- Joined
- Jul 31, 2010
- Messages
- 8,874
Why the Rams should pull a reverse RG3 swap to get Marcus Mariota
By Jason LaCanfora
http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/writer...pull-a-reverse-rg3-swap-to-get-marcus-mariota
A year ago, at about this same time, I urged the St. Louis Rams to be proactive and package Sam Bradford and get out from his outsized contract from a bygone collective bargaining agreement while they still could. And this offseason they have granted Bradford permission to talk to other teams about trades, though nothing close to a viable option has yet to come to fruition and his value has been diminished by another injury and subsequent lost season.
So it's time for more drastic measures this time around. It's time to trade up for Marcus Mariota. It's time for a reverse RG3 trade for this organization. It's time to find a quarterback of the future, if not the immediate present.
A year after flirting with the idea of taking Johnny Manziel in the late first round, and with Bradford rehabbing from a second-straight ACL tear and unwilling to take a pay cut to this point and scheduled for another $13M in salary, it's time for action in St. Louis. With owner Stan Kroenke fixated on moving this franchise to Los Angeles in 2016, what better way to do so than with a top quarterback prospect in the fold, a Heisman Trophy winner who dominated the Pac-12 and one who has all the same impeccable character traits and endearing qualities that Bradford has, only fully healthy and at half the price?
If you can peddle Bradford as part of the trade up, so be it, and if not, then take whatever you can get for him elsewhere, or just let him go. That experiment has been going on for years, and a bold move for Mariota would give the Rams the one thing holding them back from cutting the cord with Bradford now -- another viable quarterback option. If he wants to stick around at a lesser rate and compete for a job, great, but the perennial purgatory with Bradford has to stop at some point, and all of the picks the Rams received for trading down with Washington in 2012 has them positioned to be a quarterback away from truly competing.
It's time for St. Louis to stop waiting on Sam Bradford. (Getty Images)
Sure, there are concerns by some about how NFL-ready Mariota is, and how his skills will translate to the pro game. But I have talked to enough NFL people sold on the kid as well, and as long as the Rams are perpetually 8-8 or 7-9, the road to getting a franchise quarterback is blocked. They aren't bad enough anymore to pick in the top five, and finding a true answer at quarterback in free agency is almost impossible – the good ones don't hit the market -- and it's going to take a bold action of some sort to crack this code and solve this riddle.
So do the work on Mariota, make a determination -- sooner rather than later if possible -- and if you are comfortable with the kid start finding out what it might take to get to the second overall pick to land a quarterback.
But trying to compete despite the quarterback position has to stop. That route hasn't worked, and won't work.
I'm going to operate on the assumption that Jameis Winston is going to go first overall to Tampa, and either way this is clearly a two-quarterback draft, so landing one of those picks -- a la the Andrew Luck/RG3 scenario -- puts you in position to grab one. Mariota doesn't seem to fit the model of quarterback Ken Whisenhunt would prefer, the Titans are intrigued by 2014 pick Zach Mettenberger, and with what may be the worst roster in the NFL, they have needs galore and need as many picks as they can get.
If the Titans are unrealistic about the return on this pick, you can always walk away, and closer to the draft maybe trading with Jacksonville (third overall) or the Jets (sixth overall) is possible as well. I suspect, however, that Mariota is off the board pretty quickly no matter what, and the Eagles and Browns are going to explore options trading up for the Oregon quarterback as well, sources said.
If it's too cost prohibitive, so be it. But it is definitely worth exploring at all costs, and with Bradford already less-than-certain to be back, there is no harm in going all out on a potential trade. Both sides know the other has one eye elsewhere. We're beyond hurt feelings or trying to pretend there is a long-term solution in place at quarterback for St. Louis. Sitting at 10th overall, especially if Mariota does somehow get beyond the top three picks, there could be real value in a trade up.
The Rams did a ton of work on quarterbacks a year ago, and will do so again. Make it count. Put it to use. Jeff Fisher is entering the final year of his initial five-year deal (I'm sure a short-term extension is forthcoming) and the team has improved in many levels. The Rams remain one of the youngest teams in the NFL, they have greatly enhanced their speed and athleticism and have the makings of a dominant, physical defense. They are taking on the mold of a physical, power running team on offense as well and began to get more out of some of the draft picks from the RG3 trade last season, and 2013 first-round pick Tavon Austin in particular.
Sure, they could use another outside receiver, and continuing to buttress the offensive line is imperative as well, but without a quarterback in this league you have nothing. Going year-to-year with Bradford hasn't worked, and under the new CBA, taking a swing and missing costs a fraction of what it used to.
And with the 49ers facing a roster and cap crunch and likely vastly reshaped with Jim Harbaugh now gone and Arizona hoping and praying Carson Palmer can return from his latest injury and lead that offense, the Rams have the opportunity to make a power move and creep closer to Seattle in the tough NFC West.
Even if Bradford should return, team management concedes that there needs to be another veteran to the quarterback mix, regardless. This could well be a lame-duck year in St. Louis, anyway, and Mariota's upside over the next 10 years is certainly immense.
Yes, it could backfire. Sure, nothing is certain in the draft, and especially at this position. But after reaping such historic rewards from the Redskins, and with that draft-pick haul now expired, and with the quarterback situation so tenuous and Bradford still maintaining leverage through the lack of free-agent options at quarterback, the timing might not ever be quite this good again. If Manziel's unique athleticism intrigued you a year ago, and gave you pause, even before Bradford got hurt again, and Mariota offers all of that but without any of the off-field concerns, then it's an option worth checking out at the very least.
Some teams picking ahead of the Rams wouldn't be shocked if they heard from them at some point between now and the draft. I'd start making the calls, and try to get it done in a timely fashion. The Rams appear to have fleeced Washington on their end of this sort of trade, and perhaps they could get extreme value on the other end now. It can't hurt to find out.
By Jason LaCanfora
http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/writer...pull-a-reverse-rg3-swap-to-get-marcus-mariota
A year ago, at about this same time, I urged the St. Louis Rams to be proactive and package Sam Bradford and get out from his outsized contract from a bygone collective bargaining agreement while they still could. And this offseason they have granted Bradford permission to talk to other teams about trades, though nothing close to a viable option has yet to come to fruition and his value has been diminished by another injury and subsequent lost season.
So it's time for more drastic measures this time around. It's time to trade up for Marcus Mariota. It's time for a reverse RG3 trade for this organization. It's time to find a quarterback of the future, if not the immediate present.
A year after flirting with the idea of taking Johnny Manziel in the late first round, and with Bradford rehabbing from a second-straight ACL tear and unwilling to take a pay cut to this point and scheduled for another $13M in salary, it's time for action in St. Louis. With owner Stan Kroenke fixated on moving this franchise to Los Angeles in 2016, what better way to do so than with a top quarterback prospect in the fold, a Heisman Trophy winner who dominated the Pac-12 and one who has all the same impeccable character traits and endearing qualities that Bradford has, only fully healthy and at half the price?
If you can peddle Bradford as part of the trade up, so be it, and if not, then take whatever you can get for him elsewhere, or just let him go. That experiment has been going on for years, and a bold move for Mariota would give the Rams the one thing holding them back from cutting the cord with Bradford now -- another viable quarterback option. If he wants to stick around at a lesser rate and compete for a job, great, but the perennial purgatory with Bradford has to stop at some point, and all of the picks the Rams received for trading down with Washington in 2012 has them positioned to be a quarterback away from truly competing.
It's time for St. Louis to stop waiting on Sam Bradford. (Getty Images)
Sure, there are concerns by some about how NFL-ready Mariota is, and how his skills will translate to the pro game. But I have talked to enough NFL people sold on the kid as well, and as long as the Rams are perpetually 8-8 or 7-9, the road to getting a franchise quarterback is blocked. They aren't bad enough anymore to pick in the top five, and finding a true answer at quarterback in free agency is almost impossible – the good ones don't hit the market -- and it's going to take a bold action of some sort to crack this code and solve this riddle.
So do the work on Mariota, make a determination -- sooner rather than later if possible -- and if you are comfortable with the kid start finding out what it might take to get to the second overall pick to land a quarterback.
But trying to compete despite the quarterback position has to stop. That route hasn't worked, and won't work.
I'm going to operate on the assumption that Jameis Winston is going to go first overall to Tampa, and either way this is clearly a two-quarterback draft, so landing one of those picks -- a la the Andrew Luck/RG3 scenario -- puts you in position to grab one. Mariota doesn't seem to fit the model of quarterback Ken Whisenhunt would prefer, the Titans are intrigued by 2014 pick Zach Mettenberger, and with what may be the worst roster in the NFL, they have needs galore and need as many picks as they can get.
If the Titans are unrealistic about the return on this pick, you can always walk away, and closer to the draft maybe trading with Jacksonville (third overall) or the Jets (sixth overall) is possible as well. I suspect, however, that Mariota is off the board pretty quickly no matter what, and the Eagles and Browns are going to explore options trading up for the Oregon quarterback as well, sources said.
If it's too cost prohibitive, so be it. But it is definitely worth exploring at all costs, and with Bradford already less-than-certain to be back, there is no harm in going all out on a potential trade. Both sides know the other has one eye elsewhere. We're beyond hurt feelings or trying to pretend there is a long-term solution in place at quarterback for St. Louis. Sitting at 10th overall, especially if Mariota does somehow get beyond the top three picks, there could be real value in a trade up.
The Rams did a ton of work on quarterbacks a year ago, and will do so again. Make it count. Put it to use. Jeff Fisher is entering the final year of his initial five-year deal (I'm sure a short-term extension is forthcoming) and the team has improved in many levels. The Rams remain one of the youngest teams in the NFL, they have greatly enhanced their speed and athleticism and have the makings of a dominant, physical defense. They are taking on the mold of a physical, power running team on offense as well and began to get more out of some of the draft picks from the RG3 trade last season, and 2013 first-round pick Tavon Austin in particular.
Sure, they could use another outside receiver, and continuing to buttress the offensive line is imperative as well, but without a quarterback in this league you have nothing. Going year-to-year with Bradford hasn't worked, and under the new CBA, taking a swing and missing costs a fraction of what it used to.
And with the 49ers facing a roster and cap crunch and likely vastly reshaped with Jim Harbaugh now gone and Arizona hoping and praying Carson Palmer can return from his latest injury and lead that offense, the Rams have the opportunity to make a power move and creep closer to Seattle in the tough NFC West.
Even if Bradford should return, team management concedes that there needs to be another veteran to the quarterback mix, regardless. This could well be a lame-duck year in St. Louis, anyway, and Mariota's upside over the next 10 years is certainly immense.
Yes, it could backfire. Sure, nothing is certain in the draft, and especially at this position. But after reaping such historic rewards from the Redskins, and with that draft-pick haul now expired, and with the quarterback situation so tenuous and Bradford still maintaining leverage through the lack of free-agent options at quarterback, the timing might not ever be quite this good again. If Manziel's unique athleticism intrigued you a year ago, and gave you pause, even before Bradford got hurt again, and Mariota offers all of that but without any of the off-field concerns, then it's an option worth checking out at the very least.
Some teams picking ahead of the Rams wouldn't be shocked if they heard from them at some point between now and the draft. I'd start making the calls, and try to get it done in a timely fashion. The Rams appear to have fleeced Washington on their end of this sort of trade, and perhaps they could get extreme value on the other end now. It can't hurt to find out.
