Rams News Recap: Feb. 9

[RamBill]

Nixon to Announce Progress on New Riverfront Stadium –PD
The effort to build a new football stadium along the north riverfront is creeping forward.

NFL Reminds Teams That Only the League Can Make Relocation Decisions –LATimes
As the owner of the St. Louis Rams inches closer to a possible relocation of his team to Los Angeles, the NFL reminded all 32 teams Monday that the league as a whole — and not an individual club — will make the major decisions regarding relocation.

NFL Teams Want Sam Bradford, If Released, over Mariota & Winston –Video
NFL Formalizes Panel to Assess Los Angeles Stadium Plans –AP
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has established an internal committee to review stadium options in Los Angeles and coordinate any possible move to Southern California, according to a league memo obtained Monday by The Associated Press.

2014 Offseason in Review: Gregg Williams –Wagoner
The 2015 edition of NFL free agency is set to begin on March 10 with a new batch of players set to hit the market and teams in pursuit of those players.

Where Austin Davis, Shaun Hill fit for Rams –Wagoner
Austin Davis and Shaun Hill split starting duties for the St. Louis Rams right down the middle in 2014. Each player started eight games and posted a 3-5 record as the starter.

Combine Names to Know for the Rams –Wagoner
The annual NFL scouting combine is set to begin a little more than a week from Monday in Indianapolis. There, the NFL world will converge on Lucas Oil Stadium to get a look at the future of the league.

Morning Ram-blings: Dirt moving in L.A. –Wagoner
As the battle for territory for an NFL stadium in Los Angeles wages on, there’s at least some evidence that the Hollywood Park project, the project that involves St. Louis Rams owner Stan Kroenke, is gaining some traction.
Rams Want Sam Bradford to Restructure Contract –Florio Video

Rams Spotlight On Cap Casaulties And Potential Cap Space –Audio

Are the Rams All in on Sam Bradford in 2015? –Audio

Feldman: Would the Rams take a QB in the top 10?
In football, especially the NFL, it’s pretty clear. You’re as good as your quarterback. For every Trent Dilfer leading the 2000 Ravens to the Super Bowl there are 10 Tom Brady’s doing the same thing. If you want to win the big prize you need a stud QB.

Inglewood Football Stadium Developers Run a Hurry-up Offense –LATimes
Inglewood football stadium backers are slicing through red tape in hopes of getting the project underway soon

A Closer Look at the NFL Draft’s No. 10 Pick and the Rams –Wagoner
Holding the 10th overall pick in this year’s NFL draft, the St. Louis Rams surely wouldn’t mind duplicating what they accomplished the last time the organization made a selection in that spot.

 

[RamBill]

Morning Ram-blings: The Sam Bradford market
By Nick Wagoner

http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-rams/post/_/id/16093/morning-ram-blings-the-bradford-market

EARTH CITY, Mo. -- The St. Louis Rams and quarterback Sam Bradford have not yet seriously begun discussions on finding a compromise to bring Bradford back in 2015. That business is likely to pick up soon, though, perhaps as soon as next week's NFL scouting combine.

The Rams have been very open about their desire to bring Bradford back and have also clearly acknowledged they'd like to work out something to keep him at a price below his current $16.58 million cap number and almost $13 million base salary. That most likely means they reduce his base salary some and build in incentives to bring the number closer to or potentially beyond what he's currently scheduled to make.

One factor that figures to come into play in all of this is just how much interest Bradford would garner were he to hit the open market. The Rams would save $12.985 million if they outright released Bradford, but they'd also have plenty of competition for his services if he became available. At least, so says Bleacher Report's Jason Cole, who said Monday that there are teams near the top of this year's NFL draft that would prefer Bradford over the draft's top two quarterback prospects, Oregon's Marcus Mariota and Florida State's Jameis Winston. That seems a bit far-fetched given Bradford's injury history so it's always possible teams are attempting to drive down the price of a possible trade for Mariota or Winston.

But it shouldn't come as too much of a surprise that Bradford would be coveted if he were to become available. While he is coming off two major knee surgeries, he has still accomplished more in his career than most of the quarterbacks that will be available. And the draft comes with a dearth of prospects, from which even Mariota and Winston come with their share of questions.

Simply put, NFL teams are starved for quarterbacks and anyone with even a modicum of a resume will draw his share of interest.

Of course, that's the exact reason it's a long shot that Bradford would be outright released in the first place. The Rams are one of those teams in need of help at the position, and releasing the one guy on the roster who, when healthy, has been their best option wouldn't do anything to help the situation. The Rams and Bradford will likely find a way to come to an agreement for him to stay in St. Louis. But even if that doesn't happen, it seems very unlikely the Rams would just let him go for nothing.

I.C.Y.M.I.

A roundup of Monday's Rams stories appearing on ESPN.com. ... In the Ram-blings, we opened the day with a look at the latest on the Los Angeles stadium front. ... In looking back at the 2014 offseason, we started with the acquisition of defensive coordinator Gregg Williams. ... We then took a look at where backup quarterbacks Austin Davis and Shaun Hill fit in for 2015. ... We closed the day with a glance at the quarterbacks and offensive linemen heading to the combine.

Elsewhere

ESPN NFL Insider Mike Sando revisited his quarterback tiers rankings from the preseason in this insider piece Insider.

Pro Football Focus names 10 players who are candidates to be franchise tagged Insider this offseason.

The Kansas City Star's Terez Paylor writes the Chiefs will have a tough decision to make on center Rodney Hudson, who could be a Rams target if he comes available.

At 101sports.com, Randy Karraker takes a spin around the many choices facing the Rams this offseason.

At stltoday.com, Bernie Miklasz wonders how the Seahawks' Super Bowl loss will alter their future.