The Rams have just under $18 million in cap space, according to OverTheCap.com. What or who do y'all think the Rams FO does next?

Today being the first day of the 2019 NFL league year, we have "reset" the ROD credits system.

Like last season, this reset is to generate fun with credits and we will crown the "richest member" at the end of the 2019 league year.

For 2018, our richest member was... @OldSchool with $375,521

Rounding out our Top 5;
@Noregar $296,656
@Ramrocket $275,413
@SanAnRam $251,842
@Merlin $236,113

Congratulations to all!

Credits are earned through forum activity and SportsBook wagers.

Sportsbook: https://ramsondemand.com/sportsbook/

As a participating member, among ways to earn ROD credits;

$1000 New registration
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To get started for 2019; everyone has been sent $20,000.

Cheers!

I have settled into Boulder Brewery's Irish Dream, coffee stout!

Turning 30 in May, Thomas was looking for a big payday on the open market, and the Ravens backed up the truck. The $13.75 million per year average over the course of the deal for Thomas comes in just behind the contracts agreed to by Landon Collins (Washington Redskins) and Tyrann Mathieu (Kansas City Chiefs) this week, both of whom will sign deals worth $14 million per season. The trio all outdistanced Eric Berry's deal of $13 million per season, which had sat atop the safety market.

While I'm hopeful the Rams will make at least one more addition, their track record has shown that the focus will be on a released veteran to ensure we get the maximum number of comp selections next year. With that in mind, myself (and others) have seemed stressed out over this year, and I've been even more stressed out about the following year - so for my next mock draft, I will outline what I think the Rams will do (which more than anything will put my own mind at ease) - because they showed us starting with McVay and Snead's first draft what their MO will be. Draft players with the intent of them starting the following year if possible.

Last FA signing: Justin Houston - 1 year $12 million - this is just a gut feeling, and the Rams would have to move money around to get it done, but they showed a willingness to do this last year.

Draft:

Trade: Rams trade round 1 pick to Giants for 2nd and 4th round picks - I think after the OBJ trade, the Giants will be looking to load up on talent with their first round picks - but will be hoping that Drew Lock makes it to this pick and will be ready to make this trade. He can sit a year while the rest of these picks grow with Eli.

Round 2 - Dalton Risner, G Kansas St. - will be the 6th OL this year and will take over at G next year with Noteboom kicks over to LT to replace Whitworth - provides great depth as he could start at G day one. Might even beat Blythe out depending on what kind of opportunity he gets, but could fill in at RT so I see him being the primary backup at LG, RG and RT

Round 3 - Khalen Saunders, DT Western Illinois - a guy that will rotate this year and depending on how Wade wants to use him, could take over at NT or DE for Brockers next year - needs better conditioning and working with AD will do wonders for him

Round 3 - D'Andre Walker, EDGE Georgia - a solid player that can rotate or sit and learn for a year in case we lose Fowler the following season

Round 4 - Hunter Renfrow, WR Clemson - just a McVay type of player I think

Round 4 - Justin Layne, CB MSU

Round 5 - Easton Stick, QB NDSU

Round 6 - Kendall Sheffield, CB OSU

Round 7 - Iman Marshall, CB USC


For the 6th and 7th round picks - our CB room will be Talib/Peters/NRC/Hill/Peterson/Layne before these selections - but as much as I've liked Hill, we've seen him and Peterson for a few years now and they don't seem to be starter material. Faced with losing both outside CBs next year, we bring in two great athletes and see if our coaches can mold them. Sheffield's injury doesn't sound serious, but if it is, we put him on the PUP or potentially IR and we have a guy for next year that we can have more time to evaluate.

I don't like having a rookie as a backup QB, but with our cap situation I'm not sure that we have a choice - veteran backup QBs cost around $8 million and we can't afford that right now.

Starters this year:

QB: Goff
RB: Gurley/Brown - with Brown getting 30% of the carries
WR: Cooks/Woods/Kupp
TE: Higbee/Everett
OL: Whitworth/Noteboom/Allen/Blythe/Havenstein - with Blythe or Allen potentially beat out by Risner
DL: Brockers/Saunders/Donald rotating with JFM/Brockers/Donald
DL 3rd down: Fowler/Houston/Donald/Ebukam or JFM
OLB: Fowler/Houston/Ebukam/Obo/Walker rotation
ILB: Littleton/Kiser - experiment in camp with Ebukam at ILB and see how it goes
LB 3rd down: Littleton/Christian
DB: Talib/Peters/Weddle/JJ
DB 3rd down: Talib/Peters/NRC/Weddle/JJ



2020:

Extend Goff, JJ, Littleton and Kupp
Franchise either Fowler or Peters - whichever one plays better - the other likely walks

After the above and the RFAs we will need to re-sign, we will likely have only $25 million in cap space - so about $15 million to spend in FA. In other words, this year is our new reality - so each draft, we will need to identify guys that can start the following year - Risner, Saunders, Walker and Layne are the guys I'd peg to start in 2020 or at least compete with other current backups. We will be fine at every position except CB and S (if Weddle doesn't play the 2nd year) - so between FA and the draft that year, I'd expect us to heavily invest in the secondary and add OL depth (again).

Let's go Rams!!!

It would be so great to start the season off with a win.

2 seconds later.

We can't stop Jared Cook, Carr is destroying us.

This is not what I was hoping for, we are terrible.

Le'Veon Bell is heading to New York.

Bell, after sitting out all of the 2018 season with the Steelers, is expected to sign with the New York Jetson a four-year, $52.5 million contract, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported, per a source informed. ESPN was first to report the news.

Hmmm....Bell is really going to help Sam Darnold's development. Much like Todd Gurley has helped Jared Goff. With Bell and Darnold the J-E-T-S have the makings of an emerging offense.

~ArkyRamsFan~

According to Cowherd - Giants want 49ers #2 overall pick for him.

I really hope we get Odell. I’d love to trade our 1st and Cooks to get him. Cooks is nice but his routes are limited. He does like 2-3 routes well and isn’t a natural hands catcher.

Odell is way better and is made for LA. I seriously hope McVay does this.

Now that the dominos have started to fall and Roger is out the door, what now? The line looks at least serviceable with the addition of Noteboom and Allen but those were the top 2 backups and someone has to get hurt sometime, don’t they?
Is Demby a realistic fill in at guard , and now we need a back up tackle too. But I guess Snead drafted 3 out of the 5 on the line now ,so I guess he should get benefit of the doubt.

3rd for Saffold
4th for Joyner

Going to the Titans for a 4 year deal.

Anyone else hear this?

No doubt some will be less than excited about losing Brockers, although trading him now while his dead money cap hit is only $750,000. will greatly enhance our available CAP for our off-season. And being that he becomes a free agent next season, his costs are likely to rise above his current $11. mil. dollar Cap. Extending Marcus Peters should also save near $4.mil off his current 2019 CAP. Miami needs DL help and Brockers steps in to become an immediate leader. By exchanging veteran Brockers for veteran Sheldon Richardson, both #1 draft picks, i'm not seeing much of a talent drop off, if any. Extending the 26 year old Peters now prevents the Rams from potentially losing two starting CB's in 2020. The Rams offense would likely have 3 new starters while the defense would gain 4 new starters under this scenario, and as much as I liked last years starting roster, I prefer this one ...


Trade :

DE/DT Michael Brockers along with 2019 draft pick # 99 (3'rd Rd) to Miami for draft pick #48 (2'nd Rd)


Extend :

CB Marcus Peters for 4 years


Re-Signed :

OLB) Dante Fowler


Re-sign :

ILB) Cory Littleton
DT) Ethan Westbrooks
CB) Sam Shields
RB) Malcolm Brown
RB) C.J. Anderson
OLB) Dominique Easley
CB) Troy Hill
ILB) Bryce Hager
CB) Kevin Peterson
S) Blake Countess
DE) Morgan Fox
WR/R) JoJo Natson
CB) Dominique Hatfield
WR) KhaDarel Hodge
OLB) Garrett Sickels


Cut or let Walk :

ILB) Mark Barron
OG) Rodger Saffold
DT) Ndamukong Suh
S) Lamarcus Joyner
OLB) Matt Longacre
ILB) Ramik Wilson
QB) Sean Mannion


Free Agent Acquisitions :

S) Eric Weddle (2 years)
OG/C) Ryan Groy (2 years)
DT/DE Sheldon Richardson (3 years)
ILB) Jordan Hicks (4 years)
TE) Tyler Eifert (2 years)


2019 NFL Draft :

1/31 - DT Dexter Lawrence, Clemson
2/48 - S Jonathan Abram, Ms.St.
3/94 - OG Beau Benzschawel, Wi.
4/133 - CB Justin Layne, Mi.St.
5/169 - QB Brett Rypien, Boise St.
6/203 - DE Jonathan Ledbetter, Ga.
7/251 - OT/OG Derwin Gray, Md.


Offensive Starters :

QB) Goff
LT) Whitworth
LG) Noteboom or Groy
C) Allen, Neary, Groy or Blythe
RG) Blythe or Benzschawel
RT) Havenstein

RB's) Gurley & CJ Anderson

WR's) Cooks, Woods, Kupp, Reynolds

TE's) Eifert, Higbee, Everett


Defensive Starters :

LDE) Richardson
NT) Lawrence
RDE) Donald
LOLB) Ebukam or Easley
ILB) Hicks
ILB) Littleton
ROLB) Fowler
CB's) Talib, Peters, Robey-Coleman
SS) Johnson
FS) Weddle

The Chiefs are at it again... Seems like overpaying an underachiever in Watkins didn't teach them anything. I mean I like the Honey Badger and all, but good grief maybe that's why the Rams went after Weddle.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap30...expected-to-sign-tyrann-mathieu-to-3year-deal

I haven't seen anything about him actually being tendered. I know they have more time to officially do it, it seems weird that they haven't. I suppose they are letting him negotiate with other teams for a long term contract, but I'd think it made sense to get him locked up so his agent doesn't waste time with teams unwilling to give up a pick for him.

4 years no terms yet. Figured he would sign with jets and Williams.

Per ESPN

The Kansas City Chiefs released four-time Pro-Bowl linebacker Justin Houston on Sunday.

The Chiefs had tried to trade Houston, but no team was willing to pick up the $15.25 million base salary he was due this season, a source told ESPN's Adam Schefter. Houston is now a free agent.

Houston, who turned 30 in January, joined Kansas City as a third-round draft pick (70th overall) from Georgia in 2011. He quickly showed his immense pass rush ability by getting three sacks in a game against the Bears as a rookie. He had 22 sacks in 2014, missing the NFL record by a half-sack.

Houston hasn't come close to that standard since. His best sack total in the last four seasons is 9.5 in 2017. Houston has 78.5 career sacks, leaving him fourth on the Chiefs' all-time list.

in 2015, Houston signed a six-year contract worth $101 million, making him at the time the highest-paid defensive player in NFL history.

Houston was more than just a pass rusher for the Chiefs. He was an excellent all-around player who defended the run well. He was chosen to play in the Pro Bowl three times and was a first-team All-Pro selection in 2014.

"Justin has made a lasting impact on this franchise and I can't thank him enough for his contributions over the years," Chiefs general manager Brett Veach said in a statement. "These decisions are never easy. I have a great deal of respect for Justin as a player and person and I wish him and his family the best moving forward."

ESPN's Adam Teicher contributed to this report.

and I'm saying this because of Gurley's injury. There was no doubt in my mind that the Rams succeeded as far as Gurley took them. I understand that there is plenty of talent on offense, but Todd is the leader because whenever the Rams needed a first down, whenever they needed a big play, whenever they needed a touchdown, Todd got the ball. And he delivered. Let's face it.... Gurley could have/should have been the offensive player of the year for 2 years in a row now. He can do it all. He is a touchdown machine.

But this injury is scaring the heck out of me. Do I think Gurley is done? Absolutely not! But I do think the Rams are gonna have to try and keep him fresh throughout the season by limiting his touches. I thought, as I'm sure many of you have, that Gurley would have been fine with some rest after week 14. That never happened. Gurley had basically a month off, and the knee did not improve. So I guess the arthritis diagnosis is pretty concerning. My biggest fear is that Gurley's knee will start hurting him again next season, and he will miss the remainder of the season (again?).

That's why this is Goff's team now. If Gurley can't be counted on, someone has to step up. And that guy has to be Jared Goff. Many members here have questioned Goff's greatness or potential, whatever you want to call it, but the knock on Goff so far has been his ability (leadership?) to take over games. I believe Champ used to refer to it as the tractor/trailer thing, and while I never agreed with that, I understood what he meant by it. But Goff has had some great games, and a couple of great seasons. There is no doubt in my mind that he has proven himself time and again. But I also knew what Champ was talking about.

Goff had the chance to take over that Super Bowl. He delivered in the regular season, he delivered in the playoffs, but he did not deliver in the Super Bowl. None of the Rams did, at least on offense. And that's not Goff's fault. He played no worse than anyone else. In fact, you could blame the line for the offense's struggles, but I'm not trying to point fingers here.

I'm just saying that for the Rams to take the next step... Jared Goff has to step up. Sure Goff can throw for 500 PERFECT yards against a playoff-caliber Minnesota defense. Sure Goff can throw for 475 yards and win the most exciting game in history against the Chiefs. He also put the Rams in scoring position against the Saints not once, but twice in critical times! And Goff has also shown us some absolutely perfect passes, and he can also read defenses to take advantage of mismatches. He is a great quarterback overall. But can he consistently take the Rams downfield for the winning touchdown with 2 minutes to go? I don't know.

He hasn't had to because the Rams usually score 35 points and are well ahead in the 4th quarter! Well, this year might be different if Gurley is limited. Do I expect Goff to step up and take over? Yes I do! He is a seasoned quarterback now, and he will be counted on to do just that. The Rams are Goff's team now, and he needs to step up next season.

I would love to hear what you folks think.

What is he worth on the open market?

All bets are on the Jaguars making the move... but... I don’t know... he’s a streaky player and could have been had on the cheap just 2yrs ago.

Now?

I’d be nervous signing a deal along the lines they are projecting.

———

https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/...offensive-players-should-target-on-new-deals/

Nick Foles

• Contract package: $94 million/4 years
• Overall guarantees: $62.5 million
• Fully guaranteed at signing: $50 million

Foles didn't waste any time in buying his way out his contract by paying the required $2 million after the Eagles exercised an option to retain him for another season. The Eagles decided against considering putting a franchise tag on Foles strictly for trade purposes.

Foles enters free agency as the best quarterback available. The Super BowlLII MVP came to Philadelphia's rescue for a second-straight year because of another season ending injury to starting quarterback Carson Wentz. Foles led the Eagles to victory in the final three regular season games for a wild-card playoff berth.

There were 20 quarterbacks who were either clear-cut starters or took the most snaps for their respective teams last season on veteran contracts. These 20 contracts averaged approximately $23.5 million per year, contained slightly under $54.275 million in guarantees where a little less than $44 million was fully guaranteed at signing. The average length was four years.

The deal most closely approximating these values was Alex Smith's with the Redskins. Smith signed a four-year, $94 million contract extension last March after his trade from the Redskins. The maximum value is $106.5 million because of $12.5 million in incentives based on Smith's playtime and Washington's playoff success. The extension has $71 million of guarantees, of which $55 million was fully guaranteed at signing.

The expectation is Foles will sign with the Jaguars. A reluctance to pay Foles would be understandable considering he has been most successful when only having to play for a handful of games. The Jaguars or some other team should be willing to pay Foles at least in the Case Keenum neighborhood. His former Rams teammate signed a two-year, $36 million contract with the Broncos last March in free agency. The deal is worth up to $40 million through incentives and had $25 million fully guaranteed at signing. Keenum just reworked his deal to facilitate a trade to the Redskins, which becomes effective on March 13 when the 2019 league year starts.

Sounds like a sleazy bar band name eh? Great game though, and note that the NFL has started to list highlights of the AAF on their site. THAT's when you know you've made it as a fledgling league, when it's clear the NFL is into what you're providing.

Here's the highlights: Login to view embedded media View: http://www.nfl.com/videos/alliance-of-american-football/0ap3000001021713/Salt-Lake-Stallions-vs-San-Diego-Fleet-highlights-AAF-Week-5

Interesting numbers from NFC West teams and the money they allocate to special teams payroll.

1. Rams $7,812,000
2. 49ers. $5,616,009
3. Cards $3,693,000
4. Hawks $1,137,000

Obviously we have top tier or perhaps even best in class kickers. The salaries reflect that, and some would argue that Z’s contract is actually beneficial to the Rams. I’m curious what ya’ll think about the different strategies, if any, when it comes to deploying resources to special teams.

It should be noted that just SF recently tagged Robbie Gould at a price of $5,000,000 to bring thier total up.

I thought it was interesting so thought I would post the numbers. My take is that we certainly are blessed to be in the position (for now) to be able to afford these talented players at the rates they command. Both these gents have been with the Rams thier whole careers and I hope they stick around awhile.

And that’s really saying something. Lol.

They’ve already taken a 4-12 team to the SB in just 2 seasons together.

In the process, Snead has assembled one of the most talented rosters in the league using every tool from trades to FA to the draft.

So, what do S&M do for an encore now?

Well, it’s only March 9th, but they’ve already made two tough, but necessary personnel decisions by releasing Sully and Barron.

Just speculation on my part, but I wouldn’t be terribly surprised to learn that they’re trying to convince Brockers to take a paycut to remain with the Rams.

Then they scored the Weddle coup by signing him quickly on favorable terms despite the fact that he had 11 offers in hand. This Weddle signing is similar to the Whit, Sully, Talib moves in that an experienced team leader has now been added. Not to mention mentor and locker room positives. Our secondary will now look a lot more “settled down”. Lol.

If they can somehow extend Saffold, and I know that that is a big IF, then they have reduced their “must have” new starters list down to maybe 3 positions.

Two edge players and Suh’s replacement on the DL. That’s VERY doable with remaining cap room plus their picks in this particular loaded draft on DL and at edge.

They seem comfortable with Allen replacing Sully and Kiser replacing Barron. Now, that may be posturing, but still...

If I’m reading these tea leaves correctly, then there will be plenty of resources left for depth and developmental players on both sides of the ball.

I fully expect this ‘19 Ram version to be far better than it’s ‘18 version.

I love watching elite FO people executing their well thought out offseason strategy.

What a great time to be a Ram fan.

Hot Damn!

The Eric Weddle signing is just a short term fix at free safety. However, the EW acquisition does allow the Rams the luxury to take a safety in the later rounds and groom him under Weddle and/or JJ. I wonder if the Rams would consider taking a flier on JJ’s buddy Lukas Denis at Boston College. The Rams probably could get Denis in the 4th or 5th round.

https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/...now-about-nfl-rule-changes-proposed-for-2019/

Eliminate the onside kick? Revamp overtime? Five things to know about NFL rule changes proposed for 2019
There could be some major rule changes coming in 2019

Chiefs coach Andy Reid wasn't willing to admit it after his team's playoff loss to the Patriots in January, but it seems that he'd definitely like to see the NFL change its overtime rules for 2019.

The Chiefs proposal to revamp overtime was among the nine proposed rule changes that the NFL announced on Friday. Every year, the league allows each team to submit any rule proposal that they see fit. The rule is then vetted by the competition committee in mid-March and if the committee endorses the proposal, then the NFL's 32 owners will vote on it at their annual league meeting at the end of the month.

This year's league meeting will be held from March 24-27 in Phoenix.

With that in mind, let's take a look at the five biggest proposals.

1. Chiefs want to revamp overtime.
Apparently, the Chiefs have some pent up frustration with overtime, because they proposed three different changes on Friday. The first change is the most obvious: The Chiefs want to see overtime changed so that both teams get the opportunity to possess the ball at least one time in overtime, even if the first team to possess the ball in overtime scores a touchdown.

If you watched the AFC Championship game, you may realize why the Chiefs feel so strongly about this rule. The Patriots beat the Chiefs 37-31 in overtime in a game where Kansas City's offense didn't get to touch the ball in overtime. Under this rule proposal, the Chiefs would have gotten a chance to respond to New England's touchdown.

The second part of Kansas City's overtime proposal involves the coin toss. The Chiefs want to eliminate the OT coin toss and set things up so that the winner of the initial coin toss to start the game would get to decide whether to kick or receive in overtime, or which goal to defend.

The final part of the Chiefs proposal is more simple: They want to eliminate overtime in the preseason. There is literally no reason for a preseason game to go into overtime, so you'd think that most teams would want to get behind this proposal.

2. The Broncos want to dump the onside kick
Someone in the Broncos front office must have been watching the AAF this year, because Denver has proposed a rule that's eerily similar to the onside kick rule that's used in that league. Under the Broncos' proposal, instead of an onside kick after a team scores, they would have the option of taking possession of the ball at their own 35-yard line to try and convert a fourth-and-15. If they get the 15 yards, they get a first down and keep possession of the ball. If they don't get the 15 yards, the other team takes over on downs wherever the possession ended.

In the AAF, instead of an onside kick, teams are allowed to try and convert a fourth-and-12 play from their own 28 in certain situations (The onside kick is only allowed if a team is trailing by 17 or more points or if they're trailing with under five minutes left in the game).

3. The Redskins want to make everything reviewable
It seems the Redskins have a simple solution to the ugly problem the NFL ran into in the NFC Championship game and that solution is: Make everything reviewable.

Under the Redskins proposal, all plays that occur during a game could potentially be subjected to a coaches' challenge or review by the officiating department in the instant replay system.

The proposal doesn't say that a penalty necessarily has to be called, so if this rule would have been in place last year, officials would have been able to review the pass interference no-call that took place late in the fourth quarter of the Rams 26-23 win over the Saints in the NFC title game.

The Redskins have also proposed a second rule change that would make personal fouls reviewable plays. The Chiefs have proposed a similar rule that would allow coaches to challenge personal foul calls whether they were called on the field or not. The Panthers, Rams, Eagles and Seahawks want to see the league allow coaches to challenge designated player safety-related fouls whether they were called on the field or not.

4. Eagles want to see a few more things subject to replay
Unlike the Redskins, the Eagles don't want to see everything subject to replay, but they are proposing a minor change. Philadelphia would like to see scoring plays and turnovers negated by a foul to be subject to automatic instant replay review. This one is pretty simple: If a touchdown or turnover is called back by a penalty, the play would be subject to review to make sure the officials got the call right.

5. Broncos offer more replay proposals
Not only do the Broncos want to see the onside kick changed, but they'd also like to see a few changes made to the NFL's replay system. Under the Broncos' proposal, all fourth down or goal line plays that are spotted short of the line to gain would be subject to automatic review. The Broncos are also proposing that all extra point and two-point conversion attempts be subject to review.

Basically, it seems that there are a lot of teams in the NFL that would like to see the replay system expanded. The competition committee will now take these proposals into consideration and will likely endorse them or take a pass on them at some point over the next two weeks.