see teams that will trade up for him. We'd need to be at the Colts' spot to get him as I see him more and more as being a top 5 guy that teams will be interested in at the 1tech DT spot in a 4-3 D as well as NT in a 3-4. This guy won't last until our spot in the 20s. A DL of Brockers, Payne and Easley would actually be better overall than what we have now. Overall. And yeah, we'd miss AD.

1b) Josh Jackson, CB, Iowa who's straight up balling out this year. Actually, Jackson may have risen above Tarvarus McFadden, CB, FSU and I'd be happy with either. Both are press-man CBs who fit this scheme. With Butler, Johnson and a top rookie CB as well as NRC and Webster, we would go a long way to solidifying the back end. And we'd have depth to withstand losing guys like Webster in 2019 if Jackson makes the steps he should make.

If Dorance Armstrong, Jr, OLB, Kansas is there at some point in the mid 2nd, I can see Snead trading our early 3rd and 4th for a 2nd to nab him. Otherwise:

3a) Porter Gustin, OLB, USC. He's had injuries, but the talent and athleticism is there as well as a Chris Long type motor. He might slide because of injuries and that'd be fine as he looks like a young Conor Barwin, but with more upside. Already plays the run strong.



3b) Lorenzo Carter, OLB, Georgia. We've done well with UGA OLBs and Carter is more of a pass rusher than Gustin who sets the edge well, but needs development time as a rusher. Carter is ready to rush as a rookie.

How does this change things?

Well, firstly, we'd have depth at CB and OLB, something we don't really have now. And we'd have rounds 4, 6, and 7 as well as UDFA to improve the OL, TE and maybe RB or WR depth.

Secondly, we'd have a better DL across the board (that's saying the improvement from the NT position going from Walker to Payne would offset the drop from AD to Easley which while some, isn't massive.)

Moreover, we'd have plenty of money to lock up our younger players which is key to having the kind of long term success we want.

Would I prefer Donald retire as a Ram more than a decade from now having rewritten the record books? Of course. But football is a business and we may not have a choice in this matter.

Something to consider.

I chose the Colts because they have the cap space to nab an FA QB if Luck isn't going to play again (looking at you, Cousins) AND pay Donald. And they have a top 5 pick at this time and there aren't any top QB prospects this year. No top 1-3 guys, anyway. Works for the Colts because they already have a lot of pieces on O and adding AD would alleviate some of the pressure on their Dbs.

Anyway, I see us having a very bright future and I see that with or without AD. I know... that feels strange to even think that.

 

[ScotsRam]

I spoke to Demoff at the London game about the Donald contract and he basically said we did nothing with his holdout because he had two years left. I was actually really pleased to hear that because an early extension sets a dangerous precedent in my opinion. If they want to keep him this offseason they will.

 

[Petrowsky]

This scenario was automatic loser for me when we traded Donald. And getting nothing for him made it even worse. Pass.

IF the Rams were going to trade Donald, I feel the Browns offer the best chance to get fair value in return. They have a lot of cap space over the next few years, a ton of picks, and Gregg Williams.

 

[RamDino]

I spoke to Demoff at the London game about the Donald contract and he basically said we did nothing with his holdout because he had two years left. I was actually really pleased to hear that because an early extension sets a dangerous precedent in my opinion. If they want to keep him this offseason they will.

This might be all there is to it. Kahlil Mack or Odell Beckham Jr didn't receive extensions either, and they are great players.

 

[PhillyRam]

Trading your best player pretty much never makes a team better. Doesn't matter if they have to pay him 20m a year. They are paying Tru 16m a year for middling at best CB play and it hasn't hamstrung the team. Develop talent to pay your own dudes, not go out and blow buku bucks on guys who played for other teams especially when you don't even know if they'll be a great fit.

Its a Browns move.

The Pats have traded top talent all the time.... See Chandler Jones

 

[PhillyRam]

Also, one argument tgat you could make right now.... Who are the top 3 players the Rams could not afford to lose down the stretch?

You could argue that Donald would not be among the top 3 or 4 players.

Goff, Gurley, Whitworth, and Trumane Johnson would all be bigger losses and that would be due almost as much to the position they play than how good they are in sone instances. You could also throw in Ogletree as well.

So if a guy is the 5th or 6th most important player, despite how great he is, can you make him your highest paid player?

 

[TexasRam]

I’m not trading Donald, but if he absolutely forced my hand I would take no less than a young pro bowler (already established in the NFL) and a first rounder as a starting discussion point. Along with a few other picks.

 

[Mikey Ram]

Also, one argument tgat you could make right now.... Who are the top 3 players the Rams could not afford to lose down the stretch?

You could argue that Donald would not be among the top 3 or 4 players.

Goff, Gurley, Whitworth, and Trumane Johnson would all be bigger losses and that would be due almost as much to the position they play than how good they are in sone instances. You could also throw in Ogletree as well.

So if a guy is the 5th or 6th most important player, despite how great he is, can you make him your highest paid player?

The arguably best defensive player in the NFL is only the 5th or 6th best player in this team ???