Rams sign Mason Crosby

[Allen2McVay]

This is the problem with the second guessing,

I'm not second guessing DB. I am first guessing!

From the very beginning of the 2023 Off-season ... before the start of the League Year ... like most Rams' fans,
I understood and accepted that the Rams were not going to spend money in Free Agency.

I did not expect them to be the only team in the NFL to spend ZERO $ in Free Agency!

The only players I wanted them to retain ... and I was very vocal about it ... were Gay and Gaines.

the Rams didn't have the cap space at the time, and still had the draft coming up.

I don't agree here. From notes I took, at that time, the Rams opened the 2023 League Year with $9-$10M of cap space after releasing Floyd and Wagner, trading Ramsey and restructuring Noteboom.

Gay wanted the moon and the stars and the Rams couldn't get in to a bidding war. Gay's contract is the highest ever for a Free Agent kicker, so in all likelihood the Rams would have had to spent significantly higher to have kept him. He had signed pretty quickly and who knows, maybe he had really liked it in Indy and was looking to go back all along

Maybe but that is ALL Speculation.

The 'bidding war' comment is odd because Gay signed so quickly, as you noted.

I also don't understand the 'looking to go back' reference.
Gay is from Utah and played at Utah. Los Angeles is closer to Utah than Indiana.

I am also speculating here ... but Not 2nd guessing

 

[Allen2McVay]

Crosby (Mason, not Bing) was 24-of-25 from inside the 50-yard-line last year. I will take that.

Problem is that in 2021, he was just 22-of-30 from inside the fifty; and only 13-of-21 between the 30 and 49.

 

[dieterbrock]

Maybe but that is ALL Speculation.

The 'bidding war' comment is odd because Gay signed so quickly, as you noted.

I also don't understand the 'looking to go back' reference.
Gay is from Utah and played at Utah. Los Angeles is closer to Utah than Indiana.

I am also speculating here ... but Not 2nd guessing

He was on the Colts practice squad when the Rams signed him, so I said that maybe he liked it there.
And yes, he wanted to test FA, signed on the 2nd day. With his former team. Really not such a leap.
And btw, 9-10 mill in cap space is nothing, with rookie class still yet to be determined.
With all the needs created by the players who were released/traded, signing a kicker with what little available space would have been laughable.
Its easy to second guess. Who knows what moves would have been made had they signed him, maybe they wouldnt have traded away Allen Robinson and take the big dead cap hit. And maybe if they kept Robinson, they dont draft a certain WR in the 5th round.

 

[RamsSince1969]

"Where's the love, @Selassie I ?" ~ Sam Ficken

Sam's on the phone right now.

 

[Allen2McVay]

...
And btw, 9-10 mill in cap space is nothing, with rookie class still yet to be determined.

Again, Gay only counts $3M against the 2023 cap. That's not a big number.; and there are usually opportunities to open-up a couple Million of cap space, with restructures. For a top-tier-PK ... think it's worth it.

Who knows what moves would have been made had they signed him, maybe they wouldn't have traded away Allen Robinson and take the big dead cap hit.

Again, we are both speculating a lot here.

And maybe if they kept Robinson, they don't draft a certain WR in the 5th round.

Who? ... Who?! ... WHO!?!? Don't leave me hanging!

 

[Hobgoblin]

I realize that we didn't have the dough to sign Matt Gay to a long term contract but I think we could/should have put the franchise tag on him and then sign him to a 3/4 year deal in 2024 when we'll have much more cap space.
Totally agree that we must have the kicking situation under control in order to win consistently in this league.

~ArkyRamsFan~

I had to look this up as it makes a lot of sense. I thought maybe they franchised tagged someone already but according to ramswire, they haven't used the tag since 2018?

Even they figured the rams would do so back in Feb.

Do the Rams have any franchise tag candidates this offseason?

The Rams haven’t used the franchise tag since 2018 and it’s unlikely they’ll use it this year, either.

theramswire.usatoday.com

If there’s one pending free agent who could get tagged by the Rams, it’s kicker Matt Gay. Any kicker who gets the franchise tag this year will make $5.393 million guaranteed in 2023. The transition tag will pay special teams players $4.869 million for one year.

 

[RamsSince1969]

I had to look this up as it makes a lot of sense. I thought maybe they franchised tagged someone already but according to ramswire, they haven't used the tag since 2018?

That's amazing! I did not know that. Maybe that's why players love coming to the Rams. They seem to be super player business friendly. The franchise tag seems to be for keeping a player you don't want to pay. Rams always pay. Thus the cap hell we are in, but, long term, reputation, and honor are more important.

 

[RamsSince1969]

This is a move they had to make. I don't want to see Havrisik on the field ever again.

How do you really feel?

 

[pvtdragon39]

Great pick up with Crosby, but please keep Havrisk somehow! He just needs to work on his mechanics. Something is off. Crosby is just for a playoff push, prob 5 game rental( unless playoffs happen)

 

[Londoner]

Havrisk

A bit too much, possibly.

 

[rdlkgliders]

Good Move, Still think LH may find his way and would like to see him stay. Moving forward and that is what matters to me.

 

[pvtdragon39]

A bit too much, possibly.

It was an honest typo, but now that you pointed it out, its funny and lives up to the typo name!

 

[den-the-coach]

Great pick up with Crosby, but please keep Havrisk somehow! He just needs to work on his mechanics. Something is off. Crosby is just for a playoff push, prob 5 game rental( unless playoffs happen)

Some of you are just compassionate and understanding when it comes to kickers. I tend to echo Bill Parcells sentiments, when it comes to kickers. Question: "Do you like kickers?" Answer: "When they make them."

 

[tklongball]

Watching Havrisik, it looks like it is simply a mechanical issue. He pushes everything to the right. Usually, that is a simple mechanical fix. The problem is you cant lose games waiting for him to fix the issue. I am hoping they get him on the practice squad and he can iron out his issues. Nothing says that Crosby will be making everything either.

 

[ottoman89]

Thank God.

 

[oldnotdead]

The weather is projected to be bad in Baltimore so it makes perfect sense to sign a PK that knows how to kick in weather like that. At this point it's not important if he struggles outside of 50 yds. They need consistency under that which they haven't been getting. With decent weather Gould would have been my choice. But looking at the forecast for Baltimore Crosby makes sense.

 

[OldSchool]

Crosby has been around a long time. I remember a long consecutive kick streak and a couple streaky times in his career.
He's made and missed some big kicks.

That long consecutive streak came after like 8 or 8 straight misses too.

 

[Ramhusker]

I like it.

 

[Neil039]

Wow. Havrisik had 2 terrible weeks in a row, so they had to make a move.

Glad we didn't sign that c*#+ Gould.

Rather they do it while they are winning instead of after a few loses that could have been avoided. BTW I agree with you just pointing that out too.

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

He was on the Colts practice squad when the Rams signed him, so I said that maybe he liked it there.
And yes, he wanted to test FA, signed on the 2nd day. With his former team. Really not such a leap.
And btw, 9-10 mill in cap space is nothing, with rookie class still yet to be determined.
With all the needs created by the players who were released/traded, signing a kicker with what little available space would have been laughable.
Its easy to second guess. Who knows what moves would have been made had they signed him, maybe they wouldnt have traded away Allen Robinson and take the big dead cap hit. And maybe if they kept Robinson, they dont draft a certain WR in the 5th round.

I thought Matt Gay was on the Tampa Bay practice squad when the Rams signed him.