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Rams free-agent preview: Offensive tackle
By Nick Wagoner
http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-rams/post/_/id/16520/rams-free-agent-preview-offensive-tackle
EARTH CITY, Mo. -- The free-agent market is scheduled to open March 10 and teams may begin negotiations with those poised to hit the market beginning March 7. We'll count down to that with a position-by-position look at what the St. Louis Rams have in place, who is set to hit the market, what they might need and who might fit the bill.
Under contract: Greg Robinson, Jake Long
Pending free agents: Joe Barksdale, Mike Person
What's needed: The Rams have already committed to making Robinson the team's left tackle for the short and long term. He is recovering from toe surgery but all signs point to Robinson being healthy and ready to go this season. The real question comes in with what happens on the right side. The Rams would like to keep Barksdale but they haven't reached terms on a deal and Barksdale is almost certainly going to test the market since he's this close to the start of free agency. Barksdale has said he'd like to stay in St. Louis in the past but there was surprise in his camp that a deal didn't get done earlier. Tackles of similar ability have received in the range of $7 million annually in free agency in recent years. That's a number the Rams might not be willing to meet. Long is still around and could be an option to replace Barksdale should he depart but it would have to be after a drastic reduction from his currently scheduled $10.5 million cap hit. Person has been OK for depth but bringing him back isn't a pressing concern. Theoretically, the Rams could move guard Rodger Saffold back out to right tackle if they want but they prefer Saffold at guard and such a move would only create another need on the interior. One way or another, the Rams are going to have to come out of this offseason with a starting right tackle. Depth wouldn't hurt, either.
Possible fits: There's not a ton of options on the market and the ones that are available will probably cost as much or more than Barksdale. the Green Bay Packers' Bryan Bulaga, the Dallas Cowboys' Doug Free or Jermey Parnell, the Carolina Panthers' Byron Bell and the Tennessee Titans' Michael Roos are the most recognizable names who could be available. Roos has longstanding ties to Rams coach Jeff Fisher from their days together with the Titans, but he announced his retirement Thursday. He would have made sense as a possible stopgap but the Rams are better served finding a younger alternative. At 25, Bulaga is the prize of the group and will probably cash in above the rest of his free-agent classmates.
Verdict: It's entirely possible that as this process plays out, Robinson is the only one of the four names listed above that is still a Ram. It's hard to imagine the Rams bringing Long back at his current salary and though a pay cut is possible to keep him, it still seems unlikely. Barksdale is going to be coveted on the open market and while I expect the Rams to try to keep him, it wouldn't surprise to see him land elsewhere on a bigger deal. That could put the Rams in play for one of the free agents available. I do think the Rams will spend money on at least one free-agent offensive lineman, but the guess here is that it will be an interior player and the next right tackle will come via the draft.
By Nick Wagoner
http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-rams/post/_/id/16520/rams-free-agent-preview-offensive-tackle
EARTH CITY, Mo. -- The free-agent market is scheduled to open March 10 and teams may begin negotiations with those poised to hit the market beginning March 7. We'll count down to that with a position-by-position look at what the St. Louis Rams have in place, who is set to hit the market, what they might need and who might fit the bill.
Under contract: Greg Robinson, Jake Long
Pending free agents: Joe Barksdale, Mike Person
What's needed: The Rams have already committed to making Robinson the team's left tackle for the short and long term. He is recovering from toe surgery but all signs point to Robinson being healthy and ready to go this season. The real question comes in with what happens on the right side. The Rams would like to keep Barksdale but they haven't reached terms on a deal and Barksdale is almost certainly going to test the market since he's this close to the start of free agency. Barksdale has said he'd like to stay in St. Louis in the past but there was surprise in his camp that a deal didn't get done earlier. Tackles of similar ability have received in the range of $7 million annually in free agency in recent years. That's a number the Rams might not be willing to meet. Long is still around and could be an option to replace Barksdale should he depart but it would have to be after a drastic reduction from his currently scheduled $10.5 million cap hit. Person has been OK for depth but bringing him back isn't a pressing concern. Theoretically, the Rams could move guard Rodger Saffold back out to right tackle if they want but they prefer Saffold at guard and such a move would only create another need on the interior. One way or another, the Rams are going to have to come out of this offseason with a starting right tackle. Depth wouldn't hurt, either.
Possible fits: There's not a ton of options on the market and the ones that are available will probably cost as much or more than Barksdale. the Green Bay Packers' Bryan Bulaga, the Dallas Cowboys' Doug Free or Jermey Parnell, the Carolina Panthers' Byron Bell and the Tennessee Titans' Michael Roos are the most recognizable names who could be available. Roos has longstanding ties to Rams coach Jeff Fisher from their days together with the Titans, but he announced his retirement Thursday. He would have made sense as a possible stopgap but the Rams are better served finding a younger alternative. At 25, Bulaga is the prize of the group and will probably cash in above the rest of his free-agent classmates.
Verdict: It's entirely possible that as this process plays out, Robinson is the only one of the four names listed above that is still a Ram. It's hard to imagine the Rams bringing Long back at his current salary and though a pay cut is possible to keep him, it still seems unlikely. Barksdale is going to be coveted on the open market and while I expect the Rams to try to keep him, it wouldn't surprise to see him land elsewhere on a bigger deal. That could put the Rams in play for one of the free agents available. I do think the Rams will spend money on at least one free-agent offensive lineman, but the guess here is that it will be an interior player and the next right tackle will come via the draft.