Klein: Q&A: Rams General Manager Les Snead

[FRO]

Agreed, but Britt is not young. As to McDonald at the right price and I would be fine with keeping Johnson at the right price. Also I am trusting the new regime and they might want their type of players too...It's a CB rich draft so IMO there will be opportunities and I understand where you are coming from, but all teams must make those decisions and the Rams will need to keep money in reserve to keep the likes of Donald & Ogletree moving forward.

With no first round pick draft resources are very limited. The offense is going to need resources so it can improve. Also, Johnson and Jenkins were drafted in 2012 and neither fully blossomed until 2015. It takes time to draft and develop guys. If you continue to draft and develop guys only to allow them to leave in free agency, you will have a hard time competing.

 

[FRO]

I would be more concerned about CB than I would McD. I get that if he tries to demand too much then we may have to part ways. But his asking price is likely to be reasonable as he has not received huge accolades nor does he carry any insight on the Rams new defense.

Given better CB play on BOTH sides, it seems to me that McD is anything but a liability.

We all thought Jenkins got way too much from the Giants. Many were happy the Rams didn't sign him to those terms. Now it looks foolish that they didn't pay the man. Johnson is a very good CB. At his size and ability he will command a big payday. I believe the Rams need to pay the man. It's not like they are strapped for cap room and they need to retain good football players. Yes there is a point where you can't go with payment of certain guys, but playoff teams are able to keep top tier talent on their roster. The Rams shouldn't always go into budget mode when it comes to retaining good young players who have earned it.

 

[den-the-coach]

If you continue to draft and develop guys only to allow them to leave in free agency, you will have a hard time competing.

All teams have to make those decisions, the key is to be able to get more out of guys that you don't count on year to year for example Chris Hogan of the Patriots. You are correct you need to keep your young core in place, but you also have to decide on which to keep and which to let go, it's a hard cap and every team faces those decisions and instead of Keeping Johnson the Rams might opt for another young corner that fits Phillips system.

 

[OldSchool]

But when you lose good young players you have to replace them, so instead of building onto your team you have to start over filling holes that didn't previously exist. The Rams didn't lose 12 games because of Johnson, Britt, and McDonald.

You also plan ahead and have guys who can take over for them when you do lose them possibly in free agency. Now they didn't do that IMO with Johnson but they absolutely did with McDonald in Alexander. No team anywhere keeps all their free agents. Even Green Bay who doesn't sign outside free agents except in very rare cases has to build through the draft when they lose players. Attrition happens it's the nature of sports with free agency now.

 

[FRO]

We site good teams when it comes to free agency practices, but good teams already have a core of good players. They keep that core intact then let none core players go. You have a replacement for McDonald in Alexander and Britt could very well be a one hit wonder. I think McDonald is better than Alexander and really would like to keep McDonald around, but I get the logic there. To me letting Tru go is foolish. At the end of the 2015 season the Rams had a very good young secondary with players entering their prime years. In 2017 they all could be gone. To me that is insanely foolish.

 

[RamFan503]

We all thought Jenkins got way too much from the Giants. Many were happy the Rams didn't sign him to those terms. Now it looks foolish that they didn't pay the man. Johnson is a very good CB. At his size and ability he will command a big payday. I believe the Rams need to pay the man. It's not like they are strapped for cap room and they need to retain good football players. Yes there is a point where you can't go with payment of certain guys, but playoff teams are able to keep top tier talent on their roster. The Rams shouldn't always go into budget mode when it comes to retaining good young players who have earned it.

I agree with pretty much all of this. I wanted to keep JJ more than Tru last season. I came to the conclusion though that there was no way to keep him and that there was probably something more than money keeping the two sides apart.

I think it will be up to the value they put on Tru and whether he can be a true shutdown corner. I'm not convinced he can be quite that but I'm game if Wade is.

 

[RamFan503]

Just not sure Alexander is as good as McD and there isn't much difference in age. I suppose we'll see how our new coaches see them.

 

[So Ram]

With no first round pick draft resources are very limited. The offense is going to need resources so it can improve. Also, Johnson and Jenkins were drafted in 2012 and neither fully blossomed until 2015. It takes time to draft and develop guys. If you continue to draft and develop guys only to allow them to leave in free agency, you will have a hard time competing.

Watching the pro bowl & Darian Stewart was a guy The Rams developed & let go.
Wtf ?? Just like Rodney McCloud.

 

[So Ram]

We all thought Jenkins got way too much from the Giants. Many were happy the Rams didn't sign him to those terms. Now it looks foolish that they didn't pay the man. Johnson is a very good CB. At his size and ability he will command a big payday. I believe the Rams need to pay the man. It's not like they are strapped for cap room and they need to retain good football players. Yes there is a point where you can't go with payment of certain guys, but playoff teams are able to keep top tier talent on their roster. The Rams shouldn't always go into budget mode when it comes to retaining good young players who have earned it.

Do you think they should franchise him ???

The Rams went the wrong way last year. They should have franchised Jenkins . Never thought Tru should have been the man ?? He would have been the easier of the 2 to workout a long time contract.

Wasted all that $$ on Sesenbaugh . Was that a Greg Williams thing

 

[So Ram]

Just not sure Alexander is as good as McD and there isn't much difference in age. I suppose we'll see how our new coaches see them.

Wade has done a good job with DB's. Not sure if he was apart of the CB from LSU in Dallas. I think Jerry Jones has a big say