Rams interested in DT Nick Fairley? (Update: Apparently so)

[Username]

Rams offer Nick Fairley chance to reach his potential
By Nick Wagoner

http://espn.go.com/blog/nflnation/p...er-nick-fairley-chance-to-reach-his-potential

EARTH CITY, Mo. -- In the 2011 NFL draft, the St. Louis Rams had the 14th pick and patiently waited their turn to make a selection while superstar pass-rushers such as J.J. Watt, Von Miller, Aldon Smith and Marcell Dareus came off the board. While Chris Long was locked into one position, the Rams desperately wanted to bolster their pass rush and kept their fingers crossed that one of the other top defensive linemen would fall in their lap.

As the Detroit Lions came up with the 13th pick, they took Nick Fairley. The Rams turned in the card with end Robert Quinn's name on it nearly as fast as Quinn bends the edge against a left tackle.

On Tuesday morning, the Rams turned what four years ago was an "either/or" situation into a resounding "and." A day after arriving in St. Louis, Fairley signed a one-year contract worth $5 million, which could reach the $8-million range with incentives.

That Fairley was even available was a product of a disappointing four-year stint with the Lions in which Fairley was plagued by injuries, weight problems and a couple of arrests. Despite glimpses of potential -- especially in 2012 and 2013 when he posted 69 tackles and 11.5 sacks in 28 games -- the Lions declined to exercise their fifth-year option on Fairley in hopes it would motivate him.

It didn't necessarily work as Fairley had 14 tackles and a sack in eight 2014 games before knee injuries cost him the other half of the season. So it was that Fairley hit the open market on Tuesday in search of a chance to prove the potential that only came in small doses in Detroit can be consistently applied in a new locale.

In choosing the Rams' one-year deal, Fairley essentially signed a "prove-it" deal intended to bolster his stock and allow him to cash in next season. And, though Fairley is likely to serve as the primary backup to Aaron Donald and Michael Brockers, Fairley couldn't have picked a better situation in which to bet on himself.

Fairley joins a defensive line that's already stocked with pass-rushers Long and Quinn, defensive rookie of the year Donald, former first-round pick Brockers and quality backups such as William Hayes and Eugene Sims. He's the fifth former first-round pick on the defensive line and should have no shortage of one-on-one pass rush opportunities.

"I feel like it's a perfect fit for me," Fairley said. "The guys in this group, the D-line, they are young and they're moving forward and I want to be part of it.

"You got those guys up there and a guy next to me like Aaron is going to take on some double teams, I'm going to take on some double teams so it's going to be a good fit for me."

Line coaches Mike Waufle and Clyde Simmons also come with strong reputations in league circles and Waufle's hard-charging style developed in years as a Marine should only serve Fairley well in maintaining discipline.

"[He's] a great guy, matter of fact my dad is an ex-Marine so I know a little bit about ex-Marines," Fairley said.

It also doesn't hurt the Rams have become Auburn North with former Tigers Greg Robinson, Tre Mason and Daren Bates on the roster and general manager Les Snead offering input on the roster.

But even with that support system in place, it's up to Fairley to become the player many thought he'd become. For his part, Fairley seems to have put in the work to come to St. Louis in shape.

At times during his stint with the Lions, Fairley's weight ballooned to as high as 320 pounds but the help of a personal chef allowed him to trim down to about 290 pounds before last season. There were concerns the knee injuries he suffered last year might cause his weight to go back up, but Fairley continued to work with the chef and arrived in St. Louis at a sleek 280 pounds.

In fact, Fairley is now in position to actually put weight on before the season, though he's looking to enlist the help of a local personal chef to help him do it the right way.

"I'm going to be looking for one out here so if anybody knows a chef, holler at me," Fairley said, laughing. "I'm going to put on some muscle so when I come back in April with the group of guys in the conditioning and work program, I'm sure I'll get to where I want to be."

If he does, an already scary Rams' defensive line could get even better, and Fairley's one-year gamble could pay off in an equally big way.

Sounds like he's serious. Getting in shape before FA started is a good sign too. Have to imagine training and playing with these guys is gonna rub off too. Donald has work ethic.

We could be looking at a steal here boys.

 

[Yamahopper]

 

[Sleepy1711]

Nice, can't wait to see this crazy line next year.

 

[rdlkgliders]

Niiiice.

How can anyone not be OK with this?
I get it we need and I hope we get some through FA but this is a team strengthening move

 

[Ky Ram]

How can anyone not be OK with this?
I get it we need and I hope we get some through FA but this is a team strengthening move

We needed the depth too, great move by our front office. We all know we need o-line help, but you don't pass up this kind of talent.
bravo!

 

[brokeu91]

Do they plan on turning him into a LG?

We can have the greatest DL in the world, but if we only have two starters on our O line, it pretty much won't matter

 

[RamsJunkie]

Do they plan on turning him into a LG?

We can have the greatest DL in the world, but if we only have two starters on our O line, it pretty much won't matter

Theres still some out there in FA and the draft I think they will get it done. We signed a stud on a one year deal and were paying him less than we did langford. We needed depth at DT I love this signing.

 

[Mackeyser]

I THOUGHT he looked trim. So Fairley is about 280 at the moment? Perfect!!!

A lot of times, the only difference between the 290lb guys and 320lb guys is 30lbs of fat...

If Fairley can add 10-15 lbs of muscle by June, he's right where he needs to be to have a breakout year...

 

[Fatbot]

See, I like the signing, but I think this is misleading.

A true equation of the cost of keeping Langford over Fairley could be:

- Fairley $5mil + $1mil dead money (cost of losing Langford) = $6 million
- Langford contract restructure at his market rate (what he signed for with IND) minus home town discount = $3 or 4 million

The Rams didn't seem to even try to keep Langford so we don't know if he had a number. He might have said "I will not take a penny less because I want to start somewhere else", then fine, but nobody has confirmed that's what went down.

So until that's confirmed I don't agree with trying to make this into a "they got a better player for cheaper" thing. They acquired a boom-or-bust chance over the known less-risky, decent floor of production that Kendall provided. Overall, I think it's exciting and a good bold move by the Rams, this is the type of spot to take a chance like this.

 

[…..]

Not real excited about this signing. Don't agree with paying this much money to a guy who's claim to fame is laziness and poor conditioning.

I suppose he can turn it around on the one year deal but in my opinion we just bought an underachiever.