Rams LT Andrew Whitworth expected to return

[wize1980]

Nice. Greg Rob is earning that much. lol.

 

[WestCoastRam]

As far as the oline goes, there are no great answers this offseason. Only good to horrible. Resigning Whit is somewhere on the good to okay spectrum (prob trending towards okay).

Hey, as my good friend Donald Rumsfeld used to say, "You don't go into FA and the draft with the players you want, you go into them with the players available."

 

[Rams43]

It’s just possible that our ‘20 OL starters are already on the roster.

Boom
Evans/Edwards
Corbett
Edwards/Evans
Hav

Now, this would require that Boom be healthy by September, of course. But saving the Whit cap dollars would be priceless.

If Whit is extended then the Boom health question is removed.

My listed possible OL starters certainly has some ‘if’s’ in it but it isn’t all that far fetched, either.

The potential savings of cap dollars and picks that could be used for the D is very enticing. Just depends on how Snead/McVay/Kromer see their OL situation.

 

[Ram65]

Guys I'm conflicted I love whitworth love what he did for us love his leadership and just love him as a person. Now in football speak I was dead set against letting Saffold go last year a lot of us new it was a huge mistake. I understand you cannot keep them all but I also remember posting a very long post about how the game is won in the trenches and most importantly how we could not afford to take chances with the offensive line and risking a goff regression which is what we got. It's the one area you really can't skimp on because it has such a domino effect on the whole game in general points, running, passing, injuries, and if you can't sustain offense we'll your defense is pretty much effed.

Now I am not willing to go into this season once again rolling the dice on the offensive line. There assessment was way off last year what makes us think it will be any different this year. Whitworth being ok to good isn't going to help us get back on track. He was the most penalized LT in the league and has a lot of trouble these days with speed. I don't see keeping him as an anchor as helping us improve. Yes as a back up his intangibles ability to teach others you can't put a price on that, however when gametime comes goffs blind side needs some way bette than "ok" or "good." It pains me but it's the truth. I hope they have some sort of plan cause that's one of the biggest takeaways from last season and if they didn't learn it we have problems. A more seasoned Bosa is scary to even think about.

I am not saying I don't want him back but at this point in his career he has enough left to be a complimentary piece but not "the" piece.

Fingers crossed dudes please let there be a real vision for the offensive line for goff Gurley and the rest of the offenses sake and the team.

P.s. Unless the Rams get whitworth help in the way of Scherff that would be one of the ways to get that monster anchor somewhere on the line and help out whitworth I have to believe that's what the plan is. Scherff would be the 2020 version of Timmerman

Here is a little something on Scherff.

NFL free agents 2020: Top 10 offensive linemen

In the modern NFL, there’s arguably nothing more important than offensive line play. Sure, having a top-tier quarterback with great mobility like Russell Wilson or Deshaun Watson can help cover up a spotty offensive line. But without solid blocking, teams don’t often go far. The New England...

www.nbcsports.com

3. Brandon Scherff, Guard
Age: 28
2019 stats: 11 games played, nine penalties, one sack allowed
2019 salary: $12.5 million
If not for injuries, Scherff could've been the top offensive lineman on this list. Over the course of the past few seasons, he has battled injuries and has missed 15 of 48 games and has been less than 100 percent for many others. Still, when healthy, the former No. 5 overall pick in 2015 and three-time Pro Bowler is one of the best run blocking guards in the league.

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I'm not sure this would be a wise investment.

If you have been following the thread there haven't been any solid options mentioned. Boom's return is unknown by us and is questionable for the start of the season. Edwards and Evans haven't proven anything at LT in the NFL and were just okay (below average) as rookies on the right side.

If not Whitworth who plays LT?

 

[BonifayRam]

It’s just possible that our ‘20 OL starters are already on the roster.

Boom
Evans/Edwards
Corbett
Edwards/Evans
Hav

Now, this would require that Boom be healthy by September, of course. But saving the Whit cap dollars would be priceless.

If Whit is extended then the Boom health question is removed.

My listed possible OL starters certainly has some ‘if’s’ in it but it isn’t all that far fetched, either.

The potential savings of cap dollars and picks that could be used for the D is very enticing. Just depends on how Snead/McVay/Kromer see their OL situation.

I still lean in favor of signing moderate priced a veteran starting versatile interior OL'er to blend into the nine OL cadre.

LT- Evans/ Brewer/ Noteboom(PUP)
LG- Corbett/ Shelton
OC- {UFA} / Allen/ Trewyn
RG- Edwards/ Kolone
RT- Havenstein/ Demby

I fully realize this puts the LT post in a major question but Noteboom should be ready by the bye to take over the starting LT post IF Evans/ Brewer play is lacking. I also fully expect that Snead will draft an LT on the second day of the draft to compete @ LT post.

 

[FrantikRam]

But few teams have more talent. With the emergence of Higbee and even with Gurley being an unknown, nobody has better weapons. He's got a solid QB. And he's got the best player in the NFL on the other side of the ball, to go with an elite CB, a great pair of safeties, and even if we got rid of NRC, our CB room is still good (no reason to get rid of Hill so not sure why you listed him? He's cheap).

We vastly underperformed this season with the talent we have - even removing some of those guys doesn't mean we will be worse. It's unlikely we have that amount of bad luck again.

After all, on the flip side, how many of us thought we'd go from 13 wins to 9?

 

[Merlin]

3. Brandon Scherff, Guard
Age: 28
2019 stats: 11 games played, nine penalties, one sack allowed
2019 salary: $12.5 million
If not for injuries, Scherff could've been the top offensive lineman on this list. Over the course of the past few seasons, he has battled injuries and has missed 15 of 48 games and has been less than 100 percent for many others. Still, when healthy, the former No. 5 overall pick in 2015 and three-time Pro Bowler is one of the best run blocking guards in the league.

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I'm not sure this would be a wise investment.

When it comes to Scherff (and any high end talent FA who has an injury history) I believe both sides of the fence are correct. It's fair to say he's too risky. But it's also fair to say if you're gonna roll the dice why not a high end talent.

Raiders rolled the dice on oft-injured Saffold and then chickened out. At that time we didn't know he'd move past his injury tendencies, but the Rams rolled the dice and locked him up because when he was healthy he was elite (elite in run game, and good in pass pro). But for every good story there's a team who got burned too. Not to mention FA is inherently risky even outside of injuries.

So IMO there's no telling where the Rams will fall on this, other than to say that with McVay's history and connections with the Washington staff members I am confident he will have an inside line on Scherff and the hows/whys of things. In the event the Rams go after him, it would mean they have as good a feel as is possible in that situation. I do trust that they'll exhaust all options to include him, not to say they'll chase in FA but the decision itself should be made via thorough analysis so I trust things will work out.

 

[Merlin]

It’s just possible that our ‘20 OL starters are already on the roster.

Boom
Evans/Edwards
Corbett
Edwards/Evans
Hav

I don't think we can rule anything out tbh. But I will say that I feel like your list is a best case type deal that requires all the IFs to align in our favor. And generally with any group and player development the IFs don't all align in your favor.

I'd love Noteboom to settle in and be our LT, that would be the biggest possible boon we could imagine. But is it likely? Probably not. If Whit isn't re-signed the chances of that happening are greater but still feels like a longshot given how weak Boom was in the run game. Rams want to improve in the run game not go backwards, and Whit for all the slip in his play remains a plus mover in the run game so the dropoff would be very big barring Boom making enormous strides.

Sure would be nice to see the 2018 Hav as well. Was he playing with an injury last year that affected his ability to deal with speed rushers? I don't know man, I feel like he's going to be singing for his supper this year in camp and will need to win a job again to be a starter. He's capable of it but personally I am not sure he's gonna stay on the edge or even on this roster so we'll see.

I like some of our talent and pieces, just feel like we need a little more talent and maybe experience up front.

 

[Ram65]

Raiders rolled the dice on oft-injured Saffold and then chickened out. At that time we didn't know he'd move past his injury tendencies, but the Rams rolled the dice and locked him up because when he was healthy he was elite (elite in run game, and good in pass pro). But for every good story there's a team who got burned too. Not to mention FA is inherently risky even outside of injuries.

The Raiders were concerned about Saffold's shoulder or something to that effect which he did injure the first year of his new contract and missed most of the season.

My post was in response to @payote75 post referring to Whitworth as just okay at LT while also getting Scherff would make having Whitworth more or less tolerable. Cap space is tight so the Rams probably have to choose one or the other. By no means is Whitworth the answer to all of the offensive line question marks. He does give the Rams a reasonable answer for 2020 at LT other than last year's rookies. That allows those rookies Edwards and Evans to compete at other spots. Signing Scherff is not going to solve all the Rams offensive line problems either and I think his injury history is being minimized or even overlooked by some.

 

[Kevin]

Noteboom tore his ACL and MCL in October. I doubt that he is ready for opening day let alone training camp and preseason.

 

[WestCoastRam]

I just am a bit blown away over how people are willing to toss Hav aside after one down year. Yes, it was a pretty down year but we have other players on this team that people will fall on their sword for when they don't perform well one year to another.

Right now, I keep Hav (no reason to think anyone would be willing to trade for him or trade much, plus it's cap prohibitive) and hope for a bounce back year (less injured?, return to technique) and use Edwards and Evans as future at guard.

 

[So Ram]

I still lean in favor of signing moderate priced a veteran starting versatile interior OL'er to blend into the nine OL cadre.

LT- Evans/ Brewer/ Noteboom(PUP)
LG- Corbett/ Shelton
OC- {UFA} / Allen/ Trewyn
RG- Edwards/ Kolone
RT- Havenstein/ Demby

I fully realize this puts the LT post in a major question but Noteboom should be ready by the bye to take over the starting LT post IF Evans/ Brewer play is lacking. I also fully expect that Snead will draft an LT on the second day of the draft to compete @ LT post.

that is crazy to me !! Whitworth vs a Center ?? Not going to happen though, thank goodness.

 

[Packfan18]

I don’t think the Rams were much worse than my Packers this last year. We were 13-3 but a very overrated team.

 

[So Ram]

I don't think we can rule anything out tbh. But I will say that I feel like your list is a best case type deal that requires all the IFs to align in our favor. And generally with any group and player development the IFs don't all align in your favor.

I'd love Noteboom to settle in and be our LT, that would be the biggest possible boon we could imagine. But is it likely? Probably not. If Whit isn't re-signed the chances of that happening are greater but still feels like a longshot given how weak Boom was in the run game. Rams want to improve in the run game not go backwards, and Whit for all the slip in his play remains a plus mover in the run game so the dropoff would be very big barring Boom making enormous strides.

Sure would be nice to see the 2018 Hav as well. Was he playing with an injury last year that affected his ability to deal with speed rushers? I don't know man, I feel like he's going to be singing for his dinner this year in camp and will need to win a job again to be a starter. He's capable of it but personally I am not sure he's gonna stay on the edge or even on this roster so we'll see.

I like some of our talent and pieces, just feel like we need a little more talent and maybe experience up front.

For some reason I’m in favor of Big Rob playing RG. Evans the starting RT ??
Edwards being a swing guy ??

Was wondering also on another way trying Corbett at center & moving Evans at LG ??

Might sound far fetched, but cross-training is key. I liked Brown & Hav changing it up if for no other reason than cross training. Like turning stones.

 

[Merlin]

For some reason I’m in favor of Big Rob playing RG. Evans the starting RT ??
Edwards being a swing guy ??

Was wondering also on another way trying Corbett at center & moving Evans at LG ??

Might sound far fetched, but cross-training is key. I liked Brown & Hav changing it up if for no other reason than cross training. Like turning stones.

I'm fine with Rob starting at RG if he WINS the job. In that scenario he beats out Edwards which means I'm confident of good production there. Rams just need to make sure they're not giving out jobs like they did last offseason.

 

[payote75]

The Raiders were concerned about Saffold's shoulder or something to that effect which he did injure the first year of his new contract and missed most of the season.

My post was in response to @payote75 post referring to Whitworth as just okay at LT while also getting Scherff would make having Whitworth more or less tolerable. Cap space is tight so the Rams probably have to choose one or the other. By no means is Whitworth the answer to all of the offensive line question marks. He does give the Rams a reasonable answer for 2020 at LT other than last year's rookies. That allows those rookies Edwards and Evans to compete at other spots. Signing Scherff is not going to solve all the Rams offensive line problems either and I think his injury history is being minimized or even overlooked by some.

I can see your point and I hope my post doesn't make it seem like Whitworth is useless but the rams through restructuring Goff and some strategic cuts will have some money. I do think scherff would help Whitworth a lot. I didn't say he was the end all be all but it does remind me of the Adam timmerman signing back in the day and his presence with Whitworth would help anchor and make the kids better.

My gut tells me the rams will maneuver whatever they have to and do whatever it takes to put the best product on the field possible. Winning being the biggest reason but the opening of the stadium will also have a huge impact on their decisions. I'd be willing to bet the farm on that!!!

 

[Memento]

I'd be happy to see Whitworth back...but I also am slightly concerned at how, at thirty-eight, he'll perform. We'll still need to draft a center in this class, maybe a guard or another tackle.

Can he perform at a high level? I hope so. But we're going to need a backup plan if he doesn't.

 

[Ramrocket]

I'd be happy to see Whitworth back...but I also am slightly concerned at how, at thirty-eight, he'll perform. We'll still need to draft a center in this class, maybe a guard or another tackle.

Can he perform at a high level? I hope so. But we're going to need a backup plan if he doesn't.

Have to agree Mem. I'm happy to see him come back as well as long as it is on an amenable contract to the organisation. I see Whit as being a 'bridge' LT to the eventual return of Boom.

Ideally, Boom returns mid season when historically, the performance of older players tends to wane due to the toll the season takes on their bodies. Whit had surgery to clean up an ankle in the off season. He should be well prepared for the new season and will, as we have all acknowledged, be a great asset in helping another new OL gel.