Roster turnover for every NFC West team (Rams)

[LACHAMP46]

World Famous PFF again!!!
https://www.profootballfocus.com/pro-roster-turnover-for-every-nfc-west-team/
Los Angeles Rams
Overall snaps lost: 24.03 percent, 20th (2015: 21.48 percent, 12th)

Offensive snaps lost: 14.05 percent, 14th (2015: 37.54 percent, 29th)

Biggest losses: TE Jared Cook (690), QB Nick Foles (669)

After dropping 20.41 percent of the catchable passes thrown his way last season (highest drop among NFL TEs), Cook was cut by the Rams and subsequently signed a one-year deal with the Packers. Foles was released last week after a subpar 2015 season that saw him benched for Case Keenum.

Replacement plan: The Rams traded a haul of picks to move up and select their quarterback of the future, Jared Goff, though the former Cal QB is currently behind Keenum on the depth chart. Longtime Ram Lance Kendricks could bump up his snap count and take over the No. 1 tight end position, but they’ll be thin behind Kendricks, where fourth-round pick Tyler Higbee (Western Kentucky) will compete with Justice Cunningham for the No. 2 role.

Defensive snaps lost: 34.00 percent, 28th (2015: 5.42 percent, first)

Biggest losses: LB James Laurinaitis (1,183), S Rodney McLeod (1,180), CB Janoris Jenkins (1,064), DE Chris Long (491), DT Nick Fairley (427)

Laurinaitis and Long were cap casualties, as neither had the play to back up their paychecks. Long caught on with the Patriots, while Laurinaitis will be manning the middle of the Saints’ defense. McLeod signed with the Eagles in free agency on a strong five-year deal as an expected starter. The NFC East also snatched up Jenkins, who will be starting for the Giants in 2016. With a strongly-positive grade, Fairley ranked 11th out of 70 qualifying defensive tackles last season, and yet couldn’t muster a long-term deal in free agency once again, and will be joining Laurinaitis in New Orleans.

Replacement plan: Former first-round pick Alec Ogletree will be moving into Laurinaitis’ former spot at middle linebacker, and he should easily be able to at least triple the 266 snaps he logged last year before being sidelined by a broken fibula. Robert Quinn should similarly be able to bump up his snap count, provided that he’s made a full recovery by the time the season starts. Continuing with the theme, E.J. Gaines will start in place of Jenkins after missing all of last season with a Lisfranc injury. Former Patriot Dominique Easley should help fill out the rotation on the defensive interior, and third-year player Ethan Westbrooks could see a bigger role in the defense, too. McLeod’s job is headed to an unproven talent, whether it’s Christian Bryant, Cody Davis, or another young player on the roster.

A lot of assumption here....Gaines will start? Really? Should start...but health is key....Mo is McLeod's replacement....Big Losses??? Cook (you see that drop %%%), Long, and JL55...Okay...addition by subtraction IMO.

 

[RamFan503]

I don't see the losses really outweighing the gains. Jenkins might be the biggest loss and he was a big play liability at times. Virtually every team is going to have key losses each year. I think the way we are building, those losses won't hit as hard as time goes on and we steadily improve the depth of the roster.

 

[OldSchool]

I vote for the first option without the leadership loss. We should be fine.

 

[Austin]

Not sure how to respond to the poll, the answers don't seem to line up. Maybe that's just me.

To answer the question, I think most would agree the big questions are in the DBs, with the loss of Jenkins and McLeod. Jenkins is the bigger loss of the two, being a shutdown-corner type of player when he is on (and he was definitely becoming more consistent). That said, the options behind him are more developed with Joyner, Roberson, Gaines, and Sensabaugh all carrying some experience and upside into next year. At safety, we'll be bringing someone along, and gotta expect there'll be some growing pains.

Overall, however, I believe we improve on offense, and that helps our defense more than anyone we could have brought in. Plus, I think Alec O has the talent and has shown the ability to be a big upgrade over JL. .

 

[Ram Pat]

I see McLeod as the biggest loss, as MO is really the size of a SS. Any FS with range and lateral ability of Rodney? Like Randolph , but is needing of seasoning. Jenks is very replaceable esp with his attitude n contract. All others are natural turnover of roster

 

[LesBaker]

Biggest losses: TE Jared Cook (690), QB Nick Foles (669)

 

[LACHAMP46]

Jenkins might be the biggest loss and he was a big play liability at times.

Jenkins is the bigger loss of the two, being a shutdown-corner type of player when he is on

Agreed.....Les you so crazy!!!!

Turnover is the new NFL...Adapt or die....Sorry about the wording on my polls....

 

[Florida_Ram]

Am I one of very few that doesn't think R. McLeod played as well as the contract he signed for in Philly?

I'm not saying Mo assuming he's locked up the FS spot is going to make us forget McLeod ever existed but I never thought McLeod was anything in the ballpark of one of the elite Free Safeties in the NFL...

5 year, $35,000,000 contract with the Philadelphia Eagles, including a $8,000,000 signing bonus, $17,000,000 guaranteed, and an average annual salary of $7,000,000.

The impact of McLeod's loss is more about not knowing how well Mo or who ever replaces him for the duration of the season is going to play out... Not because he was some super top 5 year in and year out impact FS etc..

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

Am I one of very few that doesn't think R. McLeod played as well as the contract he signed for in Philly?

I'm not saying Mo assuming he's locked up the FS spot is going to make us forget McLeod ever existed but I never thought McLeod was anything in the ballpark of one of the elite Free Safeties in the NFL...

5 year, $35,000,000 contract with the Philadelphia Eagles, including a $8,000,000 signing bonus, $17,000,000 guaranteed, and an average annual salary of $7,000,000.

The impact of McLeod's loss is more about not knowing how well Mo or who ever replaces him for the duration of the season is going to play out... Not because he was some super top 5 year in and year out impact FS etc..

I agree. Mo is a much better athlete than Rodney was. The fact that the Rams didn't want to match that offer tells us how much they thought of replacing McLeod. The felt Mo was ready and saved some money. Smart move in my book. The free safety role on the Rams is that of a safety valve that doesn't let the big play get past him. It is not the most complex position if you think about it. Mo has had a few years of training. I think he will handle it fine.

 

[RamWoodie]

Am I one of very few that doesn't think R. McLeod played as well as the contract he signed for in Philly?

I'm not saying Mo assuming he's locked up the FS spot is going to make us forget McLeod ever existed but I never thought McLeod was anything in the ballpark of one of the elite Free Safeties in the NFL...

5 year, $35,000,000 contract with the Philadelphia Eagles, including a $8,000,000 signing bonus, $17,000,000 guaranteed, and an average annual salary of $7,000,000.

The impact of McLeod's loss is more about not knowing how well Mo or who ever replaces him for the duration of the season is going to play out... Not because he was some super top 5 year in and year out impact FS etc..

He's better than anything they have...{not saying I agree with the salary), but if you're McLeod you sign that...QUICKLY!!!

I didn't vote because I'd like to see another option like "It could be a wash...but the Rams saved money"

 

[tempests]

Am I one of very few that doesn't think R. McLeod played as well as the contract he signed for in Philly?

I'm not saying Mo assuming he's locked up the FS spot is going to make us forget McLeod ever existed but I never thought McLeod was anything in the ballpark of one of the elite Free Safeties in the NFL...

5 year, $35,000,000 contract with the Philadelphia Eagles, including a $8,000,000 signing bonus, $17,000,000 guaranteed, and an average annual salary of $7,000,000.

The impact of McLeod's loss is more about not knowing how well Mo or who ever replaces him for the duration of the season is going to play out... Not because he was some super top 5 year in and year out impact FS etc..

7 million puts him at borderline top 10 salary for free safeties in 2016....which is about where he was as a player in 2015.

Everyone thinks they can get more for less in the NFL. Sometimes they're right, sometimes they're not.

 

[Florida_Ram]

7 million puts him at borderline top 10 salary for free safeties in 2016....which is about where he was as a player in 2015.

Everyone thinks they can get more for less in the NFL. Sometimes they're right, sometimes they're not.

Yea tempests.... I knew what his salary value was and my point was his contract could've easily been matched and I'm okay with the Rams for not pony-ing up and paying him based on his impact level in G.Williams scheme. He had a solid top 10 FS season in 2015 but he just never seemed like a game to game impact gotta have the guy type..

Just my opinion and I claim no expertise in NFL safeties. I do hope Mo is at least average in deep coverage because teams that sense weak coverage in the deep middle will surely attack until the bleeding is stopped. Hoping Mo gets some extra snaps in preseason compared to some of the other first stringers....

 

[LACHAMP46]

Am I one of very few that doesn't think R. McLeod played as well as the contract he signed for in Philly?

I'm not saying Mo assuming he's locked up the FS spot is going to make us forget McLeod ever existed but I never thought McLeod was anything in the ballpark of one of the elite Free Safeties in the NFL...

no, total agreement here...If he had 5-9 int's, 14 pass break ups...then we'd say elite...Hell, I'd settle for less blown coverages and missed tackles....

 

[Sleepy1711]

I think they misspelled gain.

 

[snackdaddy]

Am I one of very few that doesn't think R. McLeod played as well as the contract he signed for in Philly?

I'm not saying Mo assuming he's locked up the FS spot is going to make us forget McLeod ever existed but I never thought McLeod was anything in the ballpark of one of the elite Free Safeties in the NFL...

5 year, $35,000,000 contract with the Philadelphia Eagles, including a $8,000,000 signing bonus, $17,000,000 guaranteed, and an average annual salary of $7,000,000.

The impact of McLeod's loss is more about not knowing how well Mo or who ever replaces him for the duration of the season is going to play out... Not because he was some super top 5 year in and year out impact FS etc..

No you're not the only one who feels that way. I never thought McLeod was more than a JAG. A journeyman who benefited from a good overall defense surrounding him. Good for him he was able to go from an undrafted FA to signing a big contract. But I have to wonder if he won't be exposed on a lesser defense. We could actually get better there if Mo Alexander can get up to speed learning the nuances of that position.

 

[BonifayRam]

Not so sure that the Rams were in a position of be able to pony up on Rodney when you signed up Austin, Brockers & Ogletree to those 5th yr high $$$ extensions & now their pending first UFA contract up next. $$$ Big Big factor if he goes or if he stays....watch the safety TJ McDonald contract situation here close..... no way that Snead & Fisher were going close to that Rodney contract. You might recall I am a big Rodney McLeod fan too. Rams will only carry 4 safeties on this master roster. You know that that Mo, Cody & Christian are going nowhere & rookie Brian is a young serious talent plus Lamarcus is more pure safety than CB. Rams have some real decent talent stashed in this secondary.

The Rams made some excellent team decisions with those releases IMO. I would not have done anything different. I want to keep our main producers here as long as possible. The players who were making mega $$ with little production must be discarded.

 

[leoram]

Every year I start by believing the ship has turned around and our hype is well founded. This year I'm taking a more tempered approach.

We didn't even get INTO training camp without an injury on the OLine (Havenstein). Robinson didn't turn into Pace over the offseason according to camp reports. Gaines had a setback w his hammy. FS doesn't have a clear solution. We don't KNOW how well Alec will handle diagnosing offenses and making split second communications. Jared WILL take time to grow into his potential. Receivers always look good in shells and drills but rookies take time to learn sight adjustments and NFL routes. Long, JLau, and McLeod were all leaders of their units and experience does matter. Higbee will struggle as a blocker this year. And the Boras/Groh experiment has yet to be revealed. They can coach players and execution but can they out-think experienced DCoordinators as gameplanners and in game adjusters?

The signs say this is a growing year for a talented team that would be decimated if hit by injuries to players like Gurley, Donald, Ogletree, Barron, Johnson, Barnes, or Quinn because of the significant drop off behind them.

But I do like the direction of this team and it DOES have the potential fo be an 11 or 12 win squad.