Rams release DT Kendall Langford
• By Jim Thomas
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/foot...cle_b2a66f28-799d-55b9-91d1-c4ac9ea82d74.html
In the first of what figures to be several salary cap-related moves, the Rams have released defensive tackle Kendall Langford.
The move saves the Rams $6 million in cap space for 2015. Langford lost his starting job to rookie Aaron Donald this past season and saw his playing time greatly reduced. The Rams made the move now to give Langford a little extra time to find another job before the start of the free agency period March 10, by which time the market will be flooded with released players.
Langford, 29, signed a four-year, $22 million contract with the Rams in 2012, as part of the first free agency class for coach Jeff Fisher and general manger Les Snead. Langford had spent his first four NFL seasons with Miami, who drafted him in the third round of the 2008 draft out of Hampton.
He was due $6 million in base salary and was scheduled to count $7 million against the cap in 2015, the last year of his Rams contract. He now will count only $1 million against the cap, in the form of "dead" money from un-amortized signing bonus money.
Making the transition from 3-4 end to 4-3 tackle once he joined the Rams, Langford started all 16 games in both the 2012 and 2013 seasons. He recorded 69 tackles and five sacks in '13, both career highs.
His numbers fell off to 51 tackles and one sack last season.
Donald, en route to NFL defensive rookie of the year honors, took over the starting job from Langford in Game 5 of the 2014 season _ the Rams' Oct. 13 Monday night game against San Francisco.
The Rams return both Donald and Michael Brockers as starters, but Thursday's release of Langford could leave the Rams searching for depth on the interior of the defensive line.