Some fascinating (and agonizing) final cuts coming up, huh?

[dieterbrock]

Multiple other punters have contracts worth $3+ million per year.

I had to look it up, because I surely thought you were mistaken.
Silly me....
Not only are there 7 punters being paid 3M+, there's another 5 making more than 2.4 mill

Punter Contracts and Salaries | Over The Cap

Ranking the top NFL Punter contracts and salaries in the NFL

overthecap.com

 

[TexasRam]

Kiser looked better than Jones and Howard. I would keep Kiser.

Evans did not look better yesterday. He looked even worse.

Our O-line and ILBer depth is a huge concern. I don't think our cuts are going to yeild any more diamonds in the rough than any other team. WR and DT cuts might yield some NFL starting caliber players. But our starting OL and ILBers are questionable, the debt is bad.

 

[XXXIVwin]

Silly me....

Ha ha, made u look at punter contracts

 

[PhillyRam]

Gets harder every danged year as Snead continues to load this roster, frankly.

Some doozies that I’m not sure which way they’ll go:

Will Perkins be waived in an attempt to stash him on the PS? I think so, but I’m not absolutely certain.

I’m wondering if Evans can make the 53 now. What a comedown for this guy. He now seems only capable of playing RT at an NFL level and even that’s iffy. Major disappointment for me but I’ve gotta say he could be among the cuts, IMO. I suspect that Carberry has higher standards for his OL.

Will Rams keep Blanton over Hopkins at TE? Assuming that they still are calling Harris a TE, that is? I’m leaning Blanton over Hopkins because Hopkins’ early apathy kinda ticked me off. Hopkins’ late surge was a little too late to suit me.

OMG, how many WR’s can the Rams keep given the talent at other positions that they want to protect? I’m guessing Trishton Jackson as the 6th and everybody else has to slip through waivers. What a loaded WR room they have, one that we would have killed for during those Fisher years. Heck, is it actually possible that they roll with only 5 WR’s to save a slot for another hot prospect?

Does Lewis make the 53? I’m serious. Rams now have many legit (and healthy) options at OLB. Wouldn’t stun me if Rams cut bait because Lewis’ knee has reduced him to such a tease. An unthinkable possibility until very recently.

Same thing with Obo. Can’t stay healthy and has never fulfilled his promise. And I’m a Sooner honk. Might be a law-of-the-jungle thing.

Turns out that ILB was a stronger position group than certainly I thought. Kiser being cut is not only possible but apparently quite likely.

Handicapping the final cuts at CB and Safety is gonna be agonizing for these coaches. Multiple players with both talent and heart will have to be released and many will not make it to the Ram PS. Nice ‘problem’ to have, I suppose. I’ve never seen a better synergy of scouting and coaching for Ram secondary players. Ever. The good news is that they can probably keep filling the pipeline every year which means that they can avoid those hyper-expensive extensions every year. Impossible to overstate the importance of that.

Last, but certainly not least, will Hekker be traded or released? This is another proposition that was unthinkable just 8 months ago. And yet, I’ve gotta say that it looks not only possible but quite likely.

The winds of change are blowing strongly through Ramsville this summer, indeed.

And yet I can remember some posters trashing this draft within hours of its completion.

 

[Florida_Ram]

A team acquiring Hekker would be paying him $3.75M in 2021. That's high for a Punter, but it's not exorbitant. Multiple other punters have contracts worth $3+ million per year.

Yes @jrry32

You are correct looking at the financial aspect to justify keeping Hekker.

Regardless, I would be a bit stunned if they kept Hekker over Bojo.

There is not a big enough gap in their punting skills to get me on the keep Hekker bandwagon.

 

[Merlin]

Evans did not look better yesterday. He looked even worse.

I think the Rams may need to make some statement cuts here in a day or so. To include some former picks of value like Evans and maybe Lewis. Potentially even Hekker.

Do they go full meritocracy here? Or maybe puss out and weight those draft spots vs the shame of admitting they missed on guys.

 

[Riverumbbq]

I think the Rams may need to make some statement cuts here in a day or so. To include some former picks of value like Evans and maybe Lewis. Potentially even Hekker.

You're running out of time being that I believe it's just 4:00 PM EST on 8/31 before all cuts must be in, less than two full days away.

 

[jrry32]

A team acquiring Hekker would be paying him $3.75M in 2021. That's high for a Punter, but it's not exorbitant. Multiple other punters have contracts worth $3+ million per year.

Yes @jrry32

You are correct looking at the financial aspect to justify keeping Hekker.

Regardless, I would be a bit stunned if they kept Hekker over Bojo.

There is not a big enough gap in their punting skills to get me on the keep Hekker bandwagon.

I don't know, man. The Bills let Bojorquez go and signed Matt Haack for more money. Hekker is a better punter than Haack. Bojorquez has a monster leg, but he hasn't been very consistent over his career. Maybe he has finally put it all together, but it's a risky move.

 

[Ram65]

Funny how the Rams have done a complete turnaround when it comes to cut down days. It's not that long ago that we were looking for players other teams were going to cut. Now, some good excess talent.

Koski could be taken by a team looking for a possession WR.
Two punters.
Perkins

 

[TexasRam]

I think the Rams may need to make some statement cuts here in a day or so. To include some former picks of value like Evans and maybe Lewis. Potentially even Hekker.

Do they go full meritocracy here? Or maybe puss out and weight those draft spots vs the shame of admitting they missed on guys.

That's exactly what I was thinking but just didn't want to be all negative. I honestly don't think Mcvay and co. are the types that play the perception game but it's possible they see the upside (i.e. Evans can move people in the run game) and convince themselves some more development and time will justify the picks. That is human nature anyways.

 

[FrantikRam]

A team acquiring Hekker would be paying him $3.75M in 2021. That's high for a Punter, but it's not exorbitant. Multiple other punters have contracts worth $3+ million per year.


Except Gurley was toast due to injuries. Gurley's bad year didn't come because the unit around him and the coach sucked ass. It would be more comparable to Gurley's struggles in 2016 than anything. Hekker didn't become a mediocre punter over night.


I'll wager that if we let Hekker go, he has a great year elsewhere.

For Gurleys bad year in 2019 - the OL actually was horrible, remember? I could take a shot here but I'll refrain and let people use their imagination. I'll just say that I've seen people point out how bad that 2019 OL was over and over and over and over and over again.

I did acknowledge that he had the injury - but I think punter being a significantly less valuable position offsets that for this comparison. And who knows, maybe Hekker has something that we aren't aware of.

Either way, I'll root for him. I think it can be true (and is true) that both he and the punt coverage were bad last year. I'm fine giving him another year, also fine moving on. He's a punter.

I'm confident that McVay is able to have him and Corey play a game of H-O-R-S-E with punts and whoever wins, wins.

 

[TexasRam]

And yet I can remember some posters trashing this draft within hours of its completion.

Not one player from this draft has played 1 snap of a regular season game.

It's a little early to know anything honestly.

It could be the worst draft in the history of Rams drafts. Or it could be the greatest.

 

[jrry32]

For Gurleys bad year in 2019 - the OL actually was horrible, remember? I could take a shot here but I'll refrain and let people use their imagination. I'll just say that I've seen people point out how bad that 2019 OL was over and over and over and over and over again.

No doubt. But Gurley also wasn't the same player because of the knee.

I did acknowledge that he had the injury - but I think punter being a significantly less valuable position offsets that for this comparison. And who knows, maybe Hekker has something that we aren't aware of.

Punters being less valuable is already accounted for in the cost. Gurley was making four times as much money.

Either way, I'll root for him. I think it can be true (and is true) that both he and the punt coverage were bad last year. I'm fine giving him another year, also fine moving on. He's a punter.

It wasn't true. I posted the punt in the Miami game that was returned for a TD. It was an absolutely gorgeous boot. Our STs Coach and coverage unit were god awful. Hekker had to stop booting the ball as far to try and compensate for their terribleness.

 

[FrantikRam]

I think the Rams may need to make some statement cuts here in a day or so. To include some former picks of value like Evans and maybe Lewis. Potentially even Hekker.

Do they go full meritocracy here? Or maybe puss out and weight those draft spots vs the shame of admitting they missed on guys.

I think I see what you're going for, but we KNOW it's full meritocracy here. What's harder, moving on from a 3rd round pick or a $70 million RB, $75 million WR and a $100 million QB?

Not to mention, Franklin-Meyers was a 4th round pick, got a strip sack of Tom Brady in the Super Bowl, and was cut 7 months later.

If there's one thing McVay and Snead have shown, it's that they have zero fear of admitting they were wrong by cutting bait.


I personally would not cut Evans yet. He's probably the kind of guy that will need good players next to him, but I think there's some potential there.

And - just hit me that with Brian Allen starting, we have three would-be 2022 starting offensive linemen (assuming Whit finally retires) in Boom, Allen and Corbett hitting FA - so it wouldn't surprise to see 10 OL kept if they think there's any chance of them not clearing waivers.

 

[FrantikRam]

No doubt. But Gurley also wasn't the same player because of the knee.


Punters being less valuable is already accounted for in the cost. Gurley was making four times as much money.


It wasn't true. I posted the punt in the Miami game that was returned for a TD. It was an absolutely gorgeous boot. Our STs Coach and coverage unit were god awful. Hekker had to stop booting the ball as far to try and compensate for their terribleness.

He had several mediocre to poor games IMO, so we will have to agree to disagree on that. I never brought up that punt, either, btw. Have never watched a clip of that game over, so I will take you at your word that wasnt on him.

 

[FrantikRam]

No doubt. But Gurley also wasn't the same player because of the knee.


Punters being less valuable is already accounted for in the cost. Gurley was making four times as much money.


It wasn't true. I posted the punt in the Miami game that was returned for a TD. It was an absolutely gorgeous boot. Our STs Coach and coverage unit were god awful. Hekker had to stop booting the ball as far to try and compensate for their terribleness.

Also, I don't think that's accounted for in the money. I think a RB is more than 4 times more valuable than a punter. Between pass pro, ball security, catching passes, short yardage situations, running out the clock, scoring - a RB had an almost immeasurable amount of responsibility compared to a punter.

 

[jrry32]

He had several mediocre to poor games IMO, so we will have to agree to disagree on that. I never brought up that punt, either, btw. Have never watched a clip of that game over, so I will take you at your word that wasnt on him.

60 yard punt with 5 seconds of hang time. The lackluster games were in the second half of the year when he stopped booting the ball as far to compensate for our terrible coverage unit. If you look at the first 8 games, he averaged 47+ yards per punt in 5 of the 7 games (he didn't punt against Buffalo). In the two he didn't, he killed 9 of 10 punts inside the 20.

He had to pull his game back because the coverage unit couldn't keep up. The PR TD they allowed to Grant was only the second of Hekker's CAREER and the first PR TD off of him since the 2015 season. And like I said, it was an absolutely gorgeous punt. It was after that game that Hekker started kicking shorter punts.

 

[PhillyRam]

Not one player from this draft has played 1 snap of a regular season game.

It's a little early to know anything honestly.

It could be the worst draft in the history of Rams drafts. Or it could be the greatest.

Exactly!

 

[FrantikRam]

60 yard punt with 5 seconds of hang time. The lackluster games were in the second half of the year when he stopped booting the ball as far to compensate for our terrible coverage unit. If you look at the first 8 games, he averaged 47+ yards per punt in 5 of the 7 games (he didn't punt against Buffalo). In the two he didn't, he killed 9 of 10 punts inside the 20.

He had to pull his game back because the coverage unit couldn't keep up. The PR TD they allowed to Grant was only the second of Hekker's CAREER and the first PR TD off of him since the 2015 season. And like I said, it was an absolutely gorgeous punt. It was after that game that Hekker started kicking shorter punts.

I just don't buy the "pull his game back" part. That PR came on a day where it was 1000 degrees on the sideline for a 10am body clock game.

Yes our coverage was not good - but it's pretty simple to me:

Either someone told him to punt shorter to adjust for the coverage - and in that case, he's in no danger here. He will make the team.

Or nobody said anything and he did it to himself, or his play fell off.

One PR TD in that situation - especially considering how other parts of the team played that day, which shows that the heat and/or time was a factor - does not justify scaling it back to that degree unless the coaches specifically told him to do it.

And in that case, he's safe and this is all a moot point.

 

[PhillyRam]

I think I see what you're going for, but we KNOW it's full meritocracy here. What's harder, moving on from a 3rd round pick or a $70 million RB, $75 million WR and a $100 million QB?

Not to mention, Franklin-Meyers was a 4th round pick, got a strip sack of Tom Brady in the Super Bowl, and was cut 7 months later.

If there's one thing McVay and Snead have shown, it's that they have zero fear of admitting they were wrong by cutting bait.


I personally would not cut Evans yet. He's probably the kind of guy that will need good players next to him, but I think there's some potential there.

And - just hit me that with Brian Allen starting, we have three would-be 2022 starting offensive linemen (assuming Whit finally retires) in Boom, Allen and Corbett hitting FA - so it wouldn't surprise to see 10 OL kept if they think there's any chance of them not clearing waivers.

I think they will be able to keep two of them. Their cap space isn't so bad as of now they are $3-4M over for next yr of the projected $208M cap.

Whit's new renegotiated deal this past offseason now shows if he retires/ released, it clears $13M next yr. Throw in $4.6M from Hekker, that could be off the books next yr, and the $6M they will likely carry over minus some paid out 21' contract incentives... They could be around $20M under and that's before any Stafford extension that could save some cap room initially off of his $20M cap number.

So assuming D.Williams leaves, they could keep a couple OL or sign an outside FA for the OL.

Plus they likely carpet bomb the position in the draft next yr, especially if these young guys step up and lesson the need for more edge and DL help.

They can focus on OL, CB, and a RB.