Give it a follow.

Sam Bradford was the can't-miss prospect who kept missing

The 2010 NFL draft class turned out to be one of the deepest and most talent-rich of this century. Players selected that year include defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, safety Earl Thomas, tight end Rob Gronkowski, and wideout Antonio Brown - all considered among the best of the last decade at their respective positions.

The St. Louis Rams possessed the No. 1 overall pick that year. They chose a quarterback out of the University of Oklahoma who had won the 2008 Heisman Trophy before missing nearly all of the 2009 season with a shoulder injury. But Billy Devaney, then the Rams' general manager, never wavered on his decision to pick Sam Bradford first.

"He had everything," Devaney told me. "He checked all the boxes. There was no doubt in my mind that was who we were going to take."

Bradford's career never came close to fulfilling that promise. He spent nine seasons in the NFL with four teams, and he always seemed to be on the brink of becoming that guy, only to slink back into mediocrity again and again.

Bradford battled numerous injuries, but he was also somewhat miscast - particularly early in his career when he caromed through three offensive systems in as many years. He was a casualty of NFL coaches' longstanding reluctance to embrace the spread concepts that had begun proliferating at the college level. He was also the last No. 1 pick to command top dollar, if only because he was the last for whom the rules still allowed it. Sam Bradford will go down as the can't-miss prospect who always somehow missed.

During Bradford's redshirt freshman season at Oklahoma in 2007, the Sooners ran a traditional offense that was run-heavy, huddled often, and used a lot of basic personnel. The following year, they switched things up.

"Our offense changed dramatically," Bradford once told ESPN's Nick Wagoner. "We went no-huddle, fast break. We had 11 personnel (one running back, one tight end, three receivers), 10 personnel (one running back, zero tight ends, four receivers), smaller, faster, and spread it out to start throwing the ball a lot more.

"I remember that first spring, I really wasn't sure I was going to like it because I had never run the no-huddle before. It seemed like everything happened too fast but the more we did it, the more comfortable I got with it. It turned out; it was probably the best move we made because we were really good at it."

The idea was for Bradford to work out of the shotgun, make quick reads, and let his assortment of playmakers do the rest. It was football predicated on speed and on using the entire field. Bradford wound up throwing for 4,720 yards, 50 touchdowns, and just eight interceptions. He won the Heisman.

As a junior in 2009, Bradford sprained his shoulder in the opener and played in just three games before being shut down midway through the season. He decided to declare for the draft anyway. Durability was maybe the only question about him, but Bradford passed all his physicals and left little doubt after a dazzling pro day that rendered scouts and other observers "speechless."

Leading up to the draft, Devaney was bombarded with offers to trade out of the No. 1 spot. He said one team executive even told him he'd "give you my whole draft right now" in exchange for the pick. That same exec called again a few hours before the draft to ask what it would take. Devaney wouldn't entertain the thought.

"He was one of the best, best pure passers I've ever seen," Devaney told me. "Just an unbelievable, beautiful thrower of the football. And he was big (6-foot-4, 224 pounds), great teammate, he had that 'it' factor to play quarterback. He had everything."

When it came time to sign a contract, Bradford cashed in. On the eve of training camp, he agreed to a deal with a max length of six years and a max value of $78 million, including $50 million in guarantees. Though it was no fault of Bradford's, the contract served as a kind of shorthand for the lucrative deals that led to the enactment of the rookie scale in the following year's collective bargaining agreement. That CBA locked in four years of cost control for drafted rookies. Cam Newton was the top pick in the 2011 draft. With no chance to negotiate, his first contract was set at four years and just $22 million.

Devaney told me the talks with Bradford's camp weren't difficult or complicated; he knew drafting a QB first overall was going to be costly. The year before, the Detroit Lions had taken Matt Stafford No. 1 and given him a max of six years and $72 million, including $41.7 million in guarantees. Tom Condon was the agent for both players.

Bradford started all 16 games as a rookie, and the Rams improved from 1-15 to 7-9. But instead of leaning into the tempo-driven, fast-break style that helped Bradford win the Heisman, offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur concocted a scaled-down version of the West Coast offense that minimized the potential for mistakes. It also proved to be awfully conservative: The same Sam Bradford who had attracted comparisons to Tom Brady because of his ability to throw an accurate deep ball in college was often reduced to checking down when he got to the NFL. Bradford was the league's Offensive Rookie of the Year, but something seemed off.

As a rookie, Bradford's average depth of target (aDOT) was just 6.6 yards, and he averaged just 6.0 yards per attempt, among the lowest in the league. Per PFF, Bradford attempted a throw that season of 20 or more yards just 6.8% of the time. He took the majority of his snaps from under center. The Rams' offense finished 30th in DVOA and 27th in passing DVOA, according to Football Outsiders. Bradford's DYAR was below replacement level.

Shurmur left to become the head coach of the Cleveland Browns, and he was replaced by Josh McDaniels, the previous and future New England Patriots offensive coordinator. McDaniels tried to get Bradford to throw downfield more, but there were other problems to contend with.

The 2011 Rams were wracked with injuries, with Football Outsiders calculating that they compiled 110.0 adjusted games lost (AGL), or the equivalent of seven key players lost for the entire season. The offense accounted for 66.6 of that AGL total. Bradford worked out of the shotgun on 72% of his snaps and threw deep 11.5% of the time, but with Brandon Lloyd and Danario Alexander as two of his top targets, this proved to be a tall order.

It didn't help that a lockout that lasted the entire offseason prevented Bradford and his pass-catchers from getting any kind of feel for the new system. Bradford endured an adjusted sack rate of 9.1%, and he missed six games with a high ankle sprain. He again posted a negative DYAR, and the Rams finished last in offensive DVOA en route to a 2-14 finish. Devaney and head coach Steve Spagnuolo were fired.

Jeff Fisher came on as head coach in 2012, and he brought Brian Schottenheimer in as his OC. Rather than draft Robert Griffin III with the No. 2 pick, the Rams traded down. The Rams improved to 7-8-1 with Bradford showing noticeable improvement, even if he still hadn't reached anything close to stardom. He finished 16th in DYAR, and the Rams' offense likewise was 16th in DVOA, but the limitations weren't all Bradford's fault: From 2008 through 2012, per Football Outsiders, the Rams drafted 21 offensive players. Just four were regular starters in 2012.

In 2013, Schottenheimer committed the Rams to playing faster. Running back Steven Jackson, the fulcrum of the offense for nearly 10 years, had left via free agency. The Rams surrounded Bradford with playmakers such as first-round pick Tavon Austin and free-agent tight end Jared Cook. They were 3-3 when Bradford tore his left ACL in Week 7. His attempt at a comeback was thwarted during the 2014 preseason when he tore the same ACL again.

In March 2015, the Rams moved on, trading Bradford to the Philadelphia Eagles for Nick Foles in a package that also included a swap of late-round picks. Bradford's comfort in the spread seemed to be a perfect fit for head coach Chip Kelly's wide-open style, and the Eagles were even a sneaky pick to reach the Super Bowl. Bradford was fine, but one week after a big performance in an overtime win at the hated Dallas Cowboys improved the Eagles to 4-4, he injured his left shoulder and suffered a concussion, which caused him to miss the next two games. The Eagles were blown out in both. Bradford returned in Week 13 to beat the Patriots, but Kelly was fired before the season was over. Philly finished 7-9. Bradford was 24th in DYAR, and his contract was up.

The following March, Bradford signed a two-year deal to remain with the Eagles. But Philadelphia had other plans and aggressively traded up twice in the weeks ahead to land the No. 2 overall pick, which they used to select Carson Wentz. At the end of the preseason, after Vikings QB Teddy Bridgewater blew out his knee, the Eagles shipped Bradford to Minnesota, where he'd be the starter. With the Vikings, Bradford returned to his role as a checkdown specialist, completing a then-league record 71.6% of his passes. Again, though, he was 16th in DYAR for an offense that was 26th in DVOA. That seemed to be his ceiling.

By Week 2 in 2017, soreness in his twice-repaired left knee ended his season. The Vikings signed Kirk Cousins the following spring and let Bradford walk. The Arizona Cardinals gave him nearly $16 million guaranteed to be the veteran placeholder for rookie Josh Rosen. Bradford lasted three disastrous starts before being benched. He was released in early November. His career was over.

A quarterback is the most important player on any football team, but a quarterback's performance doesn't happen in a vacuum. Coaching and infrastructure matter greatly, as the NFL discovered over the course of the last decade. Rule changes designed to protect both the quarterback and receivers opened up the passing game and placed an emphasis on speed. Scoring and passing volume went way up. But it was more than that.

Drafting a franchise-caliber QB has always been a difficult proposition for NFL teams. But for too long, many of the league's coaches chafed at having to adapt what they do to build around the skill sets of the spread QBs the game's lower levels began producing in the mid-2000s. It wasn't until the last half of the 2010s that most teams began to figure this out. There's a reason Patrick Mahomes and Lamar Jackson are the last two league MVPs.

"The college game gave the NFL a blueprint on how to maximize its quarterbacks, and the NFL spent half the decade complaining about it," The Ringer's Kevin Clark wrote last fall. "The pro game was eating itself. This bit of conventional wisdom was eventually toppled in the biggest way possible, but it is instructive how resistant most of the league was before these offenses were adopted en masse."

Sam Bradford was one of those square pegs for a round hole. Devaney remains convinced that injuries did him in, but it's fair to wonder whether Bradford maybe came along too soon. There's no way to know whether he would have lived up to the hype, just the certainty that there are lots of reasons why he didn't.

Who will return kicks and punts for the Rams?

The LA Rams special teams are in a bit of flux right now. In fact, the only certainty for the Rams is that the punting duties will be handled by All-Pro punter Johnny Hekker. After that? It’s anyone’s guess. Well, some guesses have already been made by some of the national media, but that’s likely just based in the past players who have remained on the roster. For example, both ESPN’s depth chart for the LA Rams and CBS Sports depth chart for the Rams agree that the punt returner will be Nsimba Webster and the kick returner will be Greg Dortch.

Per Lineups.com, the LA Rams punt return team from 2019 was ranked 15th in the NFL, while the kick return team finished 30th in the NFL. That likely contributed to the team’s interest in parting ways with return specialist JoJo Natson and even wide receiver Mike Thomas, who also helped in the return game.

Bonamego is a new dealer

The LA Rams have a new dealer for special teams -John Bonamego. While in Detroit, the Lions boasted the 8th-ranked punt return and the 25th-ranked kick return squad in the NFL. Unlike the Rams election to go with smaller but fast receivers, Bonamego assigned both punt and kick return duties to Lions 5-foot-10 190-pound cornerback Jamal Agnew. For punts, Agnew split the duties with 5-foot-11 185-pound wide receiver Danny Amendola. What that suggests is that Bonamego will have a primary return specialist for both kicks and punts, but will add a second punt returner to protect either sideline.

So the Rams will likely employ the same basic principals in the return game. Two punt returners who will split the field, and one of those two as the kick returner. That is easy enough. But now comes the hard part. Who will win out the jobs for the Rams return specialist(s)? And there is where the competition will glow red-hot.

In the mix

Of course, one player who is in the mix returns from last season, 5-foot-10 180-pound wide receiver Nsimba Webster. While his previous experience with the Rams would normally be an advantage, I do not see much boost to his winning the job in 2020 due to his seven punt returns in 2019, as well as two kick returns. While he has some experience, his numbers are too light to project anything in 2020. He’s familiar with the role, and that is about all he has going for him so far.

While 5-foot-7 173-pound Greg Dortch is also a veteran, he was signed in January 2020 to an LA Rams futures contract. He was a return specialist for the Carolina Panthers in 2019, Again, his volume was very light, but he has some success in returning punts. His production when he did get his hands on the ball flashed brilliance. He’ll definitely be one player worth keeping an eye on.

Other veteran players who should compete for a return role

Running back Darrell Henderson would be very wise to lobby for special teams play. After all, his rookie debut for the LA Rams was anything but memorable. And the competition is too heated in 2020 for him to be passive about his spot on the team and await the ball to come to him. So the 5-foot-8 208-pound running back needs to plug into the game however he can. Big runs in the return game is certainly a sure-fire way to do exactly that.

Another player who would be very wise to toss their hat into the ring is wide receiver, Josh Reynolds. While many Rams fans have lobbied for this season to finally give Reynolds his opportunity to shine on the roster, he too faces incredibly stiff competition. In his contract year, he needs to reprove to the coaches just how valuable he can be. The 6-foot-3 196-pound wide receiver is a huge target for QB Jerod Goff on routes, but he can add a great deal of value to the team by rotating in as an alternate for punt returns.

Rookies who could win return role

DB Dayan Ghanwoloku (a.k.a Dayan Lake) – 5-foot-10 205-pound undrafted cornerback Dayan Ghanwoloku is a speedster blessed with 4.41-second 40-yard speed. And he fits the Bonamego design of a slightly bigger player who can play cornerback. That could cross off two roles with one player. He’d relied on that speed to win the battles in pass coverage, but that same speed that handicapped him in college could earn him enough time in the pro league to truly develop into a solid pass defender as well.

WR Brandon Polk – 5-foot-9 180-pound undrafted wide receiver Brandon Polk has been on the Rams radar for some time. Perhaps it’s the fact that he registered a 4.28-second 40-yard dash time. That’s .05 seconds faster than 5-foot-10 185-pound Brandin Cooks’ time. Can the Rams harness that type of speed at wide receiver? Perhaps, but you can bet that the Rams have a plan for him in both punt returns and kick returns. In fact, the Rams remained in constant contact with him until they signed him after the draft, citing both kick and punt returner duties as a significant reason for their interest.

Didn’t expect to wind up with Winston

Easop Winston – 6-foot-0 190-pound undrafted wide receiver Easop Winston was a huge reason for Washington State University’s offense. After all, he boasts a 4.41-second 40-yard dash time. And he is definitely a player who very likely can contribute when the offense has the ball as well. The reality is that many expected Winston to be drafted early on day three. After all, he was a primary target for now-Jacksonville-Jaguars-starting-quarterback Gardner Minshew in 2018. And he was rated very well in a very deep and talented receiver class. Don’t be surprised if he emerges with a significant role for the Rams in 2020.

While we cannot say how improved the LA Rams special teams will be for 2020, or even if the team will improve, it’s pretty apparent that special teams coordinator John Bonamego loves to set up very competitive groups to earn a chance to play for his squad. While everyone looks elsewhere, the Rams have snuck in seriously talented players for specific roles on the team for 2020. Will it all mesh and synch up for the team? The jury is still out on that front. But the Rams have amassed a serious amount of surprisingly high talent for the team this season.

Rams are the most bet-on team to win Super Bowl LV

Future sports betting trends can get a little strange.

According to Oddschecker, the Rams have been the most-wagered on NFL team to win the Super Bowl this season in the last week, with a total of 33% of the bets being placed on them.

There is no special reason for the Rams’ betting surge ... it’s not like they added any major pieces in the past week. It was simply weird to see a team that had odds of 33-1 to win the Super Bowl to suddenly become the most popular betting option. An Oddschecker spokesman didn’t have a logical explanation when asked in an email, either.

“It’s not immediately clear why the Rams are proving enticing for bettors; they’re still in a salary cap nightmare and have a QB in Jared Goff who is yet to shed some lingering doubts over his game,” Oddschecker spokesman Pete Watt said. “Combine that with the fact that the NFC West is one of the toughest divisions in the whole league and it’s clear to see why their odds are so long.”

Watt said that some sportsbooks have moved the Rams’ Super Bowl odds from 33-1 to 25-1 after the betting flurry. Oddschecker gets its data from most of the major sportsbooks, including our friends at DraftKings. The Rams are currently ranked at 33-1 with DraftKings. Watt said that is the best current odds on the Rams winning Super Bowl LV in Tampa.

ST Coordinator John Bonamego rapid repairs to LA Rams
Bret Stuter

The LA Rams hired new ST Coordinator John Bonamego to restore special teams’ ranking to the NFL’s top ten. But, where must he start?

The LA Rams, like all NFL Teams, organize the team under three separate banners: Offense, Defense, and Special teams. The offense is the easiest to track. Measuring an NFL offense involves direct statistics, or yards gained and points scored. In other words, move the ball, and score. Run the ball, pass the ball, score. Pretty straightforward.

The defense is measured in an indirect fashion. Its ultimate success is measured by how effectively it stops opposing offenses from moving the ball and from scoring. Since the defense is the antithesis of the offense, it is tracked with a different set of statistics. That creates a bit of subjectivity to the process.

Special special teams

Finally, the team has special teams, which is the professional football category of “all other”. And that is what makes an effort to fix the ranking of the special teams unit on any team so difficult. It is not a homogenous unit, but rather has up to eight separate objectives.

All of this is extremely important to LA Rams new special teams coordinator John Bonamego. After all, he is the only new coordinator who must do more than reformulate how the LA Rams do things. He must reverse the trend of a declining trend among all of the LA Rams’ various special teams’ functions. Unfortunately, the “all other” category of special teams play makes that a difficult task even in a normal season, let alone a year when social distancing requirements prohibit NFL coaches to have direct contact with players.

Refurbish special teams play

The Rams have a history of solid special teams’ play, thanks to former special teams’ coordinator John Fassel. But that performance atop the NFL had declined over the past several seasons. That created a window of opportunity for former Rams special teams coordinator John Fassel to sign on with the Dallas Cowboys and join their new head coach Mike McCarthy in refurbishing the Cowboys horrific special teams play.

That defection was soon followed by assistant special teams coach Matt Daniels following Fassel to the Dallas Cowboys. The Cowboys went to the LA Rams’ well one more time in luring veteran kicker Greg Zuerlein away from the Rams as well. The loss of the special team’s coaching staff, as well as long-time kicker Zuerlein, may seem like a setback to some. But the three vacancies actually afford the Rams a strong chance of reversing the decline this year.

Expert mechanic Bonamego

The Rams brought in a special teams expert in John Bonamego. The LA Rams need to elevate the play of many aspects of the special teams’ performance. Fortunately, John Bonamego has a solid history of rapidly repairing the special teams play in the NFL. After all, he’s served as the special teams’ coordinator for the Green Bay Packers (2003-2005), New Orleans Saints (2006-2007), Miami Dolphins (2008-201010), the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2012, and finally with the Detroit Lions special teams coordinator (2013-2014). After serving as head coach for Central Michigan University for four seasons, he returned to the Detroit Lions once more for 2019.

Bonamego fixes special teams by focusing on the oft-overlooked aspects of special teams. Coffin kicking for punters, touchbacks on kickoffs, and constant speed and determination for coverages. It’s a simple enough strategy. But in the modern era of deceit and trickery, simply playing the odds is the right choice sometimes. In the end, it’s a KISS philosophy – Keep It Simple, Stupid! So what’s in this so simple planning?

What’s going on, John?

Special teams’ success is all about kicking the ball where the other team cannot set up a return, or returning the ball further than the default spot of the 25-yard line.

For the punting team, the goal is to punt the ball within the opponent’s 20-yard line, which is known as a coffin-kick. The punting team also strives to get the longest punts with the highest hang time, the amount of time a kicked ball remains in the air. Finally, the punting team attempts to cover punts effectively by defending opponents’ attempts to return a punt for positive yards.

For a punt return team, the most elusive goal is to block the opponent’s punt. If the punt is away, then the punt return team’s goal is to average the most yards in returning the punt, in scoring on punt returns, and in generating the shortest net punting average – or the distance from the previous play’s line of scrimmage to the new line of scrimmage.

Just for kicks?

For the kicking team, the team measures its success in net kicking yards. Unlike a punter who can punt the ball out of bounds, a kicker must ensure the ball remains within the field of play. A touchback, kicking the ball out of the end zone or into a receiver’s arms who downs the ball in the end zone, When that occurs, the ball is placed at the 25-yard line. While touchbacks are very good, a kicking team’s ultimate goal is to cover well enough that the opponent’s offense starts deep in their own territory.

For the kick return team, the team measures success by the ability to secure the ball, return the ball beyond the 25-yard line, and score. Unfortunately, the success rate of a kick return team is not as effective as it had been in the past, simply because touchbacks result in a favorable placement of the ball. But kicking teams had since adjusted and have begun to arch the ball higher, trying to land the ball on or about the five-yard line. With the right trajectory, the ball comes down just as the coverage does, and the ball is spotted behind the 25-yard line.

What about going for three points?

Nothing breaks the spirits of a football team harder than a game-winning drive to set up a field goal, only to have that field-goal fail in the closing moments of the game. And with the LA Rams falling to the 28th-ranked team in the NFL on field goal accuracy, the Rams needed to make some improvements. Coincidentally, the Rams two special teams coaches and field goal kicker Greg Zuerlein defected to the Dallas Cowboys. Will the Rams recover?

After all, the plunge of the Rams from a Super Bowl competitor to an NFL team that failed to make the playoffs cannot be attributed to the offensive line nor the defense alone. It was the plummet of the team’s field goal performance. And there is the greatest challenge for Bonamego in 2020. Can he fix the field goal unit? First, we need to determine what that fix looks like.

Improvement plan

For the field goal team, the team measures its success by field goal accuracy. And that is where the Rams failed miserably in 2019. 72.7 percent accuracy is an abysmal rate, no matter which season it occurs. It just happened to occur on a season where the Rams needed special teams to contribute. So the goal for 2020 is simple enough. the team needs to improve field goal accuracy by 10 percentage points, or to 82 percent. That means instead of making just 24 of 33 attempts, the team must make at least 27 field goals. That just three more.

For defending field goal attempts, the team’s ultimate goal is to block the field goal. But even if that does not occur, simply getting near to the kicker or disrupting the timing of the snapper, holder, and the kicker is enough. Whatever it takes to create a miss by the opposing team. While this is a difficult element of special teams, Bonamego is savvy enough to have a trick or two up his sleeve.

Here come the reinforcements

So now we have the plan, but what of the players? Well, I have some great news. Here is where this gets fun. Bonamego was not silent as the Rams went about adding personnel to the roster this offseason. That was not only new field goal kickers but a host of players signed after the draft with amazing upside in both the return and coverage games.

But since we know that your thoughts are about improving the Rams’ ability to score the sure-three points, it’s as good a place as any to start.

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Kick around the kicker talk

Let’s discuss those field goal kickers. The Rams added three: One from the college ranks, one from the CFL, and the third from the XFL. From college, the Rams added Sam Sloman, a graduating senior from the University of Miami (Ohio). Sloman’s accuracy was 86.7 percent on field goals his senior season, and 97.1 percent accurate on extra points. The team added XFL kicker Austin MacGinnis, who boasted a 79.1 percent accuracy while kicking at the University of Kentucky.

But the guy most fans get excited about is former CFL kicker Lirim Hajrullahu. He booted 41 out of 49 kicks from the 40-49 yard range (83.7 percent accuracy) and 14 out of 16 from the 50+ yard range (87.5 percent accuracy). The CFL listed him both as a kicker and as a punter, and his accuracy never fell below 80 percent in any CFL season. Getting a kicker who can also punt the ball is a tough combination to walk away from.

Punt the thing

Of course, very little needs to be done to improve the Rams punting game. That is thanks to the LA Rams All-Pro punter Johnny Hekker, who is a sniper with those long booming punts. And he has earned the All-Pro designation four years running. So can Hekker improve his game under Bonamego’s tutelage?

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Perhaps. After all, there are gross punting yards, and then there are net yards which factor in punt returns. So if there is an area to improve, it would be getting more coffin kicks to go out of bounds inside the 20-yard line. A minor matter, but it could reap huge benefits for the team in the end.

Coverage Cavalry

So the only thing left the young talented players hoping to make the LA Rams 2020 roster via the special teams’ route. And the list of the 22 players signed to the team vying for the limited roster spots is very impressive. Take your time and read through the small speedsters who can run the ball back for nearly a 30-yard average, the big bodies who will fight at the line of scrimmage for a position, or the fast big thumpers who can get down the field quickly and deliver a bone-shaking tackle in coverage.

Bonamego has a fine eye for talent, and it truly showed in the players selected by the team this year. Better still, he made his point when it came to player signings after the NFL Draft. Look for some rapid repairs to the LA Rams special teams play, folks. And that could be just enough to get the Rams back into the NFL playoffs in 2020.

Early 2020 position outlook: Outside linebacker

After examining the Rams' offense, defense and special teams following the 2020 NFL Draft, theRams.com will take a deeper look at each position group as we get closer to the upcoming season. The outside linebackers are up next.

Who's back

Samson Ebukam: Played in all 16 games last season with five starts, posting career-highs in total tackles (45) and pass breakups (4). He also contributed one forced fumble and two fumble recoveries.

Justin Lawler: Similar to Micah Kiser, preseason foot surgery in early August eventually landed Lawler on injured reserve in early September, forcing him to miss his entire second NFL season.

Ogbo Okoronkwo: Tallied 7 tackles and 1.5 sacks in 10 games last season. It marked his first NFL action after spending the first nine games of his rookie season on the Physically Unable to Perform List and being inactive for the remaining seven regular season games and three playoff games due to May 2018 foot surgery.

Natrez Patrick: Saw action in 12 games, making two total tackles. He was inactive for the other four.

Jachai Polite: The No. 68 pick in last year's NFL Draft was signed to the Rams' practice squad in late September, then inked a reserve/future contract with the club in early January. Prior to joining the Rams, he spent the first three weeks of September on the Seahawks practice squad after being waved by the New York Jets – the team which originally drafted him – in late August.

Who's gone

Dante Fowler: After signing a one-year deal with the Rams last offseason, he parlayed a season of career highs in sacks (11.5), total tackles (54) and pass breakups (6) into a lucrative three-year deal with the Atlanta Falcons.

Clay Matthews: Released on March 18 after originally joined the club as an unrestricted free agent last year. The former USC standout made 37 combined tackles and eight sacks in 13 games, adding three pass breakups and two forced fumbles.

Who's new

Leonard Floyd: The former 2016 top-10 draft pick reunites with defensive coordinate Brandon Staley, who was his position coach with the Chicago Bears in 2017 and 2018. Floyd made 154 total tackles, 18.5 sacks, two safeties, nine pass breakups and one interception in four seasons with the Bears.

Terrell Lewis: The No. 84 overall pick in this year's draft, Lewis' 31 tackles, 11.5 for loss, six sacks and two pass breakups in 11 games earned him second team All-SEC honors in his final season at Alabama.

Greg Reaves: Undrafted free agent signee who tallied 212 tackles, including 30.5 tackles for loss, 8.5 sacks, six pass break-ups, three fumble recoveries, one forced fumble and an interception in four seasons at South Florida.

Key question(s)

Who replaces Fowler and Matthews? As Staley embarks on his first season overseeing the Rams' defense, he and outside linebackers coach Chris Shula have the luxury of choosing from a deep, young and talented group.

What can Lewis provide as a rookie? Regardless of his role, it's not unreasonable to think he finds a way to crack the edge rusher rotation this season, given his talent and work ethic.

Breath CGI, Breath...... @CGI_Ram

Chargers are giving him a look-see...
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Much ado has been made of how the Ram's are going to afford to extend key players like Floyd, and Ramsey. They are also predicting doom and gloom regarding the cap possibly shrinking. Personally I don't see the cap shrinking due to the virus impact. Too many teams have based their finances upon at least the status quo. What I see happening is the league maintaining the current cap level another year. So what would that mean in 2021?

I think if they simply extend the current cap the Rams would begin the season with between $20-25M in cap space. That will allow them to simply sign the players they want to keep to cap-friendly contracts with increases in 2022, i.e. kicking the can down the road. Also, they can simply release (post June 1) players like Whitworth, Havenstein, and Brockers and clear an additional $15M or so.

Next year only Gurley's contract will be on the books as dead money for another year after which it will clear another $8.8M. Once again this is evidence of good cap management while maintaining a championship-caliber team. It's also why guys like Ramsey and Kupp aren't concerned because they will get paid.

I've about had enough of Google and I want the best option out there that doesn't restrict free speech and protects individual's information/searches. I'm trying DuckDuckGo right now and it seems to be pretty good. Maybe we do a poll and explain why you like it so much?

Days 85 is dedicated to the toughest son of a bitch to ever grace the gridiron. Mr. Jack Youngblood.

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2019 Injury Thread

2020 Injury Thread

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How can rookie DT Michael Hoecht make LA Rams 2020 roster?

The LA Rams saw something special when they signed up defensive tackle Michael Hoecht immediately following the 2020 NFL Draft. Of course, anyone who stands 6-foot-4 and weighs 290 pounds is awfully difficult to ignore. But the Rams are saturated at the defensive line position this year, right?

After all, the team picked up free agent A’Shawn Robinson, re-signed outgoing veteran defensive lineman Michael Brockers, and even re-signed defensive end, Morgan Fox. So in the numbers game, there doesn’t seem to be much room for Hoecht to make this roster. So why did the Rams go the distance to sign him up?

Production incorporated

Well, perhaps it was that college production? That was pretty impressive for a defensive tackle who played 37 games in college. Not only did he get to the quarterback for 16.5 sacks, but he created 174 tackles and 29.5 tackles-for-losses. Keep in mind that Hoecht is an interior defensive lineman. That’s certainly enough to warrant some interest, right?

But the likely reason is this guy can MOVE! At his size and weight, and he hits a 4.6-seconds for his 40-yard dash time? That’s a good as running backs.

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It just so happens that he is a former high school running back, who now plays an interior defensive line. But he is more than a big fast guy. His 25 reps at 225 -pounds prove he has a bit of power as well. So he’s big, strong, fast, and productive? Now the image of why the Rams signed him up is starting to come into focus.

Oh, the possibilities!

What can the Rams coaching staff do with a guy like Michael Hoecht? As a rookie, he is likely already making special teams coordinator John Bonamego sit on the edge of his seat in anticipation. A big guy who can hustle down the field and tackle? That combination alone virtually assures that Hoecht will make the team for special teams alone. But when a huge guy has the strength, speed, and versatility like Michael Hoecht, you can bet other coaches are eager to see what he can do as well.

But he has the ability to play at all three of the team’s defensive line positions as well. And as a rookie with tremendous upside, he will push hard for defensive snaps. He even has an option to play some offensive snaps as well, as his background at running back could cook up some interesting offensive plays for head coach Sean McVay and offensive coordinator Kevin O’Connell. In fact, a player with so many talents and the versatility to impact the game in all three phases of the game is a smart addition. In fact, it will be up to the coaches to harness all that talent this year.

Rams believe healthy dose of draft pick Terrell Lewis will improve pass rush

In their quest for an edge-rushing presence, and to mitigate the loss of two dynamic players, the Rams selected Alabama’s Terrell Lewis in the third round of the NFL draft.

New defensive coordinator Brandon Staley intimated that the Rams got a potential steal.

“His talent is not indicative of where he was drafted,” Staley said during a video conference with reporters.

So far, Staley has only been able to evaluate Lewis in a virtual setting. The real test will come when COVID-19 restrictions are lifted enough for Rams players and coaches to finally get onto the field.

But Lewis looks the part of a top prospect.

At 6 feet 5 and 262 pounds, he adds size, speed and a potentially disruptive presence to a Rams pass rush that is led by star defensive tackle Aaron Donald.

“They told me how much they believe in me and my abilities,” Lewis said April 24, the day he was drafted. “They can’t wait to display it to every other team that passed up on me, and I can’t wait either.

“Just ready to get to work and make everybody else pay for the wait.”

Lewis is expected to help fill a void left by the departures of outside linebackers Dante Fowler and Clay Matthews.

Last season, Fowler recorded a career-best 11½ sacks. Matthews added eight for a team that finished 9-7 and missed the playoffs for the first time in three seasons under coach Sean McVay.

After the season, McVay cut ties with veteran defensive coordinator Wade Phillips and hired the 37-year-old Staley, an outside linebackers coach for the Chicago Bears and Denver Broncos the last three seasons.

In March, the Rams released Matthews, and Fowler left to sign a $45-million contract with the Atlanta Falcons.

The Rams moved quickly to replace Fowler, signing edge rusher Leonard Floyd. The 2016 first-round pick had underperformed in four seasons with the Bears — he never had more than seven sacks in a season — but his background playing under Staley helped convince the Rams he was worth a one-year, $10-million prove-it contract.

A month later, after selecting running back Cam Akers and wide receiver Van Jefferson in the second round, the Rams chose Lewis.

On an Alabama team full of NFL prospects, Lewis was considered among the most talented, but injuries apparently affected his draft stock.

Lewis was sidelined 10 games during the 2017 season because of an upper-arm injury. He returned for the national championship game and had seven tackles and a key sack in the Crimson Tide’s 26-23 overtime victory over Georgia.

Lewis sat out all of the 2018 season because of a torn knee ligament. He played in 10 games last season and had 11½ tackles for lost yardage, six sacks and two pass breakups.

“He’s had some injuries, but I think they’ve been some freak instances,” McVay said. “You look at when this guy is able to play, he’s healthy, he’s ready to go.”

Lewis will compete to start opposite Floyd in the Rams’ hybrid 3-4 scheme.

Fourth-year pro Samson Ebukam, who has started 21 games, Obo Okoronkwo, Natrez Patrick, Justin Lawler and Jachai Polite are other outside linebackers who will compete for playing time.

Lewis joins a roster that also includes former Alabama defensive tackle A’Shawn Robinson. The Rams signed Robinson in March after he played four seasons for the Detroit Lions. Robinson said he spoke to Lewis during return visits to Tuscaloosa, Ala., in 2016 and 2017. He also called Lewis after the draft.

“He has the intensity, tenacity just to … tear things up,” Robinson said. “He really gets after it. He plays the game smart, and he does everything he’s supposed to do. And I feel he can get off that edge and be a burning thing off the edge.”

Lewis is looking forward to contributing to the Rams’ defense. Alabama, under coach Nick Saban, prepares players for the NFL, he said.

“I think we go through an NFL process in college,” he said. “When you get to the NFL, you know the game.”

I'm watching the new one-eyed fat man, Rooster Cogburn in True Grit. We know who -X- is picking because fans of the Dude will abide. It's harder than I ever thought it would be in in choosing between Jeff Bridges and John Wayne. I actually think writing/language used by the characters is better than the original True Grit. I also wonder which Mattie Ross of Yell County played by Hailee Steinfeld is better than Kim Darby? So lets vote on the best team of Cogburn and Ross!

Cam Akers is most elusive rookie RB entering 2020

This is not meant to be a list of the best running backs in the NFL but rather the league's most elusive running backs. I’m choosing to define elusiveness as how well a player eludes would-be tacklers — i.e., how difficult they are to bring to the ground. That comes in different forms, as some players opt to run defenders over, while others prefer to evade contact altogether. But the end goal remains the same — don’t get tackled.

1. CAM AKERS, LOS ANGELES RAMS

Making people miss wasn’t an added bonus for Akers at Florida State. It was a necessity while running behind one of the worst offensive lines in college football. Comparing college numbers to the NFL is always tricky, but we’ve seen that missed tackle numbers and stats like yards after contact translate well to the NFL. Last season, Akers forced a missed tackle on 32% of his touches and averaged nearly 4 rushing yards after contact per attempt. He’ll likely have to put those skills to use again as a rookie behind a Rams’ offensive line that still has some questions.

2. CLYDE EDWARDS-HELAIRE, KANSAS CITY CHIEFS

Edwards-Helaire didn’t trail Akers by much in this department coming out of LSU. If you like a good old-fashioned spin move, he delivers. Last season, Edwards-Helaire forced 71 missed tackles on 214 rushing attempts — a mark right up there with Akers — and he can do it as both a runner and a receiver. Edwards-Helaire is well-positioned to thrive in a Kansas City offense that can use him similarly to how it made the most of Kareem Hunt as a rookie in 2017, another running back who specialized in making defenders miss and provided high-level play as a receiver out of the backfield. Edwards-Helaire is someone who could place highly on this list a year from now after a strong rookie season.

3. JONATHAN TAYLOR, INDIANAPOLIS COLTS

Some running backs who lack shake in the open field can simply run through tackles at the college level thanks to their combination of size and speed. Taylor is one such running back who has the kind of rare size and speed that might allow him to do something similar at the NFL level. His missed tackles forced rates in college aren’t on par with Akers or Edwards-Helaire, but with the offensive line in Indianapolis opening up holes on the ground and getting him clean to the second level, Taylor could put up some big-time numbers as a rookie in a featured role.

4. KE’SHAWN VAUGHN, TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS

The 2020 NFL Draft Guide categorized Vaughn as a no-nonsense, one-cut runner with great vision and plus speed, but that led to a running style where he didn’t attempt to make too many guys miss. Despite that, Vaughn averaged over 0.26 missed tackles forced per touch and 4.4 yards after contact per rush across his final two seasons at Vanderbilt. Those numbers are bound to drop in the NFL, but it’s not a bad starting point.

5. D’ANDRE SWIFT, DETROIT LIONS

Swift ended the pre-draft process as our RB1 in the 2020 Draft Guide, but during the 2019 season, he forced a missed tackle on under 20% of his touches while the other four rookies projected to earn the lion’s share of touches on their teams next season all put up marks above 26%. His route-running ability and natural hands should make him an ideal receiver for the running back position early on, but his broken tackle rates at Georgia signal he has some work to do at making guys miss once the ball is in his hands.

Day 86 is Michael Hoomanawanui. I gotta be honest, I only used him because I like saying his name. He had some talent but never was able to show it up consistently. Had a cool name though.
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49ers agree to new six-year contract with Kyle Shanahan to keep him through 2025

The San Francisco 49ers have rewarded head coach Kyle Shanahan with a brand new six-year contract that will keep him tied to the organization through the 2025 season, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. This new deal replaces the three years that were remaining on Shanahan's previous contract with the Niners. He is now among the five highest-paid head coaches in the NFL. This new contract is rather unique as Schefter reports that it was constructed simply between owner Jed York and Shanahan. The two reportedly sat down and quickly came to an agreement on the second six-year contract of his tenure.

Shanahan, 40, originally signed a six-year deal to become the head coach of the 49ers back in 2017. Prior to landing in the Bay Area, he rose through the coaching ranks as the offensive coordinator for the Houston Texans (2008-2009), Washington Redskins (2010-2013), Cleveland Browns (2014) and Atlanta Falcons (2015-2016).

Shanahan is considered to be one of the craftiest play-callers in the entire league and has helped lead the way in San Francisco's resurgence. After going 10-22 over his first two seasons as head coach, Shanahan and the 49ers were able to take the leap in 2019, enjoying a 13-3 regular season campaign and an NFC Championship. Offensively, San Francisco averaged 29.9 points a game under Shanahan in 2019, which ranked second in the NFL. On the defensive side of the ball, they were second in the league in points allowed at just 19.4 points per game.

San Francisco was also on the brink of winning Super Bowl LIV before Kansas City's comeback and is considered to be one of the favorites to win the Super Bowl next season. According to William Hill Sports Book, the 49ers are the favorites to come out of the NFC and own the third-best odds (+700) to win Super Bowl LV.

Lamar Jackson took a scary tumble over a jet ski during a beach football game

Just last year, then-reigning NFL MVP Patrick Mahomes gave the Chiefs front office a scare when video circulated on social media of the star quarterback playing pickup basketball games. After those videos went viral, Mahomes was effectively banned from playing basketball.

Now it’s Lamar Jackson’s turn to expect a call from the Ravens.

Video hit Twitter and Instagram on Sunday of the 2019 MVP playing beach football (already a bad idea) and eventually taking a fall over a jet ski.

The video was somewhat obscured in the final moments, but we can see Jackson take off scrambling and trying to evade a tackle just before tumbling over a jet ski just off the beach.

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Yeah, uh, that’s the last thing the Ravens want to see — even if he was fine.

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And while Mahomes faced criticism for playing basketball, beach football might have been even more reckless. The NFL used to hold a rookie beach football game as part of the Pro Bowl festivities, and that changed when former Patriots running back Robert Edwards suffered a devastating knee injury.

With all the uneven surfaces, no good could come from playing a pickup beach football game. There didn’t even need to be a water ski parked nearby for that to be an awful idea.

Early 2020 position outlook: Defensive line

After examining the Rams' offense, defense and special teams following the 2020 NFL Draft, theRams.com will take a deeper look at each position group as we get closer to the upcoming season. The defensive line is up next.

Who's back

Michael Brockers: Multiple reports said he initially agreed to terms with the Ravens on a 3-year deal, but it fell through after Baltimore received the results of an outsourced physical (he had injured his ankle in the 2019 regular season finale). That brought him back to Los Angeles by way of a 3-year deal. Last season, he set a career-high for total tackles in a single season with 63 and was a key part of the Rams' run defense.

Marquise Copeland: Signed as an undrafted free agent out of Cincinnati last year, he spent the entire 2019 season on the practice squad.

Aaron Donald: Led the Rams with 20 tackles for loss and 12.5 sacks in 2019, earning Pro Football Focus' Pass Rusher of the Year. He was also named to the NFL's All-Decade team of the 2010s.

Morgan Fox: Re-signed in May after originally entering the new league year as a restricted free agent. He posted 18 total tackles and two sacks while playing in all 16 games.

Greg Gaines: Last year's fourth-round pick out of the University of Washington amassed 13 total tackles while appearing in 10 games during his rookie season.

Sebastian Joseph-Day: Collected 37 total tackles, two sacks and one pass breakup in his first season as a full-time starter. He played in all 16 games, starting in 15.

Who's gone

Tanzel Smart: Released to make room for Fox, the 2017 sixth-round pick produced 20 total tackles and one pass breakup across 31 games in a Rams uniform.

Who's new

A'Shawn Robinson: The former Alabama standout played his first four NFL seasons with the Detroit Lions, amassing 172 combined tackles, five sacks, 16 pass breakups, three forced fumbles and one interception across 58 career games. He signed a two-year deal with the Rams in late April.

Eric Banks: Undrafted free agent signee who tallied 81 total tackles, including 20.5 for loss, plus three pass breakups, five forced fumbles and one fumble recovery in four seasons at Texas-San Antonio, earning honorable mention All-Conference USA recognition as a senior in 2019.

Michael Hoecht: In four seasons at Brown, the undrafted free agent signee accumulated 174 total tackles, including 29.5 tackles for loss, 16.5 sacks, two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery and one blocked kick.

Sam Renner: Undrafted free agent signee who produced 56 total tackles, including nine for loss, plus five sacks while playing in 37 games at Minnesota. A former walk-on, he also started all 13 games during his senior season.

Jonah Williams: Collected 15 sacks, which ranks ninth in school history, with 28 career tackles for loss across 54 career games, adding 194 total tackles, three fumble recoveries, three forced fumbles and three career blocked kicks. The undrafted free agent signee earned All-America honors and was named the Big Sky Defensive MVP in his final season at Weber State.

Key question(s)

How will A'Shawn Robinson impact the defense? The most immediate answer is likely in the run game because of his 6-foot-4, 330-pound frame. Overall, though, it will be fascinating to see the difference he makes, and how the attention he draws opens things up for the rest of the Rams' defensive line.

Clock is ticking fast. Less then 3 months. Day 87 is an infamous player that helped get the Rams to the Super Bowl.
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i never realised the rams were so bad and in such cap trouble for the next few years. how could i have missed it?

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2020 or bust for 5 Ram defenders

The LA Rams are all about winning now. Not tomorrow. Not down the road. Now. That’s life in professional football. You see, life comes at you fast when you are in the NFL. So it should come as no surprise that the clock is ticking for these five defensive players to show up in a big way in 2020. You either show-up or go home culture in professional football. And teams have become far more impatient over the years. The average shelf life for an NFL head coach is decreasing rapidly. So too are the careers of NFL general managers. So with shorter careers at the top, there is ever-increasing pressure to deliver as a player.

The Rams are a bit to blame for that pace. After all, it was just two seasons for the Rams to land in the Super Bowl after hiring on head coach Sean McVay. To many, that feat came after many years at the helm of a team. And if it only required two seasons for McVay to get there, how much patience do you truly expect to occur to see him return?

Prove it time

The NFL has committed to veterans in a sort of “prove it” mentality as more and more teams are embracing one-year contracts. While that offers virtually no long-term financial security for a player, nor long term players for teams, it does give both sides an opportunity for a short term trial-run to explore how well the team and player fit each other’s expectations. The pressure is overwhelming, and the only way to salvage careers is to give both the player and the team trial periods to see how well their chemistry works.

Unfortunately, the team is facing a fork in the road with some players. An NFL team is very competitive, both for playing time and for salary dollars. Sometimes players underperform, and other times the math simply doesn’t work out for the role on the team any longer. So these five LA Rams players must either prove their worth or pack their bags. It’s that simple. First on the ejector seat? Defensive tackle Greg Gaines.

DT Gaines

Greg Gaines is a powerful 6-foot-1 312-pound defensive tackle for the LA Rams. He arrived at the team with a great deal of hoopla and hype. Although he is just entering his second season, it’s quite obvious that the bar was simply set too high for the young man. Is it too soon to draw a line in the sand for Gaines in 2020? Not really. His Pro Football Focus grade from 2019 was an impressive 74.4. Unfortunately, that was based on too few plays.

When the LA Rams selected Greg Gaines, the hype machine applauded the move as a tremendous find by the Rams in landing a potential replacement for outgoing defensive lineman Ndamukong Suh. But that never truly happened. In his first season, the LA Rams defensive front consisted of Aaron Donald, Michael Brockers, and Sebastian Joseph Day. Despite the limited options for defensive rotations, Gaines only saw the field in ten games and for just 17 percent of the defensive snaps. What’s worse, his pedestrian speed limited him to just 11 snaps on special teams play. For a fourth-rounder, that’s not going to cut it.

Fish or cut …Gaines?

With so much anticipation of what Gaines might do, the reality is that Gaines didn’t do enough to validate those hopes. Was it the player not earning playing time? Or was it a matter of not enough opportunities for a promising young player? We may never know the answer, but it’s a glaring challenge for 2020. Gaines must step up and perform this year. With the defense emphasizing multiple role players, can Gaines find his niche?

Surprisingly, yes. It won’t be handed over to him, but there are plenty of minutes to be earned in 2020. New defensive coordinator Brandon Staley’s defense depends heavily upon strength at the line of scrimmage (defensive linemen), speed and agility in the second tier (linebackers), and extreme versatility in the defensive backfield. Gaines has plenty of power. This year, he simply needs to get snaps and make plays. If not, the Rams have too many talented young players waiting for their chance.

OLB Floyd

Outside linebacker Leonard Floyd is the right player for the LA Rams needs in 2020. But it will be up to Floyd himself to validate that need, and prove to the Rams that both the role he will fill as well as he as the player are integral components to the success of this defense. How will it all play out? That’s what we are here to find out.

The LA Rams signed former Chicago Bears outside linebacker Leonard Floyd in free agency, and analysts immediately compared him to outside linebacker Clay Matthews. Days later, Matthews was cut by the team, indicating that the Rams sign Floyd as a younger replacement for Matthews, and not to take over for outgoing free agent Dante Fowler Jr. While that seemed a bit disorienting at first, the LA Rams’ strategy seemed to take focus when the team landed outside linebacker Terrell Lewis in the 2020 NFL Draft. Lewis was often compared to the Rams Fowler by analysts.

A younger version, but is he as effective?

So in one year, the Rams got far younger and less expensive at the outside linebacker roles. But will the two new players be as effective? In the case of Floyd, he has one shot. When the LA Rams signed up Floyd, they did so with a one-year prove-it deal. That’s the deadline. Floyd has one-year to show up big on this Rams’ defense, or find another team to pick up his option.

Floyd was not a shot-in-the-dark signing. He was coached by Staley with the Chicago Bears, and it was likely that connection which persuaded the Rams to bring him aboard. After all, he is the linebacker leadership all but vacant in the room for the Rams right now. And he knows the new system, which means he has a huge advantage in 2020. Previously, Floyd played as the straight man to the Bears’ pash rushing Khalil Mack. This year, he will have a more balanced role in both pass rushing and coverage. Can he deliver? Many of his former coaches believe that he can. The Rams are not as confident, forcing Floyd to deliver in 2020 before making a longer-term commitment.

ILB Young

Inside linebacker Kenny Young can play with intensity and vigor for the right defensive scheme. The only problem is, can he do so for the Rams? While he was truly a midseason acquisition for the team in 2019, he never saw a single defensive snap. Previously, he saw plenty of action for the Baltimore Ravens. The Ravens loved him so much that they gave him three starts in both 2018 and 2019. Not based on seniority, but because he performed well on the field.

Linebacker Kenny Young will forever be tagged as “that guy we got in the Marcus Peters trade with the Baltimore Ravens”. While that is true, there is a good reason why the Rams insisted on adding Young to the exchange. He showed flashes of starting potential with the Ravens but showed nothing but special teams play with the Rams.

Older Young

That could all change this year. Kenny Young is one of the few interior linebackers on the roster right now with starting experience. Beyond that, if there was ever a time Young needed to step up, that time is now. After all, the Rams roster is loaded with raw talent at the linebacker position. But raw is not refined, and the defensive scheme in 2020 is all about refinement.

While Young must earn playing time for the Rams this season, the spotlight is his to lose. That’s not a compliment. Other players on the Rams roster can survive not winning a starting role on the team this season. In all likelihood, many additions to the team will survive an assignment to the practice squad this year. But Young? His time is now or never. Without a breakout season, the team will likely conclude this is a bad fit and will move on. Kenny Young is playing for his Rams’ career this season. Hopefully, he understands that urgency and finds a way to earn the starting role.

DE Fox

Defensive end Morgan Fox almost did not make this list, because the Rams had already parted ways by failing to tender a qualifying offer to him earlier in the year. And therein lies the urgency for his future with the LA Rams. He is playing with house money right now. In other words, he is benefitting from a mulligan.

Defensive end Morgan Fox was almost not re-signed to the team, despite promising signs of becoming a solid contributor for the team. While he is a four-year veteran, he lost the entire 2018 season due to an ACL injury. But he did manage to return to the field in 2019 and even started three games for the team at defensive end. Despite starting, the season only generated 32 percent of the Rams’ overall defensive snaps. While that’s still pretty good action for a rotational player, the numbers are not enough to warrant bringing him back next year without a step forward in production.

Crazy like a Fox

It’s difficult not to appreciate Morgan Fox’s play. If a play is made on the defense and I find myself asking “that was impressive, I wonder who did that?”, the answer if commonly defensive end Morgan Fox. In two seasons for the Rams (2017 and 2019), he’s played 687 snaps, generated 4.5 quarterback sacks, made 37 tackles, accounted for six quarterback hits, five tackles for a loss, and one safety. But that was not enough to ensure he was re-signed.

The Rams need to find contributors to the pass rush in 2020. That is a role that Fox must fill this year. Even upping his sack total to five or six this year would be enough to warrant bringing him back. Right now, the list of quarterback sack specialists on this team is short and rather inexperienced. Defensive lineman Aaron Donald will need help getting to the quarterback. That’s Morgan Fox’s signal that he needs to go crazy at sacking the QB this year. Otherwise, he may not be back in 2021.

S Johnson

LA Rams safety John Johnson delivers everything a defensive coordinator could ask for, as long as he is on the field. Can he stay healthy in 2020? If he does, he has an opportunity to showcase his talents in what could very well be his career-best season. If he cannot, then the team will have a very easy decision when his contract expires at the end of the season. But will it be that easy? After all, Johnson explodes on defense when he plays.

Safety John Johnson is one of the players who could be elite in 2020. In 2018, he generated 119 tackles and four interceptions. In just five games in 2019, he had already racked up 51 tackles and two interceptions. Projected over 16 games, that equates to 164 tackles and seven interceptions. That’s incredibly impressive, particularly considering that the NFL leading tackler, Seattle linebacker Bobby Wagner, accounted for 159 tackles in 2019.

Won’t go back again

Much like the Rams dilemma with wide receiver Cooper Kupp, the team faces a narrow path to re-sign Johnson in 2021. If Johnson has an outstanding season, the LA Rams will certainly seek to re-sign him to the roster. But that performance will attract suitors from many other NFL teams, all seeking to sign a solid player at the position. And so, a good to great year could price Johnson out of the Rams’ price range.

But if he doesn’t perform well, what is the incentive to bring him back? He missed most of 2019 with an injury, and should 2020 prove to underwhelm, then the team has every right to focus upon starting one of their younger safeties in 2020. With his talent, the likely only scenario is another injury-shortened season. While the Rams could roll the dice, the pain from paying players who are oft-injured is still too fresh. And the Rams have plenty of options to spend salary cap dollars in 2021.

Another TE for day 88.
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Never quite reached his potential but he was a decent weapon for us during the Fisher days.