It’s going to be tough. I wouldn’t trade Woods. He’s the best and toughest WR they have

[theathletic.com]

Which under-30 players might the Rams have to drop for salary-cap purposes?

By Vinny Bonsignore and Rich Hammond May 31, 2019
These are good times for the Rams, who have stability and a talented roster that figures to put them in Super Bowl contention again in 2019. But every team has issues. So each week, Vinny Bonsignore and Rich Hammond will discuss and debate the Rams’ biggest current questions. Here are the topics to date.

The clock is ticking. Jared Goff is going to need a new contract. The Rams delayed the inevitable in April when they picked up the fifth-year option on Goff’s rookie deal, for the 2020 season, and technically they could stall further by franchise-tagging Goff for a year or two. Eventually, though, ink must hit paper.

Given his current trajectory as one of the NFL’s top under-30 quarterbacks, Goff figures to join the nine current quarterbacks who earn an average salary of $25 million or more. That’s unless you’re one of the folks who thinks the Rams are going to let Goff walk away and draft his replacement, but Vinny certainly doesn’t think that’s going to happen.

The Rams’ cap crunch actually starts in 2020, when Goff’s option kicks in and ups his salary to $22 million, a raise of almost $14 million. The cap figures of stars such as Aaron Donald and Todd Gurley also jump. (And for those who might wonder, Gurley’s contract includes a ton of dead-cap money through 2021.)

The Rams will be able to mitigate some of that with the (likely) retirement of Andrew Whitworth, who has a cap hit of $16.7 million this season. Other veterans (Aqib Talib, Eric Weddle, etc.) also are unlikely to stay for the long term, and the salary cap should continue to rise. But according to OverTheCap.com, the Rams already have almost $147.5 million committed to players in 2020, with several potential holes to fill.

Tough decisions are ahead in the next year or two, so here’s the question: Which three players under age 30 are most likely not to be part of the long-term plans?

Rich Hammond
Dante Fowler: Let’s start with the good news. I think it’s possible the Rams could retain starters such as Michael Brockers (undervalued by playing with Aaron Donald), Cory Littleton (name not big enough to command big money) and Nickell Robey-Coleman (hometown discount), and I consider it imperative that they re-sign budding young stars such as John Johnson and Cooper Kupp. That narrows the options.

Fowler, quite possibly, is going to play his way out of L.A. He did the smart thing by re-signing with the Rams in March on a one-year deal that could earn him as much as $14 million. He played well in spurts last season and is a prime breakout candidate in 2019 in his first full year in the Rams’ system. A good season will earn him a big multi-year contract, and the Rams won’t be able to afford him.

Robert Woods: This one is going to cause the most teeth-gnashing, but it might have to happen. Woods is under contract for 2021, with a cap hit of $9.1 million that season. By then, Brandin Cooks will have a whopping cap hit of $16.8 million and the Rams will have re-upped Kupp, whose deal ends after 2020.

Woods has been extraordinary for the Rams, and probably will never get the amount of credit he deserves for his role in transforming the offense in 2017. This would purely be a cap-casualty thing. Woods turns 28 before the start of the 2020 season, and a possible play here might be to trade him — while he still has strong value — and attempt to draft a younger, long-term replacement.

Marcus Peters: This week, Vinny wrote about how the Rams need to figure out what to do with Peters, whose contract expires after next season. I just don’t see a great fit here, certainly not for the type of money Peters might command on the free-agent market. I think the Rams also see it. This feels similar to Trumaine Johnson in 2017, when the Rams made noises that indicated they were interested in re-signing Johnson for the long term, but ultimately let him leave as a free agent (he signed with the Jets).

Peters had had his impressive moments, for sure, and last year when Talib was healthy and the Rams adjusted to more zone concepts, Peters did quite well. A top cornerback should be able to thrive in any scheme, though, and shouldn’t need a ton of help. Is that Peters right now? Let another team overpay him — as the Jets did with Johnson in 2018 — and move on. The problem is, the Rams could face a 2020 season without Peters or Talib. That’s a huge issue, one the Rams might have to spend to rectify. It just never ends, does it?

Vinny Bonsignore
Marcus Peters: Peters got a bad rap last year, I felt, for some of his struggles in the first half of the season. The calf injury he suffered against the Chargers in Week 3 would have sidelined a lesser player a couple of weeks. Instead, Peters was back within four days and didn’t miss a game. But he obviously was not 100 percent, and it showed in his play. The injury, coupled with the Rams taking part of the season to figure out the best way to use him, resulted in some shaky performances. But once he got healthy and the Rams began using him in more zone coverages — more to his strengths — he settled down and played well.

I suspect that will lead to a much stronger 2019 season — the last year of his rookie deal — which could push him beyond the Rams’ price-point comfort zone, given the looming new contract for Goff and other core-type players coming up for free agency. The Rams could utilize the franchise tag — at least for one season — to keep Peters in the fold in 2020. Beyond that, it could be a problem retaining him long term.

Rob Havenstein: The Rams did well last summer to lock up their 27-year-old right tackle through the 2022 season, and at a reasonable price. The good news is, he’ll be around the next four seasons. And given how he has emerged as a steady, dependable, above-average tackle, his presence creates a tremendous comfort level.

Barring injuries, there is no reason to think Havenstein won’t still be a formidable player at the conclusion of his contract. And at age 31 at that point, he likely would be a very attractive commodity on the open market. It’s still a ways away, but you can already envision the Rams having to make the difficult decision to let Havenstein leave as a free agent.

Austin Blythe: The Rams found great value off the scrap heap in 2017 when they scooped Blythe off waivers from the Indianapolis Colts. Under the tutelage of Rams offensive line coach Aaron Kromer, he surprisingly beat out Jamon Brown for the right guard position last year.

Blythe exceeded all expectations as a first-year starter on one of the best offensive lines in the NFL, and it’s not unreasonable to think he’ll take another major step forward in 2019. That’s the good news. On the other hand, a big year from Blythe could price him out of the Rams’ long-range plans, given all the pending free agents they’ll be dealing with next March, not to mention having to pay Goff at some point.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap30...anchise-kyler-murray-brings-hope-to-cardinals

State of the Franchise: Kyler Murray brings hope to Cardinals

Members of the Arizona Cardinals organization, Cardinals fans around the world and those who are going to draft Kyler Murray on their fantasy team:

There is something rising in the desert. A thing called hope. It hasn't existed in the Valley of the Sun since the days of Carson Palmer and Bruce Arians. Measured in trips around that great ball in the sky, it wasn't that long ago -- but in the world of the NFL, it feels like it was light years away. And now, make no mistake, hope has returned.

How the Cardinals got here

Let's take a quick look at the ups and downs of 2018:

The highs:

-- Beating the Packers in Week 13. Arizona Aaron Rodgers, in Lambeau Field and everything, by the score of 20-17. Josh Rosen played well, I guess, but rookie running back Chase Edmonds experienced what will no doubt be a life highlight, scoring a pair of touchdowns. I mean, he'll be on the phone with somebody and be all, "Hey, did I ever tell you I had two touchdowns against the Packers in Lambeau Field?" And the person on the other line will be all, "Sir, this is a Wendy's."

Sweeping the 49ers. The best part: They beat an NFC West rival twice and still ended up with the first overall selection in the draft.

The lows (a.k.a., just about everything else):

-- Losing A.Q. Shipley in August. The veteran center went down in the Red & White scrimmage game with an ACL tear. And then the rest of the offensive line followed suit. Six other members were put on the injured list by the end of the season: D.J. Humphries, Justin Pugh, Mike Iupati, John Wetzel, Jeremy Vujnovich and Korey Cunningham. The Week 17 lineup featured this starting O-line: second-year pro Will Holden (left tackle), rookies Colby Gossett (left guard) and Mason Cole (center) and journeymen Oday Aboushi (right guard) and Joe Barksdale (right tackle).

-- Firing the offensive coordinator in Week 7. Less than halfway into his first season, Mike McCoy was relieved of his duties following a 45-10 drubbingby the Broncos on "Thursday Night Football." During McCoy's tenure, Arizona averaged 13.1 points and 220.7 yards per game. Those numbers would have ranked at the bottom of the league in 1978.

-- Patrick Peterson reportedly asking to be traded. Only one other person in Cardinals history has more Pro Bowls to his name than the cornerback's eight. And, yeah, the way things were going, that player -- receiver Larry Fitzgerald, who has 11 -- should have asked out, too.

-- Firing Steve Wilks after one year. More on this below.

2019 VIPs

Head coach: Kliff Kingsbury. Wilks was at the helm for only one year -- but the Cardinals wasted no time in letting him go, firing him the day after he completed a 3-13 record. There is no use prolonging a bad relationship when you know it's going nowhere. Why put off the breakup? Especially when Fitzgerald is closing in on retirement and you'd like to let him get something done.

The hiring of Kingsbury did raise some eyebrows, given that he was fired from Texas Tech and had resurfaced as the offensive coordinator at USC before getting the gig in Arizona. But he's long been considered one of the brightest coaching minds in the business. And if he could get Patrick Mahomesto go to college in Lubbock, Texas, I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.

Quarterback: Kyler Murray. The reigning Heisman Trophy winner enters the NFL as one of the most exciting quarterback prospects since Cam Newton in 2011. He's also the team's second consecutive top-10 pick at the position. But Josh Rosen (No. 10 overall last year) is gone now, shipped to the Dolphins during the draft, and the Cardinals have committed to the first overall pick in 2019. It's funny -- like the Cardinals with Murray, the Panthers didn't let the presence of a second-year quarterback on their roster keep them from drafting Newton. Of course, in the Panthers' case, that second-year quarterback was Jimmy Clausen. But still.

Projected 2019 MVP: David Johnson, running back. His 2018 season was actually rather robust when you consider the disarray on the offensive line, the presence of a rookie quarterback and the lack of continuity at coordinator. In his first full season since losing most of 2017 to an injury, Johnson collected 1,386 yards from scrimmage on 308 touches. That's a far cry from his breakout effort in 2016, when he led the NFL in both touches (373) and scrimmage yards (2,118). But he's the perfect back for Kingsbury's offense, which featured plenty of early-down tosses to running backs at the college level. If there is one way to combat issues on the offensive line, it's getting the ball to your back in space. The Cardinals failed in this last year, but they will excel under Kingsbury.

2019 breakout star: Christian Kirk, receiver. I'm a touch apprehensive, because the second-year pro and former second-round pick was good friends with Rosen, who is now in Miami. But I doubt he'll get shunned as the friend of the guy who got dumped. There's too much talent there. Though Kirk was targeted just 68 times and caught just 43 passes, his yards-per-catch mark (13.7) was tops on the team in 2018.

New face to know: Terrell Suggs, pass rusher. I loved Arizona signing this seven-time Pro Bowler, who'd spent the entirety of his career in Baltimore. I mean, the Cardinals had a chance to draft him sixth overall when he was coming out of Arizona State in 2003, which I called for the Birds to do in that moment. Instead, Arizona traded down with the Saints, and Suggs fell to Baltimore at No. 10. Now he's an old guy, at least by NFL standards, but the 17th-year pro will bring some leadership to this young team.

The 2019 roadmap

The competitive urgency index is: LOW. At this point, the Cardinals just have to be competitive. Notwithstanding what happened to Wilks, Kingsbury is going to be given some room to grow in this offense, especially with a rookie quarterback. I know Wilks also was working with a rookie quarterback, and now both he and said rookie are personae non gratae in the desert. And, I mean, yes, if Arizona is completely listless again, like it was last year, there will be reason to worry. But that shouldn't be a problem.

Will the Cardinals be able to ...

Get the offensive line sorted out? There were too many injuries last year to expect any sort of success. If Murray is to be the player we all want him to be, then the offensive line needs to be right. Just having healthy players would be a great place to start. But there's even a chance this group could improve, with trade acquisition Marcus Gilbert and rookies Lamont Gaillard (drafted No. 179 overall) and Joshua Miles (No. 248) in the fold. Our own Daniel Jeremiah considered Miles and Gaillard top value picks.

Figure out which wide receiver is going step up alongside Larry Fitzgerald? I like the aforementioned Christian Kirk's breakout potential, but I also loved the idea of just drafting 84 receivers and seeing who is going to make the biggest impact. Arizona ended up drafting three: Andy Isabella (taken with the 62nd pick, acquired from the Dolphins as part of the Rosen trade), Hakeem Butler (No. 103) and KeeSean Johnson (No. 174). I'm going to lean toward Isabella, who has the speed -- he ran a 4.31 40 at the NFL Scouting Combine -- to make some things happen in that offense.

Make up for Patrick Peterson during his six-game suspension? As mentioned above, Peterson had asked for a trade last year, and there were rumors he could be a fit for the Kansas City Chiefs. Now, there could still be a trade with the Chiefs, but the price would have to be dramatically reduced, given that he'll start the season with a six-game suspension for violating the league's performance-enhancing drug policy. The best thing the Cardinals could probably do now is send Peterson on his way and get ready for the Byron Murphy era. Murphy was one of Pro Football Focus' top-rated prospects in the draft, and he was an absolute steal for the Cardinals at No. 33 overall.

Three key dates:

-- Week 1 vs. the Lions. It's in the afternoon window of the first Sunday of the season, and there is no doubt everyone will be tuning in to see what this Cardinals offense is all about. I've already cleared my schedule.

-- Week 2 at the Ravens. Let's say things go swimmingly in Week 1 against the Lions in Arizona. Traveling to Baltimore to face that team the next week will serve as the ultimate reality check.

-- Week 13 vs. the Rams. The Cardinals don't have to face the defending NFC champions until very late in the season, and it comes after a bye week. You can't ask for much more than that. I'm probably overselling it to say this will be Arizona's version of the Super Bowl -- but it kind of is.

One storyline people are overlooking: Just how well the Cardinals drafted in general. Arizona has missed far too many times in the first round in recent years, with really only Deone Bucannon (2014) offering at least a brief spark among a crowd of flubs that includes Michael Floyd, Jonathan Cooper, D.J. Humphries and Robert Nkemdiche. If Murray is as good as expected, then that trend will end. But the rest of this year's draft was really good, too. I already mentioned Murphy and Isabella; defensive end Zach Allen (No. 65) should be another player who can come in and contribute immediately. And don't sleep on my guys Butler and Johnson.

One storyline people are overthinking: Trading away Josh Rosen. Look, I love Josh and believe he's going to do great things with the Dolphins. But you need to give your coach the quarterback he wants to work with. The heart wants what it wants. Padme knew she shouldn't have been with Anakin, but the heart works in mysterious ways. Besides, just look at these charts from PFF illustrating Murray's promise. Those are insane.

And can we stop with: All the talk about Kyler Murray's height? The only time this seems to really matter is during the NFL Scouting Combine, where, yes, he measured 5-foot-10 1/8. Did you watch one Oklahoma game last season and think to yourself, "Oh, Murray would be so much better if he was taller"? You didn't, so let's get over it. NFL quarterbacks play outside the pocket now. He is the quarterback you would fabricate using "Madden's" create-a-player feature. So let it go.

For 2019 to be a successful season, the Cardinals MUST ...

-- Develop Murray. This is another huge thing. If you are losing games but your quarterback is making strides, you can't be too upset about it.

-- Finish no worse than .500. The playoffs should always be the goal. And who knows, maybe getting to .500 would do it. At the very least, winning five more games than last season should be considered a win for the organization.

-- Beat the Los Angeles Rams at least once. You need to make your mark against good teams.

In closing

The Cardinals went through a rough 2018 season. But now they aren't too far away from making the playoffs. I mean, outside of Cleveland, no team that missed the playoffs in 2018 should be more psyched than the Cardinals. What's really exciting is that the Birds could have their version of the NBA's Steph Curry, MLB's Mike Trout and -- whomever the best player in the NHL is. (Who is that person? Connor McDavid?) The point is, the Cardinals have a lot of exciting things cooking for 2019. And the best thing about the NFL is that worst-to-first turnarounds happen all the time. OK, so the playoffs are by no means a lock -- but it's not outlandish to think they're within reach.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap30...anchise-dont-sleep-on-seahawks-in-crowded-nfc

State of the Franchise: Don't sleep on Seahawks in crowded NFC

Members of the Seattle Seahawks organization, Seahawks fans around the world and those who were just intimidated into reading this by looking at photos of D.K. Metcalf flexing:

The Seattle Seahawks are in a period of transition. The Legion of Boom has been disbanded, while Russell Wilson will be working without Doug Baldwin for the first time in his NFL career. And yet, they are also in the midst of a period of great prosperity, having reached the playoffs in seven of the past nine seasons, including back-to-back Super Bowl appearances and one Lombardi Trophy. Well, I'm here to tell you that glory for Seattle lies not just in the past -- but also in the near future.

How the Seahawks got here

Let's take a quick look at the ups and downs of 2018:

The highs:

-- Making the playoffs. Seattle fell short of the postseason in 2017 after finishing 9-7. Among the analysts on NFL.com, only Gregg Rosenthal had the Seahawks making the playoffs in 2018. (Rosey possesses all of that football knowledge -- and the ability to rock a beard like an in-his-prime Rick Rude?) The way the Seahawks clinched their postseason berth was rather stunning, too: They knocked off the high-flying Kansas City Chiefs on "Sunday Night Football." And it's not like the Chiefs were mailing it in, either. The stakes were raised for them, too, as they were still jockeying for favorable playoff positioning.

-- WR Tyler Lockett had a breakout year. In a league where passing is king, Seattle kept pounding the rock like your friend who still insists on calling instead of texting; only the Ravens (547) logged more rushing attempts than the Seahawks (534). That said, when Russell Wilson and Co. did cut loose and take to the air, they were quite good at it -- and a big reason for this was Lockett, who had a breakout season in Year 4 with 10 receiving touchdowns. Yes, that's more touchdowns than some big-name receivers managed in 2018, like Michael Thomas, Larry Fitzgerald and Julio Jones. Wilson had a perfect passer rating when targeting Lockett, according to Next Gen Stats. That's incredible.

The lows:

-- Richard Sherman's departure. The veteran cornerback was the front man of the Legion of Boom, the group that defined the most successful run in Seahawks history. A former fifth-round pick who became a superstar (and "Madden" cover model), Sherman was released during the offseason preceding the 2018 season. The team apparently hoped it could bring back Sherman on a less costly deal, but he signed with the rival San Francisco 49ers instead. Sherman's defection preceded the exits of Earl Thomas (who missed 12 games after suffering a leg fracture) and Kam Chancellor(who spent all of 2018 on the reserve/physically unable to perform list) this offseason; Thomas was like the one remaining member of the original band. It would be like if Mark Hoppus ever left Blink 182 and was replaced by somebody else.

-- Losing a winnable playoff game in Dallas. Seattle's 24-22 defeat to the Cowboys made this playoff trip the first one-and-done outing since the Pete Carroll era began in 2010. While the season was still a success on a macro level, a win over the Cowboys in the Wild Card Round would've led to a rematch with the Rams, with whom Seattle was very competitive in the regular season.

2019 VIPs

Head coach: Pete Carroll. As we were all reminded when Carroll removed his shirt during a combine meeting with famously muscular receiver D.K. Metcalf, who would go on to be drafted by Seattle in Round 2: Never question the enthusiasm of the 67-year-old coach, who has the same energy level as some of his (much) younger counterparts around the division. Seriously, the rest of the NFC West head coaches (33-year-old Sean McVay, 39-year-old Kliff Kingsbury and 39-year-old Kyle Shanahan) look like the cast of "Twilight" -- and then here comes Carroll, the silver-fox owner of the only Super Bowl ring between the four of them. So show some respect.

In 2010 and '11, Carroll's first two years on the job, the Seahawks mounted back-to-back 7-9 campaigns (though, of course, they still reached the playoffs in 2010). Since then, they've recorded seven consecutive winning seasons and reached the playoffs in six of those years. So they're doing pretty well in that regard. Ultimately, I'd put Carroll in the top five of current NFL coaches.

Quarterback: Russell Wilson. Wilson is on the cusp of being regarded as the best quarterback in the NFL. Kind of like the way Daniel Bryan was about to be recognized as the best wrestler in the world in the lead-up to "WrestleMania 30." Wilson threw 35 touchdown passes last year, tied for third in the league with Matt Ryan. His 8.2 % touchdown rate trailed only Patrick Mahomes' figure of 8.6 %.

And the good news is, after a brief period in which headlines about trading Russell Wilson somehow became a thing, the Seahawks made him the highest-paid player in football, locking him up through 2023. To announce it, Wilson made a sleepy Twitter announcement from bed, with his wife, Ciara, by his side. There was a certain level of cheesiness to it, but I'm going to allow it. You do you, Russell.

Projected 2019 MVP: Russell Wilson, quarterback. Wilson is the obvious answer here. But don't sleep on linebacker Bobby Wagner, coming off yet another stellar season as a pro. He and Wilson are the only two members of the Seahawks' 2012 draft class still with the team. Wagner has made three straight Pro Bowls and All-Pro teams. And he should be motivated, whether the Seahawks help him fulfill his goal of becoming the NFL's highest-paid linebacker or he enters the final year of his contract looking for a payday next offseason.

2019 breakout star: Tre Flowers, cornerback. The 2018 fifth-round pick was really good against short-yardage throws; he allowed a passer rating of 51.4 on short yardage, the second-lowest total in the league, according to Pro Football Focus. He's going to be the leader of the reformed Legion of Boom.

New faces to know: The Seahawks entered April with just four picks in the 2019 NFL Draft. Through some deft maneuvering, they walked away from the event with 11 dudes. The headliner was aforementioned second-rounder D.K. Metcalf, the receiver who captured the imagination of many when he presented a physique that looked similar to that of Dave Bautista in his prime -- and it turns out he's a pretty good football player, too! But don't look to him to directly replace Doug Baldwin, as Metcalf projects more to the outside. The guy who could end up filling Baldwin's shoes in the slot (if they don't kick Lockett inside, like they did last year when Baldwin missed time) is fourth-rounder Gary Jennings. The talented rookie from West Virginia led draft-eligible Big 12 receivers in slot yards per route run last year, according to Pro Football Focus. The Seahawks are likely hoping DE L.J. Collier, their first-round selection, will replace Frank Clark, who was traded to Kansas City but led Seattle in sacks with 13.0 last season. The club also signed former Lions first-rounder Ziggy Ansahto a one-year deal to help offset some of the deficiencies on the defensive line.

The 2019 roadmap

The competitive urgency index is: HIGH. You would need to be an obtuse hot-take curator to suggest Carroll is on the hot seat. He'll never have to purchase a cup of coffee in that town again. But when you have a top-five coach and QB, you need to win some games. The expectation of Seahawksfans should be for the team to make another run at the Super Bowl.

Will the Seahawks be able to ...

Fix the offensive line? Thanks to their love of running the ball, they posted a league-low 427 pass attempts -- but they still managed to rank eighth in sacks allowed, with 51. And this is with Russell Wilson -- one of the best at evading pressure -- at quarterback. Seeing that he gets sacked as much as he does is like going to Gordon Ramsay's house for dinner and being served Chef Boyardee from a can. It doesn't quite translate. (Not that I would say anything, because he'd just end up yelling at me. But it would be weird.) Veteran signee Mike Iupati is now in the mix, and left tackle Duane Brownsees big things ahead for this group.

Replace Doug Baldwin? Even though the Seahawks do run the ball a lot, Baldwin was one of the best route runners in the NFL, a guy on par with some of the best in recent years, like Antonio Brown and Steve Smith. And Wilson went to him far more than he did anyone else in his career thus far; since Wilson entered the NFL in 2012, Baldwin amassed 637 targets, or 361 more than the next closest guy on the Seahawks (Lockett with 276). Finding someone to absorb his workload might seem easy compared to replacing the leadership Baldwin provided.

Make up for the loss of Frank Clark? The Seahawksmade waves when they traded Clark to Kansas City. As the folks at PFF pointed out, the trade helped pick-needy Seattle build draft capital, while the Chiefsended up handing Clark, who had been hit with the franchise tag by the Seahawks, a five-year, $105.5 million deal. Of course, now there's only one player on the roster who recorded more than 3.0 sacks for Seattle last year (Jarran Reed, who had 10.5). Can Collier, Ansah, Rasheem Green (last year's third-round pick) or someone else step up and fill the void?

Three key dates:

-- Week 2 at the Steelers. The Seahawks tend to run into trouble on the road early in the season; consider that they've lost their first road game of the year for the last five years, and they've only won their second road game twice (in 2014 and '16). And don't forget that after last season's Week 2 loss in Chicago dropped them to 0-2, the 'Hawks weren't able to climb above .500 until Week 8. Coming out of this one with a W would be huge.

-- Week 5 vs. the Rams. The Seahawks were swept by the Rams last year -- but they only lost by a combined seven points. This is the chance for Seattle to make a statement against the reigning NFC champs.

-- Week 12 at Eagles. The Seahawks will be coming off a bye to go on the road against a team they could be matched up against in the playoffs.

One storyline people are overlooking: Chris Carson was pretty great last year. The Seahawksdrafted Rashaad Penny out of San Diego State in the first round of last year's draft, so you would think the team would have had huge plans for him. But Carroll doesn't let draft pedigree dictate usage; everyone needs to compete. Carson, a seventh-round pick in 2017, ended up rushing for 1,151 yards and nine touchdowns on 247 carries, while Penny tallied 85 attempts and just 419 yards. What's most impressive: Carson gained 831 yards after contact, fifth most among running backs last season, according to PFF.

One storyline people are overthinking: You can't win with a quarterback who makes big money. This is a dumb narrative that needs to be shot into the sky. Five of the eight playoff teams in 2018 (the Patriots, Colts, Chargers, Seahawks and Saints) were led by veteran quarterbacks drawing significant paychecks. Yes, Wilson's relatively affordable rookie contract allowed Seattle to spend elsewhere in the first phase of his career. Yes, he will now count for $26.3 million against the cap in 2019, according to Over The Cap. But it's not as much of a problem if you draft well, which the Seahawks have done. Heck, they went 39-24-1 in the years after Wilson signed his second contract, before the 2015 season.

Remembering Paul Allen. I would be remiss if I didn't take a moment to consider the legacy of the Seahawks' owner, who passed away midseason at age 65 from complications of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Back in 1997, the Seahawks, then owned by Ken Behring, were set to move to Los Angeles -- moving trucks were already headed to Rams Park in Anaheim, left vacant by the Rams' move to St. Louis. Allen, a co-founder of Microsoft, stepped in to purchase the team after the public voted to help finance what was to become CenturyLink Field. To put it simply, Allen saved football in Seattle and turned what was once a doormat NFL franchise into one of the most envied teams in the league.

For 2019 to be a successful season, the Seahawks MUST ...

-- Beat the Rams at least once. Both games were competitive last year, and could have easily swung in Seattle's favor.

-- Reach the playoffs again. Seattle can't go backwards one year after reaching the postseason as a "rebuilding" team.

-- Make a serious run. As I mentioned earlier, last season, Seattle marked the first one-and-done playoff appearance in the Carroll era. Yes, there are three other teams in the NFC that would be in my top-five power rankings of the entire league (Rams, Bears, Saints) -- but the Seahawks are certainly in that conversation. They can't let this opportunity pass them by.

In closing

For a team that has won as much as they have recently, the Seahawks sure do seem to sort of fly under the radar, as teams like the Rams get all of the attention. Let them have their moment. But make no mistake, the Seahawks need to be taken seriously as a Super Bowl contender.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap30...franchise-super-bowl-or-bust-for-rams-in-2019

State of the Franchise: Super Bowl or bust for Rams in 2019

Members of the Los Angeles Rams organization, Rams fans around the world and those who thought Nickell Robey-Coleman was just playing great defense:

This franchise is coming off the most exciting season it has ever enjoyed in Los Angeles, reaching heights last seen in Southern California when the Rams represented the NFC in Super Bowl XIV -- after the 1979 season. The outcome of Super Bowl LIII was not one Rams fans clamored for, but you can't deny how great this team has become since moving back to L.A. from St. Louis in 2016. After all, in that season, L.A. won just one of its final 12 games. That same team is now the defending NFC champions.

But with rewards and adulation comes the weight of expectations. In 2019, the organization and its fans around the world should expect nothing less than a Super Bowl win. There is no doubt in my mind the Rams are ready to meet that challenge head on.

How the Rams got here

Let's take a quick look at the ups and downs of 2018:

The highs:

-- The Super Bowl. The Los Angeles Rams were in the Super Bowl!

-- MNF for the ages. L.A. beat the Chiefs in the most exciting "Monday Night Football" game anybody can ever recall, a 54-51 win that featured 1,001 combined yards and 14 combined touchdowns. In fact, it might have been the most exciting Monday night moment since Scott Hall jumped the rail at Nitro in 1996.

-- Winning 13 games. That's the most by the franchise in any Los Angeles season.

The low:

-- Losing the Super Bowl. Yes, this can be spun to emphasize the positive -- as you can see above, they made the Super Bowl! -- but it is painful to get that close and let it slip away.

And here's the troubling thing about it: It wasn't just that they lost, but how they lost, held to 3 points and 260 total yards, with the high-flying offense never able to get started. I could see why that would concern some, seeing as how Sean McVay is considered an offensive genius. But to me, this was probably an instance of the Rams not quite knowing what they were getting into. Like the first time you try Fireball. Sure, it seems like fun because it tastes like candy, but eventually, the night just gets away from you.

2019 VIPs

Head coach: Sean McVay. The man who has never seen a play out of 11 formation he doesn't like is considered one of the top coaches in the NFL, one of the brightest minds in the industry, someone who echoes the revolutionary spirits of Paul Brown, Bill Walsh and Don Coryell. In 2017, McVay inherited a team that scored just 224 points the year before -- now, his Rams could hit that total on any given Sunday. L.A. also finished 10th in yards in '17 and second last year (behind only the Chiefs) after finishing last in '16.

McVay has been so good at his job, he's getting other dudes jobs just because they are Facebook friends. Just kidding. The 32-year-old McVay is a millennial, so he obviously doesn't use Facebook. But consider that new Bengals head coach Zac Taylor (coached receivers and quarterbacks with the Rams in 2017 and '18) and new Packers coach Matt LaFleur (McVay's offensive coordinator in '17) have direct ties to McVay, while other hirings (like Kliff Kingsbury with the Cardinals, Matt Nagy with the Bears and Freddie Kitchens with the Browns) fit the trend of looking to the young and offensive-minded. The coaching tree and circle of influence is rapidly expanding.

Quarterback: Jared Goff. After an exceedingly rough rookie year (0-7 record, 63.6 passer rating, 5:7 TD-to-INT ratio), Goff has developed into one of the best young quarterbacks in the NFL. He's thrown for 8,492 yards and 60 touchdowns over the last two seasons. And you can't find anybody anywhere who would now argue that the team should have gone with Carson Wentz with the first overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft instead of Goff. Those people don't exist anymore. Yes, I'm aware he had what you can technically call a really bad game in the Super Bowl. But don't get distracted by that -- see below for more.

Projected 2019 MVP: Aaron Donald, defensive tackle. Donald was a hipster pick for league MVP last year and is clearly the best player on the Rams. Which is odd, because the Rams are known for their offense. But that's kind of par for the course when you're talking about Southern California. Consider that my favorite coffee shop in town is actually a clothing store/print shop in Huntington Beach. Donald had 16.5 sacks last year. He's seemingly a lock for double-digit sacks this year. He hardly touches the ball -- and yet, of all the players on the Rams' roster, he has the greatest ability to take over a game.

2019 breakout star: Greg Gaines, defensive tackle. Let's stick to the defensive line. Gaines comes to the NFL with solid credentials as a fourth-round pick (No. 134 overall) in this year's draft. And with most teams employing double- or even triple-teams on Donald, Gaines is due to get plenty of opportunities to make plays.

Another new face to know: Darrell Henderson, running back. The rookie (drafted No. 70 overall, in the third round) has a lot of exciting potential in McVay's outside-zone scheme. The most obvious comparison for Henderson would be New Orleans' Alvin Kamara. There is a chance the Rams use Henderson similarly to how the Saints have used Kamara with backs like Mark Ingram in the past, with Henderson and Todd Gurley splitting time in the backfield or maybe even being on the field together. After all, the Rams have to take care of Gurley. They're playing for the Super Bowl, not my fantasy championship. I mean, I appreciate the concern for my fantasy well-being, but it's not necessary, Sean.

The 2019 roadmap

The competitive urgency index is: EXTREMELY HIGH. The Rams need to win the Super Bowl this year. Los Angeles is getting too familiar with its various professional teams reaching the championship round of their sport, only to get blown out by a team from Boston. (Well, not you, Lakers. You have your own set of problems.) But the Rams need to win now. The city of Los Angeles hasn't won a major championship since 2014, which is like 79 seasons in Cleveland years.

Keep Todd Gurley upright? Gurley is one of the most talented running backs in the league. But a lot of people were concerned when his production dropped off at the end of last season -- in Weeks 14 and 15, Gurley averaged 38 rushing yards and 91 yards from scrimmage. All right, most of the concern was coming from fantasy dorks like me. Then, when he missed the final two weeks of the season as he dealt with a knee issue, panic started to set in, even though C.J. Anderson played well in his absence. Most observers reasoned that the Rams were making sure Gurley was healthy for the playoffs -- until Gurley was barely involved in the Super Bowl (11 touches, 34 yards from scrimmage). Which started another round of panic and speculation. And questions about his knee just haven't gone away.

McVay intimated he's not going to dial back Gurley's usage, and that he's still going to be the focal point of their offense. But will we end up in the same predicament in 2019 as we did last year? Even though it's going to hurt fantasy enthusiasts, the Rams really should use Gurley -- who has led the NFL in touches (1,229) since entering the league in 2015 -- with some discretion. Don't be like the guy who gets so full on the free chips and salsa that he can't eat his tacos. Just chill.

Get the defense back up to par? The Rams have Wade Phillips as defensive coordinator. And yet, in 2018, the unit ranked 19th in total defense and 20th in points allowed, even after bringing in Ndamukong Suh, Aqib Talib, Marcus Peters and -- via in-season trade -- Dante Fowler. That needs to be fixed. The team did use draft capital on safety Taylor Rapp (No. 61 overall) and corner David Long (No. 79), who join veteran signee Eric Weddle in the secondary, and L.A. added the above-named Gaines and veteran Clay Matthews to the front seven. Still, it is crucial that the Rams' D performs better on the field this season, to add a little more balance to their equation. They don't need to be the best in the league, but some improvement would be encouraging.

Deal with expectations? It's good to be the underdog, and the Rams have enjoyed that role in the recent past. Even after they won the NFC West in 2017, an early playoff exit cast some doubt about them. But now they're the defending NFC champs, seeking to become the first back-to-back conference winners since the Seattle Seahawks did it in 2013 and '14. No one will sleep on them this year.

Three key dates:

-- Week 2 vs. the Saints. Too bad this isn't in New Orleans. Although, I'll be honest: I'm literally (not figuratively) fatigued from seeing that non-pass-interference call.

-- Week 11 vs. the Bears. Oh, man, they get the Bears at home, too, in a Sunday night tilt that could allow them to exact a little revenge after Chicago destroyed Los Angeles in a Sunday night game last season, introducing what appeared to be the first cracks in the armor for this team.

-- Week 13 at the Cardinals. For the first time ever, Kliff Kingsbury will go up against the guy with whom he once shared an Awesome Blossom at Chili's.

One storyline people are overlooking: Was WR Cooper Kupp really the most valuable player in this offense? Gurley is obviously important, but as I mentioned above, C.J. Anderson played great when Gurley was out, whereas the Rams' passing attack looked completely different after losing Kupp for the season in Week 10. Goff completed 70 percent of his passes in seven of 10 games to start the season and accomplished that feat just once (in Week 16 against the lowly Cardinals) after Kupp tore his ACL. The good news is, Kupp is expected to return Week 1. The Rams are better with him. Goff is better with him.

One storyline people are overthinking: Jared Goff didn't play well in big games. Goff struggled in Chicago in prime time. And, of course, there was Super Bowl LIII, in which Goff completed 19 of 38 passes for 229 yards, zero TDs, one pick and a 57.9 passer rating against New England. But the Bears had one of the best defenses in the league last year, while the Patriots are, well, the Patriots. I can think of some other big-name quarterbacks who didn't always come through in the clutch. Not to call any of them out, but one of them has a name that rhymes with Peyton Manning. Goff is entering his FOURTH NFL season, and just his third non-Jeff Fisher year. He's going to be fine! As long as Kupp is back and ready to go, we're square.

One more thing: The Rams kind of find themselves in familiar territory, as anybody who has a keen eye for NFL history would know. Super Bowl LIII did not mark their first Super Bowl loss to an NFL juggernaut in the final period of its dynastic reign. In Super Bowl XIV -- as alluded to above -- the Rams fell to Pittsburgh. It was a game that (like last year's Super Bowl) they could have totally won. What Rams fans need to hope for is that history does not repeat itself. Soon after that loss to cap the 1979 season, the Rams moved out of the Coliseum and into Anaheim Stadium, then started a bit of a downhill slide. They finished 2-7 in 1982 but did reach the NFC Championship Game in 1985 and 1989. Neither were memorable in a good way.

For 2019 to be a successful season, the Rams MUST ...

-- Win.

-- The.

-- Super.

-- Bowl.

Let's not overthink this. Windows aren't open long. According to Over The Cap, Goff counts for just 4.7% against the cap this year, which is the fourth of his rookie contract. That figure will go up soon. Capitalize on this opportunity!

In closing

This won't be easy. Staying ahead in the NFL is hard. But I can promise you, when all is said and done, the Rams will once again prove themselves to be one of the top teams in the NFC. And it's going to be no surprise when they make a huge run in the playoffs.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap30...franchise-free-of-expectations-49ers-can-grow

State of the Franchise: Free of expectations, 49ers can grow

Members of the San Francisco 49ers organization, fans of the team worldwide and those who are here just to see George Kittle deliver a Stone-Cold stunner:

The 49ers franchise is one of the most storied of the Super Bowl era, the first in NFL history to win five Lombardi Trophies. But it's been awhile since they've reached those heights. The Niners came tantalizingly close in Super Bowl XLVII (seriously, try Frank Gore at least once), but ultimately, San Francisco hasn't won a title since the 1994 season. Well, at least in football. The Bay Area could celebrate the Giants' Madison Bumgarner and Tim Lincecum, and in hoops, there's the Warriors. But let's talk Super Bowl.

How the 49ers got here

Let's take a quick look at the ups and downs of 2018:

The highs:

-- Beating the Raiders, 34-3, on "Thursday Night Football" in Week 9. Former practice-squad guy Nick Mullens was dealing, throwing for 262 yards and three touchdowns and compiling a passer rating of 151.9 while filling in for an injured C.J. Beathard, who himself had been filling in for an injured Jimmy Garoppolo, and it looked like perhaps Mullens was going to Matt Flynn his way to a huge contract in the offseason. Seriously, Mullens should have walked off after that. Because, like a microcosm of the Niners' season, the rest of Mullens' campaign did not live up to the expectations set by his debut. Setting that game aside, his numbers from 2018 looked like this: 63.5% completion rate, 10:10 TD-to-INT ratio and a passer rating of 85.0, with a 2-5 record.

-- Beating the Seahawks in overtime in Week 15. Seattle had won four straight and was desperately trying to make the playoffs. San Francisco had won three games all season and had just been rolled by the Seahawks in a 43-16 loss in Week 13. And yet, the Niners hung on to beat Seattle for the first time since December of 2013. As late bright spots go in otherwise lost seasons, this was pretty solid.

-- Signing Richard Sherman. In 13 games heading into the 2018 offseason, Sherman had collected 41 tackles, four interceptions and 11 passes defensed in 13 games against San Francisco. So it must have been nice for the Niners to add him to their side and snatch up a veteran leader who had reached four Pro Bowls for the division-rival Seahawks. If nothing else, it ensured more of those revenge games we love to scream about.

The lows:

-- Jimmy Garoppolo tearing his ACL. The 49ers had high hopes heading into the season, but they were pretty much squashed when Garoppolo went down in the fourth quarter of a 38-27 loss at Kansas City in Week 3. We'll delve further into this below, but for now, let's just say the plan was not to have Mullens and Beathard combine to throw five times as many passes as Jimmy G. It didn't help that, in addition to losing the quarterback, San Francisco also was without prized free-agent running back Jerick McKinnon, who tore his ACL before the season started.

-- Reuben Foster getting released. When Foster was arrested on suspicion of misdemeanor domestic violence battery in November, it marked the third incident that resulted in criminal charges since the linebacker was drafted in the first round in 2017. The team subsequently released him, ending a Niners tenure that never really got off the ground. The second pick of the Shanahan-John Lynch era left the Niners with just 16 appearances, 101 tackles and zero sacks to his name. (The charge was later dropped, and Foster wound up with the Redskins before tearing the ACL in his left knee this month.)

-- Getting swept by the Arizona Cardinals. On the season, San Francisco scored 117 more points than Arizona and gained 1,904 more yards. And yet, the Cardinals won both of their games. Add to this indignity the twist that Arizona -- and not the team that lost twice to Arizona -- ended up with the top overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, because San Francisco won four games to the Cardinals' three. I mean, come on. Imagine if the Niners had been able to make the Cardinals pay through the roof for the right to draft Kyler Murray.

2019 VIPs

Head coach: Kyle Shanahan. He enters his third season with the 49ers after arriving with high expectations in 2017, as both the son of (soon-to-be Hall of Fame?) coach Mike Shanahan and one of the brightest offensive minds in the game. But Shanahan hasn't translated that promise into wins. Yet. The 49ers overachieved down the stretch in 2017, which set expectations unrealistically high for 2018. And then all of the unpleasantness happened with the injuries, and we never got a true gauge of where this team is. I still believe in Shanahan, and I feel like if he were a free agent right now, he'd be gobbled up like free pizza in the breakroom.

Quarterback: Jimmy Garoppolo. He has progressed well from his injury, and he's on track to be ready for training camp. He even took time away from reveling at the Kentucky Derby to speak to Tom Brady, his former Patriots teammate, who returned from a similar injury suffered in 2008. So that's the good.

But Garoppolo, who signed a five-year, $137.5 million deal in February of 2018 after being traded from New England in October of 2017, is going to need to step up this season. He threw three interceptions in the season-opening loss at Minnesota, and he was fortunate that a potentially crushing pick-six was wiped out by a penalty in the team's win over the Lions in Week 2. That said, he played really well against the Chiefs before suffering the ACL injury; in fact, he led the 49ers on three consecutive scoring drives before his season ended. Had he not been injured, could the 49ers have won that game, improving to 2-1 instead of embarking on a six-game losing skid? It's possible.

I'm a huge believer in Garoppolo. But it's fair to ask if he's the guy who won his first seven NFL starts, including five to close out 2017, or the guy who stumbled out of the gate in 2018.

Projected 2019 MVP: George Kittle, tight end. The 2017 fifth-round pick was quite the revelation for the 49ers last year. Kittle finished 2018 with 88 receptions and five touchdowns -- and, more importantly, he broke the long-standing NFL record for receiving yards by a tight end. You know, one of the most-storied marks in NFL history, a record you thought would never be broken: the record set by Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce less than an hour before Kittle snapped it.

It's worth noting that earlier in the season, Kittle was poised to set the record for most receiving yards in a game by a tight end -- but Shanahan failed to make sure Kittle got the ball, and he ended the game a few yards short. It's safe to say Shanahan wasn't going to let something like that happen again.

It's also worth noting that, while Kelce racked up his yardage total with Patrick Mahomes at quarterback, Kittle played with a consortium of Mullens and Beathard. That's kind of like winning the Daytona 500 in a Prius.

2019 breakout star: Nick Bosa, pass rusher. Forgive me for stating the obvious, but yeah -- the No. 2 overall pick was considered the top prospect in the draft by some, and he addresses the biggest need for the 49ers, which is the pass rush.

Another rookie to know: Deebo Samuel, receiver. Being a wide receiver for the 49ers carries sky-high expectations, considering the lineage includes Jerry Rice and Terrell Owens. The current regime would be cool with the second-round pick being a more physical/versatile version of Pierre Garcon.

Free-agent addition: Kwon Alexander, LB. Like Garoppolo, Alexander is a key player coming off an ACL tear. San Francisco made him the league's second-highest paid inside linebacker (average of $13.5 million per year) this offseason, so expectations are high, but he's going to form a nice tandem with Fred Warner. They'll be one of the NFL's most athletic duos at ILB. Alexander relies a lot on his speed and can make players in coverage, hence the six career interceptions.

The 2019 roadmap

The competitive urgency index is: MEDIUM. With the Rams and Seahawks drawing attention at the top of the NFC West, the 49ers will be afforded the opportunity to float by, like one of those quiet house guests on "Big Brother" who just seems to hang around all season, before you realize they are going to end up in the finals. The 49ers were a hip playoff pick last year after winning five straight to close out 2017, even though there seemed to be some huge question marks about the team. This year, they'll get a chance to actually play some regular-season games before folks begin making declarations about them.

Get to the quarterback? The 49ers tied for 22nd last year with 37 sacks. And that is where Bosa and Dee Ford (who was acquired in a trade with the Chiefs) should be able to help. Maybe the two of them can help inspire former first-round pick Solomon Thomas. Remember when people clowned on the Bears for moving up to get Mitch Trubisky at No. 2 overall by swapping spots with the Niners, who drafted Thomas at No. 3 in 2017? Yeah, well, Thomas has just 72 tackles and 4.0 sacks in two seasons since, so it's time for him to start making some noise.

Get an interception from a cornerback? Seriously, the 49ers had two picks last year as a team -- that was five fewer than the next closest team. And none of those interceptions were recorded by a corner. In addition to signing Sherman last year, the Niners re-upped Jimmie Ward (who suffered a broken collarbone last week but is expected to be ready for camp) and inked Jason Verrett to a one-year deal this year. Ultimately, you'd like to see 2017 third-rounder Ahkello Witherspoon take a step.

Find a role for Jalen Hurd? The selection of Hurd in the third round of this year's draft was a frisky pick by the 49ers, who lack offensive firepower outside of Kittle, and Hurd could be a lot of fun for this team. He's the kind of versatile offensive weapon Shanahan could truly take advantage of.

Three key dates

-- Week 1 at the Bucs. The 49ers will see a familiar foe when they face new Bucs coach Bruce Arians, who used to face them regularly when he helmed the Cardinals. San Francisco's first two games are on the road (at the Bengals in Week 2), providing a strong test for this team.

-- Week 5 vs. the Browns. The 49ers get their bye in Week 4, then play host to the Browns, who are rolling into this season as this year's version of the 2018 49ers: a team heavy on hope and hype but light on proven success.

-- Week 6 at the Rams. It's the old Ric Flair adage: If you want to be the man, you have to beat the man.

One storyline people are overlooking: The 49ers have a sneaky-good running back situation. Free-agent signee Tevin Coleman was a nice pickup from Atlanta. After all, Shanahan was part of the Falcons staff that drafted Coleman, so this is an obvious fit (and Coleman thinks Shanahan is even more creative than he used to be, which is cool). Because of Coleman's arrival, the 49ers can ease McKinnon back into the rotation after his recovery from the ACL tear that cost him 2018. And then you also have Matt Breida and one of my favorite fullbacks, Kyle Juszczyk. It'll be one of those situations where fantasy enthusiasts get really heated about not knowing which running back to start, but it'll work out well in real-football terms.

One storyline people are overthinking: The potential of a rift developing between general manager John Lynch and Shanahan. Reports of such a rift were quickly dismissed by Shanahan. And there is no reason to doubt him. After all, Lynch played for Kyle's father, and Kyle presumably had a say in Lynch's hiring in the first place. But you can't blame 49ers fans for being a little edgy when you consider the way the Jim Harbaugh era ended.

For 2019 to be a successful season, the 49ers MUST ...

-- Get to at least .500. After the team fell so far short of expectations in 2018, let's try to hit this more attainable benchmark.

-- Not lose to the Cardinals this year. Or at least, they can't get swept again.

-- Split with the Rams and Seahawks. I'm not saying the 49ers need to win the NFC West or make the playoffs. (Not that you would turn down any of those things.) What I believe 49ers fans would love to see is some progress, something tangible to point to and say, "Hey look, we're almost there." The 49ers' roster isn't as complete as those of the Rams and Seahawks. But there is the talent to compete. All the fans are asking for is to that have that one moment where they can laud a hard-fought victory over their friends. I mean, when the Bears were bad (so, so long ago) I wouldn't let my Steelers friends hear the end of it when Chicago beat them. And sometimes that's all you need. Those small victories.

In closing

The 49ers are in a great spot. People were too excited last year, and there was no way to deliver on those expectations. Now they're back to being the quiet underdog, in position to under-promise and over-deliver. I know some of you will look back to 2017 and say this team should be a top-10 squad when everyone's healthy. But there are a lot of areas of concern. I could easily see San Francisco winning 12 games or scuffling to seven wins. The most important thing, to me, is demonstrating that the Niners are moving in the right direction.

https://www.therams.com/news/sebastian-joseph-day-embracing-his-opportunity
Friday, May 31, 2019 10:40 AM
After receiving veteran mentoring in 2018, Sebastian Joseph-Day embracing his opportunity

Myles Simmons
RAMS INSIDER

There’s an opportunity on the defense for second-year lineman Sebastian Joseph-Day.

Los Angeles selected him in the sixth round of last year’s NFL Draft, and while he was on the 53-man roster for the entire year, Joseph-Day was inactive for every game.

The young lineman understood why — as a nose tackle, he was behind five-time Pro Bowler and three-time All-Pro Ndamukong Suh, who played a whopping 88 percent of the Rams’ defensive snaps in 2018.

But there was a fire in Joseph-Day that didn’t go out. He wanted to be on that field.

“I don’t think you understand how much that hurt,” Joseph-Day told therams.com this week. “But honestly, though, everything happens for a reason. Obviously we had great players here — at the end of the day, it’s Suh, you know what I mean? So all I had to do was really just take that time, and study that film, and ask Suh questions.”

And according to Joseph-Day, Suh was more than receptive to helping out the young lineman.

“I was able to, after every series, come and watch the Surface with Suh, and really break down what he saw, go over the plays. Really just tap into his mind,” Joseph-Day said. “And shoutout to him for being such a good guy, and being that guy for me — taking me under his wing and teach me a lot of the stuff he saw through his eyes.”

Taking time to mentor the next generation isn’t necessarily something that necessarily meshes with Suh’s general reputation around the league — a fact that Joseph-Day recognizes.

“I mean, yeah, people would be surprised. But Suh’s a good guy. I mean, he’s a good guy to me at least. He was real cool with me, man,” Joseph-Day said. “And shoutout to him, and congratulations to him going to Tampa Bay — awesome, man. I’m happy for him, happy to see that.”

Throughout last year, Joseph-Day says, he’d take what he learned from Suh and apply it to what he saw during his own extensive film study.

“I’d watch AD, and I’d watch Suh, and I’d watch others and I’d write down moves,” Joseph-Day said. “Because even though everybody thinks it’s so physical, honestly playing D-line is a lot mental, too. Seeing the moves, seeing things that people do — that’s how you learn, that’s how you pick up things.”

The last two years, Aaron Donald has remained at home in Pittsburgh while the Rams went through organized team activities. He wasn’t on the couch binge watching shows on Netflix, of course, but he wasn’t in L.A. with his teammates as he held out for a much-deserved contract extension.
https://theramswire.usatoday.com/2019/05/31/nfl-rams-michael-brockers-aaron-donald-otas/

myself, i think this is a really big deal for the Rams, having AD in for OTA'S
train

By: Cameron DaSilva | May 30, 2019 11:16 am ET


... a good linebacker.

Among the young players expected to step up in 2019 is Micah Kiser, a fifth-round pick of the Los Angeles Rams last year. He didn’t play a single regular-season snap on defense, but he was a core special teams player and really showed up in the preseason with 26 tackles and two passes defensed.

He’s penciled in as Mark Barron’s replacement at inside linebacker, starting next to Cory Littleton. Kiser has been taking first-team reps on defense, which is a good sign for his chances of being a key player in 2019.


Kiser has always been a physical and smart player dating back to his days at Virginia, which stood out to the Rams before the draft. This week, Sean McVay talked about some of the traits that stood out to him about Kiser and what he likes about his game.

“One of the things that you loved about him was the instincts, the awareness, the ability to anticipate – especially when so much of defense is reactionary based on some of things you can gather before the snap and then once that thing happens post-snap, it’s how quickly can I adapt and adjust based on whatever that call is defensively and what the offensive set, whether running it or throwing it dictates,” McVay said.

Kiser may not be the best athlete at linebacker, but his instincts allow him to get in the right spot to make a play.

“He’s always had a good feel. I think he’s naturally a tough guy, he’s a great tackler,” McVay continued. “I think one of the things that showed up for him consistently was he found the role as the season progressed to be a core special teams player for ‘Bones’ and then he just got better and better on the defensive side of the ball.”

Playing in the preseason versus the regular season is a completely different story, given the plays used and the level of competition. However, Kiser was a standout player for the Rams last summer and the team hopes that can translate to next season.

McVay is excited to see what he can do when the regular season begins after seeing him improve already this spring.

“When he played in the preseason games last year, he was active. He’s one of those guys, you hear us talk about it all the time, you feel players on defense. He arrives, he’s violent, he gets guys down in a hurry,” McVay said. “I think Joe Barry does a great job getting all these inside linebackers up to speed and really having an ownership of the system and Micah’s definitely showing why he’s a pro and he’s gotten a lot better in Year 2 and we’re looking forward to seeing it translate when we actually play real football.”


https://theramswire.usatoday.com/20...m_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=pos2headline

WIRED: Eric Yarber

Watch as wide receivers coach Eric Yarber is mic'd up during the second week of OTAs.

[www.therams.com]

https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/ranking-the-nfls-top-triplets-from-32-1-for-the-2019-season/

Ranking the NFL's top 'triplets' from 32-1 for the 2019 season
Which team has the best QB-RB-WR trios headed into the 2019 NFL season?

Just as we did last year and the year before, the crew here at CBSSports.com recently set out to rank each NFL team's "triplets." Why not, right? It's the middle of the offseason and it's difficult to argue that there's any better way to use this space at this time.

So in the space below, we're counting down the NFL's best QB-RB-WR trios among the expected starters at quarterback and running back, and their presumed top pass-catcher throughout the league for the 2019 season.

Dolphins received one vote at No. 32, three votes at No. 31, and one vote at No. 30, for an average of 31.0, which was the lowest in the league.)

32. Miami Dolphins (31.0)
QB Josh Rosen, RB Kenyan Drake, WR Kenny Stills

Rosen was not put in position to succeed last season in Arizona, and at least at the start, he will not necessarily be in position to succeed in Miami, either. The Dolphins appear to have a rebuilding plan, but it's still in its beginning stages. This is the core of a tear-down team's offense.

31. Buffalo Bills (30.4)
QB Josh Allen, RB LeSean McCoy, WR John Brown

Allen had a productive rookie season ... on the ground. But he's a quarterback, and he needs to be more productive through the air. McCoy and Frank Goreform the oldest backfield in the league, and while Brown is a speedster, he is often injured, and he's backed up in the receiving corps by the likes of Cole Beasley and Zay Jones. This group is not a lot to write home about.

30. Baltimore Ravens (29.6)
QB Lamar Jackson, RB Mark Ingram, WR Marquise Brown

Much like Allen, Jackson was very productive on the ground. But he was even less productive through the air, so though the Ravens might be exciting and fun to watch, we can't exactly say with any degree of certainty that they'll be any good. At least they have a strong running back tandem with Ingram and Gus Edwards, and speedsters on the outside, led by Hollywood Brown.

29. Jacksonville Jaguars (28.0)
QB Nick Foles, RB Leonard Fournette, WR Marqise Lee

Foles is now a very wealthy man thanks to the contract the Jags bestowed on him this offseason, but he is also a player who has had zero success outside the confines of Philadelphia. He's not in nearly as friendly an offensive environment now as he was there, a fact driven home by the questions surrounding Fournette from a production and behavior standpoint, and from the reality that Lee is his No. 1 wideout.

28. Washington (27.4)
QB Dwayne Haskins, RB Adrian Peterson, TE Jordan Reed

Washington may have a find in Haskins -- and getting him at No. 15 overall was a steal in terms of value either way -- but the weapons surrounding him right now are old, injury-prone, or both.

27. Arizona Cardinals (27.2)
QB Kyler Murray, RB David Johnson, WR Larry Fitzgerald

I was a little surprised the Cardinals didn't end up higher on this list simply because of the WOW factor, but the reality is most quarterbacks are not very good as rookies. Kliff Kingsbury will use David Johnson better than he was used last year almost by default, but the receiving corps outside of Fitzgerald is very young and the offensive line still has holes. There are high hopes for this group, but they are unlikely to be realized in 2019.

26. New York Giants (25.4)
QB Eli Manning, RB Saquon Barkley, WR Golden Tate

Barkley is explosive, but not very efficient. Tate fell off hard last season and plays best in the slot, which is also where Sterling Shepard does his best work. Manning is no longer a starting-caliber quarterback, which is apparent to everyone except Manning and Dave Gettleman.

25. Denver Broncos (24.2)
QB Joe Flacco, RB Phillip Lindsay, WR Emmanuel Sanders

The Broncos are in essentially the same situation as the Giants, except Sanders is coming off an injury and Flacco is probably ever-so-slightly more reliable than Manning at this point -- though making a decision either way is probably splitting hairs. The Broncos seem more likely to turn the keys over to Drew Lockmore quickly than the Giants will to Daniel Jones, though, even if only because John Elway is slightly less defiant about this stuff than Gettleman.

24. New York Jets (23.4)
QB Sam Darnold, RB Le'Veon Bell, WR Robby Anderson

It's very easy to see the Jets shooting up these rankings next year. But for now, they're led by Darnold coming off an up-and-down rookie season, Bell coming off a year where he sat out rather than collect $14-plus million, and Anderson fronting a pass-catcher group that is more about depth than top-end talent.

23. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (23.2)
QB Jameis Winston, RB Ronald Jones II, WR Mike Evans

I'll cop to not totally getting what some others see in Winston, who turns the ball over far too often for my liking and does not appear to be the kind of player who can transcend his surroundings. The Bucs had the NFL's worst ground game last year, but perhaps they can unlock Jones in Year 2. And Evans is a flat-out stud.

22. Chicago Bears (22.4)
QB Mitchell Trubisky, RB Tarik Cohen, WR Allen Robinson

Trubisky may well be the widest-variance quarterback in football right now. He can throw six touchdowns against the Bucs and he can also miss wide-open receivers by 10 feet. It will be fascinating to see how Cohen handles a presumably larger workload as a lead-ish back, and how Robinson looks in his second year after ACL surgery.

21. San Francisco 49ers (19.4)
QB Jimmy Garoppolo, RB Tevin Coleman, TE George Kittle

I was surprised the 49ers did not rank higher than this, but Garoppolo is coming off an ACL tear, the running back room is crowded but not with super high-level talent, and the receiving corps outside of Kittle is inexperienced and full of question marks. This could be a situation where we have vastly underrated a team, but it could also be about right.

20. Tennessee Titans (19.2)
QB Marcus Mariota, RB Derrick Henry, WR Corey Davis

Mariota is like Winston, but with fewer turnovers and fewer explosive plays. He probably has the best skill-position group surrounding him this year that he has ever had, and in the fifth-year option of his rookie deal, it's pretty much now or never to prove he's the Titans' guy over the long term.

19. Oakland Raiders (17.2)
QB Derek Carr, RB Josh Jacobs, WR Antonio Brown

The perception of Carr's game has fallen off big time over the past couple seasons. With the exception of 2016, he has looked fairly average throughout his career, but perhaps the presence of Brown and Tyrell Williams will take his game to a new level. Jon Gruden has talked about Jacobs like part of a time-share, but you don't take a running back in the first round in 2019 to not make him your featured guy.

T-17. Carolina Panthers (17.0)
QB Cam Newton, RB Christian McCaffrey, TE Greg Olsen

McCaffrey is perhaps the most versatile player in the league right now, but Newton and Olsen are coming off major injuries and we have no idea what they'll look like this season. The Panthers winding up in the middle of the pack feels right.

T-17. Detroit Lions (17.0)
QB Matthew Stafford, RB Kerryon Johnson, WR Kenny Golladay

The days of Stafford as a volume-driven passing yard king are long gone, as last year he threw for a career full-season low 3,777 yards. Matt Patricia wants the Lions to be a slow-down, grind-out team, but he also doesn't want Johnson to be a true lead back. He'd rather a Patriots-style timeshare. So while there's talent here, it doesn't really feel like it'll be put to its best possible use.

16. Cincinnati Bengals (16.2)
QB Andy Dalton, RB Joe Mixon, WR A.J. Green

I'm puzzled as to how the Bengals ended up this high, but I suppose I'm just lower on Dalton and Mixon than my colleagues. I thought the Bengals could and should have moved on from Dalton as they begin the Zac Taylor era, but it looks like they're keeping him for at least one more go-round. He's got nice weapons to work with, but I'm not confident they'll be all that explosive.

15. Los Angeles Rams (15.2)
QB Jared Goff, RB Todd Gurley, WR Brandin Cooks

This is a situation where the rampant injury speculation about Gurley is surely affecting things, but Goff's late-season swoon and Super Bow implosion may be affecting the ranking even more. Cooks leads a wide receiver group that is among the best in football, but it's because the top three guys are all basically about as good as each other -- three really good No. 2 wideouts who happen to be on the same team.

14. Philadelphia Eagles (14.8)
QB Carson Wentz, RB Jordan Howard, TE Zach Ertz

Wentz's injury uncertainty is also assuredly affecting the rankings here. Howard will presumably play the 2017 LeGarrette Blount role as the between-the-tackles guy in this backfield, but Wendell Smallwood and Corey Clement and Josh Adams should get work as well. With Rob Gronkowski retired, Ertz has as good an argument as anybody that he is the best tight end in the league right now.

13. Minnesota Vikings (14.0)
QB Kirk Cousins, RB Dalvin Cook, WR Adam Thielen

Thielen is awesome and it seems like he's propping up this ranking, but Cousins was decidedly meh during his first season in Minnesota after signing a record-setting contract, and Cook has largely proven unable to stay on the field. The ceiling is really high for this group, but the floor is also pretty low.

12. Houston Texans (13.0)
QB Deshaun Watson, RB Lamar Miller, WR DeAndre Hopkins

Now we're getting into the group where it's really tough to differentiate between top teams. This is the dividing line for the best trios in the league. Watson and Hopkins are one of the best and most exciting QB-WR duos in football, and Miller is perpetually underrated.

11. Atlanta Falcons (12.6)
QB Matt Ryan, RB Devonta Freeman, WR Julio Jones

The Falcons say Freeman is healthy after struggling with injuries the past two years, and, well, he better be. Tevin Coleman is gone and Ito Smith did not look ready for this last year. Ryan is two seasons removed from winning MVP, and he was nearly as good last year as he was in 2016. Julio is Julio.

10. Indianapolis Colts (9.8)
QB Andrew Luck, RB Marlon Mack, WR T.Y. Hilton

Remember the first few weeks of last season when people were worried about Andrew Luck because he wasn't throwing downfield? That was fun. Luck basically turned back into himself over the course of the year, and he's got help in the backfield in the form of Mack and second-year man Nyheim Hines now. And of course, Hilton to take the top of the defense.

9. New England Patriots (8.0)
QB Tom Brady, RB Sony Michel, WR Julian Edelman

After losing Rob Gronkowski, the Patriots slide to the back half of the top 10. The team's running back group gets a bit underrated here because Michel is clearly a runner while James White is actually arguably the top passing-game option now, but either way it's safe to say that things will look a bit different in New England than they have in the past.

T-7. Seattle Seahawks (7.6)
QB Russell Wilson, RB Chris Carson, WR Tyler Lockett

Wilson's longtime top receiver, Doug Baldwin, is now retired. Lockett emerged as a viable No. 1 receiver last season, and Carson still looks to have a grip on the No. 1 job in the backfield even after the team drafted Rashaad Penny in the first round last year. Wilson was paid more than any quarterback in history for a reason -- he's damn good, and this ranking is justified because of his presence.

T-7. Green Bay Packers (7.6)
QB Aaron Rodgers, RB Aaron Jones, WR Davante Adams

I'm a bit surprised Green Bay did not rank even higher than this, but I suppose that stems from a reluctance to fully buy in on Jones being quite as good as he's looked in his limited role through two seasons. Adams is perhaps the most underrated receiver in football, and he's coming off an absolute monster of a season where he put up numbers very few wideouts in history have ever touched. Rodgers is the highest-ceiling quarterback in the league when he's on his game, but he's also had some injury issues in the recent past and will be adjusting to a new system.

6. Dallas Cowboys (5.8)
QB Dak Prescott, RB Ezekiel Elliott, WR Amari Cooper

If we had done these rankings at the midway point of last season, it feels like the Cowboys probably would have ended up in the 20s. But then Cooper arrived in Dallas, Prescott took off, and Elliott managed to get even more explosive and efficient. Now they look like they have one of the best young QB-RB-WR cores in the league.

5. Los Angeles Chargers (5.6)
QB Philip Rivers, RB Melvin Gordon, WR Keenan Allen

Rivers and Gordon are each coming off their best NFL seasons. Allen is the best route-runner in football not named Antonio Brown, and the man is just always, always, always open. There's a synergy to these guys that drives the Chargers' offense, and it's awesome to watch.

4. Pittsburgh Steelers (5.4)
QB Ben Roethlisberger, RB James Conner, WR JuJu Smith-Schuster

It's wildly impressive that the Steelers ended up here despite losing possibly the best receiver in football and after replacing a player who was considered possibly the best running back in football on the fly last year. That's a testament not only to Roethlisberger's staying power, but also the way Smith-Schuster and Conner stepped up and became elite options themselves.

3. Cleveland Browns (3.2)
QB Baker Mayfield, RB Nick Chubb, WR Odell Beckham Jr.

The Browns, y'all! The Cleveland Browns. No. 3. I almost can't believe it. It's deserved, though. Mayfield was fantastic as a rookie despite working for half the season in Hue Jackson's offense. Chubb was buried on the bench until the team traded Carlos Hyde, then promptly exploded. And then Cleveland added possibly the NFL's best receiver. Yeah. It's go time.

2. Kansas City Chiefs (2.4)
QB Patrick Mahomes, RB Damien Williams, TE Travis Kelce

The Chiefs not landing at No. 1 is a bit of a surprise given the way they scorched the league last season, but Kareem Hunt's suspension and eventual release, and the uncertainty surrounding Tyreek Hill knock them back from the No. 1 perch. Still, it's tough to compete with Mahomes and Kelce, and Williams looked great in his first run as the lead back last year.

1. New Orleans Saints (1.2)
QB Drew Brees, RB Alvin Kamara, WR Michael Thomas

No. 1 with a bullet. The Saints got four out of five votes in the top spot, and that makes perfect sense. Not only are all three of these players superstars, they are also perfect schematic fits within Asshole Face's offense. Right now, they're the best triplets in the league.

https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/...managing-the-salary-cap-and-player-contracts/

Agent's Take: The five best teams at managing the salary cap and player contracts
Bill Belichick and Howie Roseman are superstars at roster construction, and here's who else stands out

The salary cap permeates practically everything NFL teams do from a roster construction standpoint. Teams that have the best grasp on how to navigate the salary cap without making major mistakes on player contracts can set themselves up for some period of sustained success.

Former longtime Eagles president and Browns CEO Joe Banner was ahead of the game in these areas during his tenure in Philadelphia. He recognized early in the salary cap era, which began in 1994, a good approach for the existing NFLsystem. Emphasis was placed on building through the NFL Draft, signing key young players to cap-friendly contract extensions before they could hit the open market and using free agency to fill holes in the roster.

Contracts were structured in a manner advantageous to the Eagles. Signing bonuses, which were initially the predominant form of guaranteed money in deals, were limited since it is prorated or spread out evenly over the life of a contract for a maximum of five years under the salary cap. A big signing bonus can make it difficult for a team to cut a player because the proration accelerates into a team's current salary cap, depending on the timing of the release. Banner opted for roster bonuses in the first year or a large increase in the current year's base salary in extensions in lieu of signing bonus due to the lack of proration with these items. This gave Philadelphia more roster flexibility than most other teams.

The methods worked. Although there weren't any championships won, the Eagles went to five NFC Championship Games and one Super Bowl in an eight year span during the 2000s.

I have identified five NFL teams that do a good job with player contracts and the salary cap. There isn't one specific right or wrong way to manage the salary cap and negotiate player contracts. One thing I do consider as less than ideal is taking a credit card approach to the salary cap by constantly restructuring contracts to push current obligations into the future. It's more sustainable provided the salary cap keeps up the recent growth rate of six to eight percent each year. The Cowboys, Saints and Steelers historically have subscribed to this philosophy.

New England Patriots
It often seems like head coach Bill Belichick, who is essentially New England's general manager without formally having the title, is playing chess while the rest of the NFL is playing checkers. The Patriot Way has become synonymous with players buying into Belichick's coaching, the team concept and his philosophy of accountability.

The Patriot Way has another meaning, particularly to the agent community. Under Belichick, New England has operated as if it is better to get rid of a player a year too early rather than a year too late, whether it's because of salary, performance or age. It's a rather clinical or dispassionate but extremely effective manner of managing the roster. This approach dates back to early in Belichick's New England tenure, when four-time Pro Bowl safety Lawyer Milloy was released a few days before the start of the 2003 regular season because he refused to take a pay cut. Losing Milloy didn't prevent the Patriots from winning the Super Bowl that season.

The Patriot Way was never more evident than in 2016, when the New England won its fifth Super Bowl in franchise history. The Patriots didn't miss a beat after jettisoning arguably their best two defensive players from the 2015 season. Chandler Jones was shipped to the Cardinals in an offseason trade because New England was never going to pay him the going rate for productive pass rushers, which at the time was in the $16 to $17 million per year neighborhood with over $50 million in guarantees, once his contract expired after the season. Linebacker Jamie Collins turning down an $11 million per year extension during training camp was an impetus for dealing him to the Browns as that season's trading deadline approached.

The only player seemingly immune to The Patriot Way is 41 year old quarterback Tom Brady, who is arguably the greatest NFL player of all-time. Brady started consistently giving the Patriots hometown discounts in 2013, when he first renegotiated the 2010 contract extension which made the NFL's highest paid player at $18 million per year, instead of driving the market. The discounted deals allow the Patriots to assemble a more talented roster than otherwise possible. Brady leaving money on the table is paying dividends. New England has won three more Super Bowl rings since Brady started this process.

How Brady does business is used against other players in contract negotiations, in which director of player personnel Nick Caserio is involved. Caserio is Belichick's trusted lieutenant. Players who are accepting have a much better chance of signing a second or third Patriots contract. For example, right guard Shaq Mason sold himself short by signing a five-year, $45 million extension (worth a maximum of $50 million with incentives) last preseason. The 2015 fourth-round pick probably would have been the most coveted interior offensive lineman in free agency had he played out his rookie contract, given the explosion in offensive guard salaries over the last couple of years. It's conceivable Mason could have become the fourth unrestricted free agent guard in as many years to set the market by eclipsing the six-year, $84 million extension ($14 million per year average) containing $40 million in guarantees Zack Martin received from the Cowboys last offseason.

The Patriots are rarely big participants in the first wave of free agency when it's a seller's market, whether with outsiders or in the retention of their own players. That's why signing cornerback Stephon Gilmore to a five-year, $65 million contract as a free agent in 2017 was surprising.

A run was made at keeping left tackle Nate Solder in 2018 free agency, but New England wasn't willing to outbid the Texans or Giants, who ultimately made him the NFL's highest-paid offensive lineman. The Patriots turned to the trade market to find Solder's replacement, Trent Brown, who was entering the final year of his rookie contract. He was acquired from the 49ers for what was essentially a mid-fourth round pick during the 2018 NFL draft. Brown turned his one-year stint with New England into a free-agent contract with the Raiders, where he became the league's highest-paid offensive lineman.

New England uses the trade market more extensively than most teams. It's a cost effective way to rebuild the roster, especially when there are major losses in free agency. Defensive end Michael Bennett and a 2020 seventh-round pick were obtained from the Eagles for a 2020 fifth-round pick when it became evident that Trey Flowers, the Patriots' best pass rusher, was going to price himself out of New England in free agency. In a trade, the acquiring team assumes the remainder of a player's contract. Any bonus proration in the deal is the responsibility of the original signing team. It doesn't become a responsibility of the new team. This affords the Patriots optimal roster flexibility because a player can be released without any adverse cap consequences as long as there isn't any guaranteed money left in the deal.

Philadelphia Eagles
Executive vice-president of football operations Howie Roseman turned the Eagles into Super Bowl champions for the first time in franchise history in two short years after regaining control of football operations with two games left in the 2015 regular season, following the failed experiment with former head coach Chip Kelly calling the shots. He largely reinstituted the principles used while he was working under Banner in the early 2000s, when first hired to help manage the salary cap.

Roseman quickly signed tight end Zach Ertz, safety Malcolm Jenkins and offensive tackle Lane Johnson to early offseason extensions. He found takers for Kelly's free agent signing mistakes of 2015 -- cornerback Byron Maxwell and running back DeMarco Murray. The remaining five years of Maxwell's six-year, $63 million contract with $25 million fully guaranteed, linebacker Kiko Alonsoand the 13th pick in the 2016 draft were sent to Dolphins for the eighth overall pick of the draft. Murray, who signed a five-year, $40 million contract (with $21 million in guarantees and worth a maximum of $42 million through salary escalators) was traded to the Titans in an exchange of 2016 fourth-round picks.

Roseman parlayed the eighth pick he received from Miami into a blockbuster trade with the Browns for the draft's second overall pick, which was used to take quarterback Carson Wentz. Trading Sam Bradford to the Vikings for a 2017 first-round pick and a 2018 fourth-round pick at the end of the preseason after Teddy Bridgewater had a career-threatening knee injury paved the way for Wentz to start as a rookie.

Roseman took advantage of the roster flexibility that a potential franchise quarterback on a rookie contract can provide by making Nick Foles one of the highest paid backup passers. It was money well spent because of Wentz being lost late in 2017 season with a serious injury to his left knee. Foles earned Super Bowl LII MVP honors by outdueling Brady in a Philadelphia victory.

The Eagles kept Foles as insurance in case Wentz had a slow recovery from the knee injury rather than dealing him during that offseason, when his trade value was at its peak. He was given a substantial raise for last year, when the Eagles had an option for an additional year in 2019 that Foles could void, which he did by paying $2 million. Structuring Foles' contract with a buyout, which is a rarity in NFL contracts, gave the Eagles an extra $2 million in cap room.

Roseman differs from Banner in a couple of significant ways. He has been one of the most active NFL front office executives in the trade market over the last couple of years, particularly around the trading deadline. Running back Jay Ajayiwas acquired from the Dolphins in 2017 for a 2018 fourth-round pick after falling out favor in Miami. A 2019 third-round pick was given to the Lions for Golden Tate last year. Roseman is much more aggressive in managing the cap. Multiple contracts are restructured annually to create cap room. So far, restructures have been limited to players who seemingly fit into their long-range plans.

San Francisco 49ers
John Lynch is in his third year as general manager. The salary cap and contracts are the domain of executive vice-president of football operations Paraag Maranthe and director of football administration & analytics Brian Hampton.

San Francisco's most lucrative veteran contracts historically have had a team-friendly structure. The guarantees after the first contract year are injury guarantees, which typically become fully guaranteed on April 1 of each specific contract year. San Francisco's guaranteed vesting date is the latest in the NFL. With most teams, the guarantee vesting date is in March, during the first few days of the new league year.

The 49ers' biggest offseason signings have lower risk because of these contract principles. For example, Kwon Alexander signed a four-year deal averaging $13.5 million per year, which is near the top of the inside linebacker market. The 49ers are protected in case Alexander doesn't bounce back from last season's ACL tear. Unlike most contracts of this size, the first two years aren't fully guaranteed at signing. The 49ers can get out of the deal next year with minor cap consequences because Alexander received only a $4 million signing bonus and his $11.25 million 2020 base salary, which is guaranteed for injury, doesn't become fully guaranteed until that April 1. San Francisco would have only a $3 million cap charge in 2020 if a healthy Alexander were released next offseason before April 1.

Large annual game day active roster bonuses are also standard with 49ers veteran contracts. The primary benefit of the roster bonuses is they provide the 49ers some financial relief with injuries. The per game amount is payable only if the player is on the 46-man active roster for that particular game. For example, Colin Kaepernick's 2014 extension had $2 million worth of roster bonuses annually. When Kaepernick was put on injured reserve after nine games in 2015, it cost him $875,000 because he didn't earn seven games worth of the roster bonuses.

The 49ers convinced cornerback Richard Sherman, who was acting as his own agent, to sign a three-year deal in 2018 after being released by the Seahawksthat was unusually team friendly even by San Francisco standards. Sherman has $4 million annually in difficult-to-achieve incentives. None were earned last season. The consensus industry opinion is the 49ers got a much better end of the bargain than would have been possible if Sherman had representation.

The 49ers took a calculated risk with the five-year, $137.5 million contract given to quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo in February 2018. All it took was five impressive starts after a 2017 midseason trade from the Patriots for Garoppolo to briefly become the NFL's highest-paid player at $27.5 million per year. The 49ers did something unique with Garoppolo's contract because of an abundance of cap room. The deal was structured with an unusually large $37 million 2018 cap number (the first year), which is almost 35 percent more than Garoppolo's average yearly salary. Garoppolo's remaining cap numbers are more manageable than in the typical high-end contract. The 49ers should be able to better build a strong roster around Garoppolo thanks to this decision.

Minnesota Vikings
Executive vice president of football operations Rob Brzezinski has been managing the salary cap and negotiating contracts so long in Minnesota that I dealt him as an agent on linebacker Ed McDaniel and Hall of Fame defensive tackle John Randle's contracts. With the exception of quarterback Kirk Cousins, who has a fully guaranteed three-year contract, Brzezinski structures veteran deals where only the first year is fully guaranteed at signing.

The guarantees in the second and/or third year convert from being guaranteed for injury to fully guaranteed on the third day of that particular league year (mid-March). Since the deals have relatively modest signing bonuses, Brzezinski can get out of the deals at almost any time without much cap pain. Brzezinski has stayed away from playing the contract restructure game in recent years until needing to do so with linebacker Eric Kendricks' contract a couple of weeks ago.

One contract where Brzezinski is getting tremendous value is Danielle Hunter's. He signed a five-year, $72 million extension with $40.007 million of guarantees last offseason. Hunter would have been facing a 2019 franchise tag for $17.128 million by merely duplicating his 2017 performance, which he easily exceeded in 2018. He tied for fourth in the NFL with 14.5 sacks. Since Hunter had a career year while playing out his contract, he would have been in a position to leverage the franchise tag into a long-term deal averaging in excess of $20 million per year like Frank Clark did. Clark signed a five-year, $104 million contract with $62.305 million in guarantees where $43.805 million was fully guaranteed at signing in connection with his pre-draft trade from the Seahawks to the Chiefs.

Hunter's deal, which contains $1 million in annual base salary escalators for sacks, is already outdated. To make matters worse, Hunter's contract runs through the 2023 season.

Green Bay Packers
Executive vice president/director of football operations Russ Ball is responsible for Green Bay's vanilla contract structure with veteran players. The only guaranteed money in Packers contracts is a signing bonus. The lone exception is quarterback Aaron Rodgers, whose deals have conventional contract guarantees. The bigger deals contain a third or fifth day of the league year roster bonus in the second and third years. The roster bonuses are supposed to be substitutes for additional contract guarantees. The overall guarantees in Green Bay contracts are usually less than comparable deals on other teams.

Per game 46-man active roster bonuses are a requirement in nearly all of Green Bay's lucrative veteran contracts. Rodgers doesn't have these roster bonuses in his current contract. His previous extension had $600,000 annually. Rodgers' broken collarbone in 2017 cost him $337,500 because he didn't earn nine games worth of the roster bonuses. The collarbone injury limited Rodgers to seven games that season.

Second-year general manager Brian Gutekunst's methods of roster building don't resemble Ted Thompson's, his predecessor. Thompson almost strictly preferred a draft-and-develop approach while making limited use of free agency.

Gutekunst has been much more aggressive in free agency than Thompson ever was. The longstanding policy of structuring veteran contracts where a signing bonus is the only form of true guaranteed money wasn't an impediment in free agency. Gutekunst has revamped the defense through the open market. Outside linebackers Za'Darius and Preston Smith were signed to four-year deals --worth $66 million and $52 million, respectively -- to provide a pass rush. Safety Adrian Amos received a four-year, $37 million contract to stay in the NFC North, migrating from the Bears.

The Steelers structure contracts the same way as the Packers. The difference being Green Bay doesn't routinely convert money to a signing bonus to create space, which is coming back to haunt Pittsburgh with wide receiver Antonio Brown. The Steelers have a $21.12 million cap charge this year after trading Brown to the Raiders. The $21.12 million is signing bonus proration relating to the $19 million signing bonus originally in Brown's 2017 extension and the $12.96 million signing bonus from last year's restructure.

Almost: Indianapolis Colts, Seattle Seahawks

https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/...y-push-for-18-game-season-during-labor-talks/

Some NFL owners could reportedly push for 18-game season during labor talks
The NFLPA vehemently opposed expanding the regular season during the 2011 labor negotiations, could that change this time around?

Back in 2011, the last time the league and its players renegotiated the collective bargaining agreement, expanding the regular season from 16 to 18 games was brought to the table. It didn't happen then and we've heard little about it in recent years -- until now. With the current CBA set to expire in two years, some NFL owners want to revisit the 18-game schedule and even expanding the playoff field, reports the Washington Post's Mark Maske.

A high-ranking official with one NFL team said that there are "some owners who would like to expand the season" to 18 games, adding it's not clear "if there is much support from the players on that."

Unless there's been a drastic change among players, they'll almost certainly oppose the idea of an 18-game season, for the same reasons it was opposed in 2011: More football means increased likelihood of injury, and the potential increase in salary wouldn't offset that.

"[Players] don't see the positive tradeoff, the guys don't see it as something that is good for their careers, good for their bodies," NFLPA president Eric Winstontold the Dan Patrick Show in August 2018. ... "[The] cap is going to get tilted heavily to the star players." Winston said. "The people that I've talked to on how that money could be spread, wouldn't go to your role players, your middle-of-the-road guys."

As recently as Feb. 2017 NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said that "I don't see big movement" in support of an extended regular season and added that the league wouldn't move forward without the support of the players.

Last September, Giants co-owner John Mara made it clear that the NFLPA wasn't interested.

"We were negotiating the CBA in 2011," Mara told the New York Post's Steve Serby at the time, via PFT. "Jerry Jones was in one of our meetings. We were on a break and we were about to go in and talk to the players about the schedule. He said, 'I want to try to sell them on the 18-game regular season.' And my response was, 'Jerry, they're adamantly opposed to that. You have no chance.' He says, 'I'll bet I can sell 'em on it.' I said, 'You sell them on the 18-game season, I will walk around Times Square for the week in a Dallas Cowboyssweatshirt.' He said, 'You're on.' We walked into the meeting room, and he barely got the words out of his mouth, and the players said: 'No way. That's a deal breaker. We'll walk out of here right now.' So I did not have to walk around Times Square wearing a Dallas Cowboys sweatshirt."

Meanwhile, Maske adds that it's not clear how many owners want an 18-game schedule but the expectation is that two more regular-season games would generate a significant revenue boost, and perhaps players could be convinced "by offering a reduction in preseason games, an increase in roster sizes and possibly other concessions."

And it's those other concessions that could ultimately determine whether we see an 18-game regular-season schedule.

Pretty cool. They're having the vintage truck show here in Reno and my wife's uncle's truck is the star of the show. It's billed as the biggest show of it's kind in the world.

His is the Peterbuilt on the show banner.

OK. Now that I got your attention.....

This will be the catch all thread for any news about Todd Gurley's health and status for the coming year.

From this point forward, we will simply delete any new threads about the subject that do not specifically and non-speculatively define the status of Gurley's knee. This includes any and all reporters, twitter handles, bloggers, etc... writing stories about it and/or relating any second hand information.

I am also going to lock the other threads and encourage any discussion to just happen here. Please do not think it's funny to start a new thread to be cute. Let's all just hope for the best for our All Pro running back and wait for real information.

In the mean time, feel free to discuss the subject in this thread. TG is a very important piece to our team and we in no way intend to stifle discussion about him.

Cheers

I'm so bored I can’t see straight and this is truly the doldrums for football.

I half expect to see an article that polls Rams players on whether pineapple is good or awful on pizza and a whole workup on what they thought of the last season of GoT.

We were supposed to see some FA activity in late May because of some
CBA thing, but nope...

I mean, when the latest thing is reading about Blake Bortles accidentally buying a Tesla because he wanted to stop dipping... I can’t even.

I guess I should take advantage and get my reading in...

... says he's 'only going to get better'



By: Cameron DaSilva | 23 hours ago


Sean Mannion rode the bench for the majority of his Rams tenure, appearing in only one game the last two seasons. The Rams haven’t given their backup quarterbacks much run since Jared Goff arrived, and that’ll remain the case in 2019.

Despite relying on their backup quarterback very little, the Rams made it a point to sign Blake Bortles this offseason. Bortles was released by the Jaguars and quickly scooped up by the Rams, who gave him $1 million for one year.

After the signing was made official, Sean McVay praised Bortles’ experience in big games and his ability to step in for Goff if needed. The Rams hope they don’t need Bortles to play much at all next season, but he brings value on the field and in the locker room as a veteran.

After Tuesday’s organized team activities session, McVay talked about Bortles and how he’s looked thus far.

“He’s done a good job. He’s one of those guys that when you get around and talk to him, he’s got a nice presence about him,” McVay said. “You hear him call plays in the huddle, there’s a command, there’s a certain confidence that he exudes. He’s a guy that’s played a lot of football, so I think he’s done a really good job of working with Zac Robinson, working with Shane [Waldron], getting up to speed on some of the things we’re doing offensively.”

Bortles will be the No. 2 quarterback this offseason, barring injury, and his relationship with Goff is strong. They’re friends off the field and can help each other in the quarterback room, pushing one another to be the best they can.

McVay has come away impressed in OTAs and spring workouts, and he thinks Bortles is only going to get better as time goes on.

“Blake’s come in, he’s done a really good job and I think he’s one of those guys that’s only going to get better as he continues to get more and more comfortable,” McVay added. “And like anything else, you’ve seen a lot of really good things that he’s put on tape over the course of his career in Jacksonville, and if need be, we’re confident that he’ll perform for us as well.”

For $1 million, it was going to be impossible for the Rams to find a better option at backup quarterback for that price. And for Bortles, he now gets a chance to work with McVay and potentially get a Super Bowl ring, even if it is as a backup.


https://theramswire.usatoday.com/20...&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=pos1image

By: Andrew Ortenberg | May 28, 2019 6:15 pm ET


Aaron Donald is participating in OTAs for the first time in the Sean McVay era. The Los Angeles Rams star stayed away from the voluntary practices the past two seasons as he held out for a new contract, but now that he’s landed his record deal, he’s back in the fold for his first full offseason since 2016.

Speaking to the media after practice Tuesday, Donald said he’s happy to be back working with his teammates instead of training solely on his own.

“Good to be here with the guys, grinding with the guys, and just been working. It’s been good,” he said.

Donald was then asked about the differences between the team before and after McVay took over. “Well that’s obvious: We’ve been winning,” Donald said with a smile. Donald said McVay changed “the mindset, the culture around here. When you’ve got a coach like McVay that nonstop his mindset is to be the best at what he does, and it just trickles down to us and everybody got that same mindset,” he explained.

Donald was also asked about rookie defensive tackle Greg Gaines, who the Rams have indicated they plan on starting next to Donald.

“He’s good, good player. One of the guys that asks a lot of questions and wants to know things, that’s good. He’s out there working, grinding, and you can see it on film, every day he’s been getting better.”

Gaines had said during his press conference a couple of weeks back that he was starstruck by the veteran, and Donald seems open to taking him under his wing.

“If any guy, anybody got a question they need to ask, if they just want to pick my brain, I’m always [here]. They ask me stuff, I’m giving them feedback, or they want me to watch film and tell them something I see that they need to improve, I try to do that as best as I can,” he said. “So just trying to lead by example and if the young guys need questions answered or just need me to help them work on something, I’m here and they know that.”

Donald taking on such a strong leadership role is a great sign for the team and the locker room. The reigning Defensive Player of the Year also talked about his new positional coach, defensive line coach Eric Henderson, and things seem to be going well.

“I’ve been loving coach thus far, that’s one of the main [reasons] why I wanted to be here, to work with the guys and also work with him. He’s working a lot of different drills that I feel like can help me get better, help me improve my game. He’s pushing me. Like I said, he broke down stuff with me and showed me things I need to correct in my game,” Donald said.

“Having him here, having him coach me, with the different drills he’s got us out there doing, things that I actually needed to work on that I needed to improve, I’m just excited to keep working with him,” he continued.

The new pairing is clearly working so far, and it sounds like the Rams made a nice hire. There’s a long way to go, but with a full offseason under his belt, there’s no reason to think Donald won’t be able to win his third straight DPOY award.


https://theramswire.usatoday.com/20...&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=pos2image

Do you agree with this list?

https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/...in-landslide-all-pro-running-back-misses-cut/

https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/...says-a-new-contract-will-take-care-of-itself/

Marcus Peters, who's eligible for an extension, says a new contract 'will take care of itself'

Last offseason's all-in gambit from the Los Angeles Rams began with a trade for former Kansas City Chiefs cornerback Marcus Peters. Coming off a three-season run in Kansas City where he made two Pro Bowls and an All-Pro first team and led the league in interceptions, Peters was considered a high-level acquisition for the Rams defense.

The Rams followed up that move with trades for Aqib Talib and Brandin Cooks, and the signing of Ndamukong Suh, and ended the year by making a run to the Super Bowl. They ultimately fell short, but they're still considered among the small group of best teams in the NFL heading into 2019.

Peters, though, did not live up to lofty expectations. He was fantastic to start the year, but played through injury for much of the season and was far less effective than usual -- especially while Talib was on the sideline dealing with an injury of his own. Now heading into the fifth-year option season of his rookie-scale contract, Peters is extension-eligible, but does not yet have a new deal.

The cornerback professes that he's not worried about contract talks.

"I want to get to the Super Bowl and win it this time, that's what I want to break, really," Peters said, per the Associated Press. "All of the rest of the stuff will take care of itself."

The Rams are currently just south of $6.6 million under the cap, per Spotrac, though extending Peters could actually give them more room to operate because they could lower his Year 1 base salary and thus his cap hit. They currently have Cooks, Todd Gurley, Robert Woods, Rob Havenstein, Aaron Donald, and punter Johnny Hekker signed through at least 2021, but that's it. With new deals for Peters, Jared Goff, Cooper Kupp, and John Johnson III potentially on the horizon, there's a lot of maneuvering that will need to be done over the next few years to ensure their books remain in good shape. But again, Peters is not concentrating on that, he says.

"The only thing I can do is come in and do my job and be the best teammate I'm doing, be the best player I can be on the field, and the rest of the stuff will take care of itself," Peters said. "I'm not too worried about it."

10 Observations from OTA No. 5

After each OTA practice, team insider Myles Simmons will share his top 10 observations from the day’s session. Here are 10 notes from Day 4 on Wednesday, May 29.

1) As expected, outside linebacker Dante Fowler was in attendance for Wednesday’s OTA. While he was not there for Tuesday’s voluntary session, head coach Sean McVay said Fowler had communicated to the team a travel snafu. Fowler was active throughout the session within his position group and in 11-on-11 work.

2) As Fowler was getting some one-on-one instruction from OLBs coach Chris Shula at the beginning of practice, Los Angeles was putting in work on special teams. On one field, players were drilling kickoff and kickoff return. On the other, players were drilling how to set up a double team for punt return.

3) During the defense’s usual pursuit drill, defensive tackle Aaron Donald fielded a swing pass on the left side, leaving the reserves to chase after him. If that ever happened in a real game….good luck stopping that freight train.

4) On the other field, the tight ends were performing an interesting drill to ostensibly practice their first steps in blocking. One player would wear a long stretch band around their waist, and a position-mate would hold it. The first TE would then get in a stance and take his first couple steps, while the one behind would provide resistance on the band.

Go to Full Article--
[www.therams.com]

Anyone else notice the black and blue logo that comes up on Google.

The colors looks cool and I wonder if Google knows more about the new logo and colors than we do ...

By: Cameron DaSilva | May 28, 2019 8:44 am ET



Blake Bortles joined the Los Angeles Rams this offseason, signing with them after being cut by the Jacksonville Jaguars. He visited the facility and immediately knew he wanted to sign with the Rams, despite knowing he wouldn’t be a starter. He’s friends with Jared Goff and loves what Sean McVay has done in L.A., so he viewed it as a perfect fit.

Having grown up in Florida and playing there until last year, going to Los Angeles was quite the change. And with the move came the motivation to change one thing about himself, too.

Bortles wanted to quit using chewing tobacco – or dip, as it’s often called – so he forked up the cash for a Tesla.

The two don’t seem to be related at all, but Bortles’ explanation on “Pardon My Take” actually makes sense.

“The plan was to buy a Tesla so that I could quit dipping, so that I wouldn’t have to go to the gas station anymore,” Bortles said. “So now I just go to the gas station to buy dip.”

The plan and intentions were great, but Bortles’ execution was poor. His expensive idea for quitting dipping has not worked out thus far.

Jared Goff saw Bortles’ car and thought the former Jaguars quarterback was joking about buying it. He thought it was about Bortles trying to fit in in his new city.

“I actually thought you were joking when I first saw it,” Goff said. “I thought you were messing around like, ‘Oh, I’m in California, I’m gonna rent a Tesla.”

Bortles admitted fitting in was part of the reason for his purchase, too.

“I also wanted to fit in. But I also have a pickup truck back in Jacksonville and I was like, ‘I don’t really want to bring that out to California,’ so I figured I’d buy something where I could fit in,” Bortles said.

Instead of going to the gas station for gas like most people, Bortles says he charges his car at home and “there’s a charger at the facility.”

Driving a Tesla does have its perks, aside from avoiding the gas station like Bortles was trying to do. He uses the autopilot function whenever he drives to the Rams’ facility, sitting back and checking the news while his car gets him to work.

“I just let it get on the highway and you double-click the thing twice and it just drives you all the way there,” Bortles said. “I kind of check the news and see what’s going on. It beeps like every 60 seconds and you’ve got to touch the wheel, so you can’t take a nap.”

The funniest part of the story is how Bortles actually bought it. It was almost accidental because of how easy it was to purchase online.
“I ended up on the Tesla website and it was like, ‘Design your own.’ So I’m like, ‘Ah, I might as well see what I can do here,’” he explained. “So I get to the last page and there was a ‘Buy now’ button, and I was like, ‘Well, I gotta hit this.’ I got a call immediately, like, ‘Hey, congratulations on your Tesla purchase.’”

Bortles says the call included instructions for wiring the money for his purchase, and it was that simple.

“The guy called me immediately and was just like, ‘I’ll send over the wiring instructions,’” Bortles said. “[I said], ‘All right, I guess we got one.’”

So now Bortles has a $160,000 Tesla and still hasn’t quit dipping. But at least he doesn’t have to pay for gas or drive himself to work anymore, so he’s got that going for him.


https://theramswire.usatoday.com/20...m_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=pos1headline

Looks like we will soon know a stadium name. Discuss...

Login to view embedded media View: https://mobile.twitter.com/VinnyBonsignore/status/1133765561085714433