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Free agency can be just as big a crapshoot as the draft. We learned this last season with guys like Tre’davious White and Jonah Jackson. The Rams found a solution for White by shipping him to Baltimore but Jackson’s situation is more difficult.
The original idea was for Jackson to be the finishing touch on a dominant interior offensive line. Kevin Dotson was and is playing at an elite level at RG. Steve Avila was expected to slide to center while Jackson manned the LG spot. Unfortunately, Avila was not as successful at center and Jackson battled a scapula injury that sidelined him to start the year. Even when healthy, Jackson failed to beat out rookie Beaux Limmer at center or find a starting role anywhere on the interior. In limited action, Jackson performed well below expectations (chalk it up to lack of chemistry, lingering injuries, being rusty, or whatever you like).
Jackson is the 6th highest paid interior olineman in the NFL, with respect to annual salary. He signed a 3-year, $51,000,000 deal last summer with $34,000,000 guaranteed. Jackson is higher paid than many more proven stars like Joe Thuney or Joel Bitonio. He is also higher paid than his more productive teammate, Kevin Dotson. Most teams cant afford to pay guys superstar money to keep the bench warm. What do the Rams do from here?
1. Let him compete? Should we give him a mulligan for his first season in LA and hope he wins a camp battle this year?
2. Seek a trade? There are plenty of teams looking for answers on the offensive line. How many are willing to take on his salary?
3. Restructure and keep as insurance? As we saw last season, oline injuries are common. Does he have any incentive to restructure? We got it done with Noteboom.
4. Cut? That comes with a $14,600,000 cap hit but $3,300,000 gained in cap space.
The original idea was for Jackson to be the finishing touch on a dominant interior offensive line. Kevin Dotson was and is playing at an elite level at RG. Steve Avila was expected to slide to center while Jackson manned the LG spot. Unfortunately, Avila was not as successful at center and Jackson battled a scapula injury that sidelined him to start the year. Even when healthy, Jackson failed to beat out rookie Beaux Limmer at center or find a starting role anywhere on the interior. In limited action, Jackson performed well below expectations (chalk it up to lack of chemistry, lingering injuries, being rusty, or whatever you like).
Jackson is the 6th highest paid interior olineman in the NFL, with respect to annual salary. He signed a 3-year, $51,000,000 deal last summer with $34,000,000 guaranteed. Jackson is higher paid than many more proven stars like Joe Thuney or Joel Bitonio. He is also higher paid than his more productive teammate, Kevin Dotson. Most teams cant afford to pay guys superstar money to keep the bench warm. What do the Rams do from here?
1. Let him compete? Should we give him a mulligan for his first season in LA and hope he wins a camp battle this year?
2. Seek a trade? There are plenty of teams looking for answers on the offensive line. How many are willing to take on his salary?
3. Restructure and keep as insurance? As we saw last season, oline injuries are common. Does he have any incentive to restructure? We got it done with Noteboom.
4. Cut? That comes with a $14,600,000 cap hit but $3,300,000 gained in cap space.
