Moving on from Ramsey, Wagner and Floyd about more than just money?

[AvengerRam]

This offseason, the Rams parted ways with their three best defenders not named Aaron Donald: Jalen Ramsey, Bobby Wagner and Leonard Floyd. Ramsey was traded for Hunter Long and a draft pick that yielded the promising Byron Young, but Wagner was released and Floyd simply not re-signed.

The primary motivator behind these moves, of course, was money. The Rams needed to trim the payroll, and only three highly-paid vets (Matthew Stafford, Cooper Kupp and Donald) were deemed untouchable.

I think, though, that there might be a secondary reason in addition to the cap relief (immediate and long-term) realized by these moves.

The Rams are clearly starting something of a youth movement, particularly on defense. I submit that the three departed would not have fit well in that plan.

Ramsey, for all his elite skills, was not an elite teammate or leader. Sorry, he just wasn't. From his penchant for unnecessary commentary, to his publicly chastising teammates, to his occasional freelancing/lapses in coverage, he's not exactly a role model. Without him, others will have to step up and play as a unit, rather than as the back-up singers to a clear headliner.

Wagner is a great leader, but I wonder if the Rams felt that his presence was holding Ernest Jones and others back to some degree. It was great that Jones could learn from a future HOFer, but not its time for him to take the reigns.

Floyd was a good player for us. Good. Not great. Now, we'll be giving his reps to young players (including Young, Hoecht and Hampton) in the hope of finding someone great (or, at least, as good with a much lower price tag).

So, out with the old, and in with the new... except for Uncle Aaron, who will make them all better!

 

[Londoner]

Broadly agreed; it’s better to have proper role models for the youngsters and give them the time and space to flourish.

Saving money definitely helps, though.

 

[Snaz]

Ramsey = Freelancer Maybe
Wagner = While he played well didn't improve the defense especially in the run game. Wasted contract.
Floyd = Played hurt maybe? Either something was off, or he really declined last season.

But youth movement makes sense.

 

[Merlin]

So, out with the old, and in with the new... except for Uncle Aaron, who will make them all better!

Yeah it was a great read by the Rams I think to make the moves they did.

The defense was not good and they addressed not only the problem of overpaid players not producing but also the coaching staff changes that hurt the unit last year were fixed. Morris deserves some of the cred good and bad but he did not have a good setup in that secondary room. And they had a bad combo of an elite name not playing up to his usual level in Ramsey plus guys on the depth chart that were just sucking oxygen.

Offense gets a pass by many due to the injuries on that OL but they were shit before the injuries started. They looked like a losing team's OL in that opener vs a legit playoff team. So if they can rebound alone things will look a lot different, starting with us being actually in most games.

We are relying on two young players to step in and kick ass at OG. If that doesn't happen though this could get real fugly because it is unlikely this defense can be a unit we rely on. But maybe it can be a unit that can compliment an explosive offense. So I agree with the sentiment that the offense is going to dictate our season this year.

 

[CGI_Ram]

Ramsey, for all his elite skills, was not an elite teammate or leader. Sorry, he just wasn't. From his penchant for unnecessary commentary, to his publicly chastising teammates, to his occasional freelancing/lapses in coverage, he's not exactly a role model. Without him, others will have to step up and play as a unit, rather than as the back-up singers to a clear headliner.

Wagner is a great leader, but I wonder if the Rams felt that his presence was holding Ernest Jones and others back to some degree. It was great that Jones could learn from a future HOFer, but not its time for him to take the reigns.

Floyd was a good player for us. Good. Not great. Now, we'll be giving his reps to young players (including Young, Hoecht and Hampton) in the hope of finding someone great (or, at least, as good with a much lower price tag).

I can’t help but wonder if Ramsey will be a difficult player in the locker room as his skills erode. Put me in the camp that believes that time hasn’t happened YET, but it’s close.

I’ll always remember Ramsey’s last game with us… with all our star players out with injury, Ramsey balled out and had a great game. Respect!

Wagner was probably the hardest to see go for me. He is such a solid player, STILL. Dependable in the run game. Time for Ernest to step up… I think you’re right, he’s the reason we moved on from Wagner.

 

[Loyal]

Yeah it was a great read by the Rams I think to make the moves they did.

The defense was not good and they addressed not only the problem of overpaid players not producing but also the coaching staff changes that hurt the unit last year were fixed. Morris deserves some of the cred good and bad but he did not have a good setup in that secondary room. And they had a bad combo of an elite name not playing up to his usual level in Ramsey plus guys on the depth chart that were just sucking oxygen.

Offense gets a pass by many due to the injuries on that OL but they were shit before the injuries started. They looked like a losing team's OL in that opener vs a legit playoff team. So if they can rebound alone things will look a lot different, starting with us being actually in most games.

We are relying on two young players to step in and kick ass at OG. If that doesn't happen though this could get real fugly because it is unlikely this defense can be a unit we rely on. But maybe it can be a unit that can compliment an explosive offense. So I agree with the sentiment that the offense is going to dictate our season this year.

Oline hater!

 

[So Ram]

I can’t help but wonder if Ramsey will be a difficult player in the locker room as his skills erode. Put me in the camp that believes that time hasn’t happened YET, but it’s close.

I’ll always remember Ramsey’s last game with us… with all our star players out with injury, Ramsey balled out and had a great game. Respect!

Wagner was probably the hardest to see go for me. He is such a solid player, STILL. Dependable in the run game. Time for Ernest to step up… I think you’re right, he’s the reason we moved on from Wagner.

The post is of opinion.

The pokes at Ramsey were questionable.That niner game still kills Les Snead.Taylor Rapp & Ramsey.The Baltimore game was huge.My GF was mocking the rams.Was in the shower hearing about them fighting.TG for Eric Weedle.Ramsey respected him.
—Really enjoyed how Jalen grew as a person.Super cool to see.The Rams organization is Top notch.It was time for him to move on & look out AFC East.Then again does Aaron Rigers have his number?

Bobby Wagner was perfect.It was money,but IMO The Rams defense is changing.You’ll see a lot more rotations & Ernest Jones is going to have more coverage situations.

Floyd couldn’t play RDE.Supporting the Run was tough.Hoecht will be questioned.Will be interesting to see the different rotations.

 

[FrantikRam]

It feels like Sean was always willing to give the d coordinators whatever they wanted and he finally snapped after last year when we should have been like Tampa....they won 8 games with a putrid offense because their defense was still elite. Blowing it against Seattle twice and getting destroyed by the Chargers and others was probably too much for McVay

 

[NorthernRam]

It feels like Sean was always willing to give the d coordinators whatever they wanted and he finally snapped after last year when we should have been like Tampa....they won 8 games with a putrid offense because their defense was still elite. Blowing it against Seattle twice and getting destroyed by the Chargers and others was probably too much for McVay

 

[dang]

It feels like Sean was always willing to give the d coordinators whatever they wanted and he finally snapped after last year when we should have been like Tampa....they won 8 games with a putrid offense because their defense was still elite. Blowing it against Seattle twice and getting destroyed by the Chargers and others was probably too much for McVay

I’m thinking 5-12 was a better wake up call than if the Rams had gone 8-9/9-8 last year. The putrid OL, ineffective Edge play and weak secondary required an overhaul vs tweaks. I’m also glad we didn’t give up multiple firsts for Burns or McCaffrey. It just didn’t fit into an overhaul from a financial or personnel perspective. It will be a 2 year overhaul but I’m anxious to see the foundation set this year and some holes filled for years to come.

 

[LARAMSinFeb.]

This offseason, the Rams parted ways with their three best defenders not named Aaron Donald: Jalen Ramsey, Bobby Wagner and Leonard Floyd.

I'd wager it was our 5 best, including AShawn and Gaines. Maybe 6 was Nick Scott. It's hard to see what the plan here is, exactly, for sure.

 

[RamDino]

Ramsey wanted a new contact so can't group him in with some of the other guys... like Floyd or Wagner. I was surprised they let Greg Gaines go though, especially considering the pitiful contract he got from Tampa.

 

[NorthernRam]

The Rams have been written off because we lost a host of veteran "stars". I contend that a lot of these stars were either average or poor in their positions.

The Rams used Ramsey in the Star role, a role where Ramsey in fact was covering for the terrible middle of the field pass coverage provided by our safety group of Rapp, Scott and Fuller, and also for the coverage deficiencies of Bobby Wagner and Earnest Jones.

Even bad QB's had a field day passing and dumping off against our interior and short passing defence.

Truthfully, Ramsey himself can no longer provide deep coverage against the opponent's top receiver and the Rams clearly had to have seen that.

Due to his rugged hitting, solid tackling and declining speed, Ramsey's future lies at safety, if his ego would allow it.

His only chance to be effective at CB is if he has over the top help from a rangy safety, something that the Rams completely lacked, as none of Scott, Rapp or Fuller have the requisite speed or natural safety instincts to be effective.

One can only hope that some of our young safeties can supplant Fuller, as he is not a playmaker and he has shown me nothing to justify having a spot on this team, in spite of being a "veteran".

Floyd was an overpaid ghost who failed to provide consistent pass rush and didn't impact games, despite playing alongside AD.

Gaines and Robinson were stout against the run, but neither provided pass rush push and opposing QB'S were able to step up into the pocket at will.

David Edwards was no loss. He lacked nastiness, was not great in pass pro and couldn't push the pile.

David Long got roasted continuously when called upon and although he has always been a willing tackler, Troy Hill performed poorly in coverage last year.

At the end of the day, we lost a lot of mediocre players.

In my opinion, the Rams finally at least brought in young players who at least have the potential to address areas of roster weakness.

We lost a lot of players that frankly other teams were exploiting and targeting.

A lot of people get caught up and panic when they see name players leave the team.

Floyd and Ramsey were considered a part of our group of stars. I never felt that Floyd ever lived up to that and Ramsey was clearly in decline and is now suited for a limited CB role.

The league saw that, as noted by Ramsey's limited trade return - this for a player that Rams fans love to say is the best cornerback in the game.


I could care less about what a player's done in the past and about a player's name, I'm only interested in a player's game.

 

[AvengerRam]

I'd wager it was our 5 best, including AShawn and Gaines. Maybe 6 was Nick Scott. It's hard to see what the plan here is, exactly, for sure.

My thought on those two is that those were almost purely money moves. The play of Bobby Brown, Kobie Turner and other youngins will determine how wise that was.

 

[Tumak61]

Never thought Wagner was a good fit for the defense. Weak in coverage. I think Jones will be an upgrade on 3rd down in the middle. Floyd was ok at times but not a difference maker.
Ramsey is solid and a great tackler, but can be beat. He wasn't a major factor in our Super Bowl run in 21. Rams will be better served allocating his salary cap space across multiple players for a more balanced approach on Defense. A single shut down corner, and Ramsey wasn't exactly shut down at times, isn't that important in the current scheme.

 

[Merlin]

I expect the biggest impact in losing both Floyd and Ramsey will be the run game. Both were exceptional in that phase, being big and very physical for their positions.

Rams are prioritizing pass defense this year, or so it seems to me. They brought in a bunch of options for the pass rush, to include the DT they drafted who has excellent skills for pressure out of the one-gap and who should pair with AD on passing downs if he's up to snuff. Then a couple more young edge types for the rotation and one excellent young corner for the back end.

But none of our corners are going to be Ramsey in the run game. Not the worst thing but the dropoff from him is significant since he was the best in the league in that regard, dude was like an ILB and the Rams took advantage.

So it looks like they are banking on an offensive resurgence, since if the offense can put up top numbers the defense should be fine vs a lot of teams trying to throw to stay in games with us. Problem is what happens if the offense is more on the pedestrian side, let's say middle of the pack or maybe tenth or so vice being a top unit. And can we stop the run vs the division asswipes who are built around it, i.e. SF and Seattle. That's four games alone on top of any games where the offense has a bad week or just gets stifled.

But then this is why I think we're a wildcard at best. Which means we probably come up a bit short, in my estimation, but I can always root hard for a team who plays and competes hard, even when they're a bit undergunned. What pisses me off is high paid vets who can't deliver or who even worse want to make excuses for failure. So I figure this team is going to be very fun to root for, wherever they finish.

 

[RamsOfCastamere]

Ramsey wanted a new contact so can't group him in with some of the other guys... like Floyd or Wagner. I was surprised they let Greg Gaines go though, especially considering the pitiful contract he got from Tampa.

Ramsey has stated that he would have restructured his contract if the Rams asked him. He wanted to stay.

 

[dieterbrock]

I think Ramsey was a hell of a player, a great teammate, and his coaches had nothing but the utmost in respect for him.
They simply needed to get out from his contract, and future contract. I dont know why folks need to characterize him in negative fashion. I agree that the Wagner departure is a head scratcher in some ways, mostly that he seemed to be so happy to be coming to the Rams yet was seemingly very happy to be leaving.

 

[Cjcinec]

Wagner was definitely a step too slow. All those tackles he used to make were now further down field. Great player and definitely still producing especially in the run game but not the player he once was.


Floyd had injury issues that he fought through but he wasn’t a threat rushing the passer anymore and was limited physically.

Ramsey was definitely a freelancer. He had the skills and was a good tackler but the guy is empty between the ears. Reminded me of Marcus Peters. Definitely more of a me not we player that would wow you on some plays but always seem to get caught up in the childish crap on the field and eventually make the big mistake. Bengals went at him exclusively in the Super Bowl and had a ton of success. OVERRATED! I see some trouble coming to South Beach.!

 

[Ellard80]

I think Ramsey was a hell of a player, a great teammate, and his coaches had nothing but the utmost in respect for him.
They simply needed to get out from his contract, and future contract. I dont know why folks need to characterize him in negative fashion. I agree that the Wagner departure is a head scratcher in some ways, mostly that he seemed to be so happy to be coming to the Rams yet was seemingly very happy to be leaving.

I have no problem with Ramsey from a character stand point.

He was still very physical and could knock the shit out of you.

But in coverage last year he was often a liablity.... seemed to play undisciplined or perhaps lost a step.