So Now that Watkins is Headed for the Chiefs...

[Loyal]

Do we go after someone else or stand pat? I'm tempted to say we stand pat with Josh Reynolds since the rest of the guys seem to be expensive JAGS.

 

[Faceplant]

Yeah, just saw this. Shit.

 

[Ram_Rally]

Maybe Paul Richardson but the way these contracts are getting handed out he'll probably get more than we'd be willing to pay

 

[CanadaRam]

Do we go after someone else or stand pat? I'm tempted to say we stand pat with Josh Reynolds since the rest of the guys seem to be expensive JAGS.

The cost of FAs seems astronomical this year.
Too many teams with too much cap space.
16M/year for Watkins is too much

 

[UnknownREknown]

We can always extend Tavon...

 

[Loyal]

The cost of FAs seems astronomical this year.
Too many teams with too much cap space.
16M/year for Watkins is too much

We say this every year though, as though we are surprised by the increased cost...We rarely go after a high end FA, with Whitworth being the exception...even Whit was considered a deal because of worries about his age.

 

[kurtfaulk]

.

Reynolds should be ready to take up the slack. They drafted him to be the deep threat.

.

 

[Loyal]

.

Reynolds should be ready to take up the slack. They drafted him to be the deep threat.

.

I like him, but he only has like 4.5 speed in the 40. If you watch his tape, the kid is very good about going up to get the ball, but I never saw him outrun anyone after the catch in the highlight film. Highlight film would be where you see him do that, wouldn't you think?

 

[Loyal]

 

[kurtfaulk]

I like him, but he only has like 5.5 speed in the 40. If you watch his tape, the kid is very good about going up to get the ball, but I never saw him outrun anyone after the catch in the highlight film. Highlight film would be where you see him do that, wouldn't you think?

I saw him catch alot of deep balls. He fights for it like his life depended on it. Exactly what a qb needs. Goff will be happy his deep threat will actually adjust to his throws if they're not 100% on target.

.

 

[Austin]

It will take a group effort to give us what Sammy did. I know his production was less than stellar, but he threatened the defense, whichever way they pointed him. We got a few touchdowns just off a slant to Watkins alone, and it'll be interesting to see what our go to play in the RZ is this year, with him gone.

What I predict we'll see is guys like Mike Thomas and Josh Reynolds playing that deep threat role (or possibly a free agent; they might go for Taylor Gabriel, or Paul Richardson); the other thing I think we'll see is the tight ends playing a more involved role.

I don't think it was the wrong move to let him go (especially at that price), but his skillset isn't easy to replace with one player.

 

[Loyal]

I saw him catch alot of deep balls. He fights for it like his life depended on it. Exactly what a qb needs. Goff will be happy his deep threat will actually adjust to his throws if they're not 100% on target.

.

"4.5 speed in the 40"...Yeah, I said he goes up for the ball very well.

 

[kurtfaulk]

.

Oh man i totally forgot about Thomas. That guy can fly. Excited to see him and Reynolds step up this season.

.

 

[CanadaRam]

We say this every year though, as though we are surprised by the increased cost...We rarely go after a high end FA, with Whitworth being the exception...even Whit was considered a deal because of worries about his age.

Most teams that continually win do not go after high priced FAs.
It sucks, but at 16M/year at a position that we have other options would put Rams in a difficult situation next year when Oline cost will go way up, Gurley, Goff and AD impact.

 

[Checkmate]

Yeah i think we might get another tight end and play more 12 personnel. We just need an occasional deep threat. I would not have felt comfortable paying sammy more than woods because i thing woods gave 100% more effort. Sammy seemed to ve uninterested in most cases when he wasnt getting the ball and never really seemed to buy in. I say let Reynolds play more.

I also wouldnt mind taking out a flier on Montrief

 

[shaunpinney]

Gutted by this news to be honest. I also think that not being able to retain him is a waste of this year's #2 pick.

 

[Loyal]

I don't know guys....I remember when we counted on the development of Austin Pettis and Greg Salas in 2011 to be our WR's, and now depending on Mike Thomas and Josh Reynolds feels similar right now to me. We went out last year and got Sammy Watkins and Robert Woods because those guys were not enough....

I guess we will see what Sean McVay really thinks of them this off season.

 

[Loyal]

Most teams that continually win do not go after high priced FAs.
It sucks, but at 16M/year at a position that we have other options would put Rams in a difficult situation next year when Oline cost will go way up, Gurley, Goff and AD impact.

They sometimes do go after a high priced FA if they are thinking it's a Super Bowl year, which the Talking Heads seems to be saying about the Rams in 2018.

 

[André]

It hurts that Sammy is going, but essentially we made the trade for one year of Sammy and a third rounder in 2019.

Either way, I think losing him and Tavon means that we have to pick up at least one free agent receiver, even if it is from the discount bin, like a John Brown.

 

[leoram]

From NFL.com

Sammy helped us last year get the offense rolling. Gaines is a zone corner that didn’t fit Wade’s scheme and was coming off injury. We get draft compensation for losing Watkins. There was no way we were spending big dough for his role. This administration is great at having a plan that they keep internal. They publicly laud all their players but know exactly what they ultimately want. Extending Ogletree allowed them to trade him, it was the plan all along.

In today’s NFL, players must come and go judiciously. Consider the frequent turnover in NE. Expect the same of players like Whitworth, Talib and Peters. The Rams will develop replacements through the draft and the ones that don’t pan out will have their roles filled by short term rentals. I don’t expect any big names to fill Sammy’s role...but there will be a mid level FA signed for depth as they continue to develop Reynolds and Thomas.