Have a look at the best links of the day as free agency
unofficially has opened!"Marino¡¯s NFL mock draft version six | The Draft
NetworkJoe Marino of TDN shares his sixth mock draft of the year. In what has
become a bit of a popular
pick
Cory
Littleton Jersey , he¡¯s got the Rams acquiring some edge rusher help in
round oneLos Angeles Rams seven-round mock draft | The Draft NetworkTDN¡¯s Trevor
Sikkema does a Rams-centric mock from start to finish. Take a look at his draft
haulWhich free agents the Rams might pursue | LA TimesGary Klein of the LA Times
name-drops a few defensive players to look out for as the NFL free agency legal
tampering period kicks off today. The names are Clay Matthews, Anthony Barr, and
Malik JacksonRams no longer have to worry about Antonio Brown joining NFC West |
Ramblin¡¯ FanThe San Francisco 49ers were rumored to potentially be interested in
the mercurial receiver, though it turned out those rumors were false as they
were never really interested in acquiring Antonio Brown. Regardless, Brown has
found a home in Oakland ¡ª for nowCan stem cells help RB Todd Gurley¡¯s knee? |
ForbesJoshua Dines of Forbes breaks the entire situation down surrounding the
possible treatments when it comes to Todd Gurley¡¯s injured kneeNFL legal
tampering period: Everything you need to know | Rams WireCam DaSilva highlights
all the rules and breaks down the situation with the legal tampering period
officially kicking offSeveral second-year Rams could start in 2019 | Rams
WireWith the Rams declining C John Sullivan¡¯s option, and having DT Ndamukong
Suh, OLB Dante Fowler Jr, and LG Rodger Saffold hitting free
agency
http://www.theramslockerroom.com/authentic-john-kelly-jersey ,
there could be a handful of 2018 rookies that grab starting spots moving
forward. Time will tell as we move through the offseasonRams should be
interested in three players from Jaguars¡¯ purge | Rams WireCam notes three
players in which the Rams should have interest in. The marquee name that is the
most logical fit is DE Malik Jackson who spent a year in Denver with the Broncos
with Defensive Coordinator Wade Phillips TST answered with an emphatic ¡®no¡¯ but
let¡¯s look at both sides of the argument"Jared Goff¡¯s contract extension is
somewhat controversial among TSTers, which I find interesting given his overall
performance under the tutelage of Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay.There
are tons of angles here and I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll all be addressed in the coming
months as the offseason progresses. I¡¯ve attempted to distill both sides of the
argument to a manageable level.ProsGoff will never be cheaper than he is
today.Let¡¯s be real here. Every time a quarterback in the NFL get a contract
extension, the asking price for the next guy goes up. In addition to this
dynamic, the percentage of a team¡¯s salary cap that is dedicated to QBs
increases with each passing year. With Seattle Seahawks QB Russell Wilson likely
to be the next iteration of record breaking QB contracts soon, it would behoove
the Rams to consider doing this sooner rather than later.The Rams have leverage
- not to mention a history of getting deals like this earlyThis is where the
cons come into play. I¡¯ll get more into that in a minute, but the Rams front
office has a littany of ways to bring Goff¡¯s price down that they may or may not
have next offseason.The Rams took a proactive approach with the extensions for
Todd Gurley, Rob Havenstein, and Johnny Hekker as well as handing out an
untimely extension to Tavon Austin a few years back. He has Sean McVayThe Rams
have the luxury of having one of the brightest offensive minds in the NFL as
their head coach. McVay - with his ¡®We not Me¡¯ culture and the ¡®illusion of
complexity¡¯ - has turned the NFL on it¡¯s head over the last two seasons.McVay
has done an amazing job developing Goff thus far and we have no reason to
believe that progression won¡¯t continue. Which brings me back to my first
point... as Goff continues to
develop
Womens
Troy Hill Jersey , he will only get more expensive.Halfway through Jared
Goff¡¯s contract, here¡¯s how an extension is shaping upLos Angeles Rams QB Jared
Goff throws a pass against the Minnesota Vikings in Week 4, Sep. 27, 2018.Jayne
Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY SportsConsHe¡¯s inconsistent under pressureThe Super Bowl
loss showed us the worst of Goff. In addition to seemingly crumpling under the
brightest lights the NFL has to offer, he showed again that he struggles when
the defense brings pressure. He misses throws and looks flustered when he
doesn¡¯t have a clean pocket around him. Even then, he still sometimes misses
open receivers and/or easy throws.Is this a unchangeable flaw in Goff or
something that McVay can help him overcome? How the Rams front office views the
answer to that question will play a large role in how they handle negotiations
when the time comes.Value and the Aaron Donald approachI don¡¯t think anyone ever
doubted that the Rams wanted to retain Aaron Donald. The disconnect with
negotiations came down to perceived value. We may see something similar happen
with Goff.The unfortunate nature of the QB market is that it¡¯s negotiated less
in terms of QB talent than it is relative to the largest contract. The tendency
of the NFL to both inflate the QB market and pay unproven talent (see Garappolo,
Jimmy) will likely increase the ¡®starting point¡¯ of negotiations for Goff¡¯s
representatives. I can¡¯t see them asking any lower than Kirk Cousins $28M
average annual value with 100% of the contract guaranteed - with a $30M average
salary the more likely starting point.As for the Rams perspective, I can easily
see them pointing to New Orleans Saints QB Drew Brees¡¯ contract as a baseline.
With a much more reasonable $25M average annual value and a hair over 50%
guaranteed
Robert
Woods Jersey , it is a much more team friendly deal.The disparity there is
obvious. For a 5 year contract it¡¯s the difference between Goff getting $150M
fully guaranteed and $125M with only about $80M guaranteed. Most negotiations
start this way, but the Rams showed a willingness to take some heat from the
media to get what they wanted in the Donald negotiations. To think they wouldn¡¯t
do the same with Goff would be naive.Veteran QBs are expensiveMcVay has shown a
willingness to be innovative during his tenure with the Rams. Could he try to
establish a new model of how to handle the QB position? Quarterbacks on
contracts have proven to be increasingly more valuable in today¡¯s NFL and
multiple teams have shown that an ¡®all-in¡¯ strategy with young QBs can be
successful.Once a QB cashes in though, success becomes much more difficult to
sustain. It¡¯s difficult to find a great QB, and the demand for such players is
extremely high. That puts teams between a rock and a hard place when it comes to
paying them. Which puts QB needy teams overpaying to acquire a capable signal
caller.Some believe that teams shouldn¡¯t pay a veteran QB, but instead develop a
talented player then trade them for a high draft pick which would be used to
replace said signal caller - in this case Goff.It¡¯s a bold strategy that would
take balls of steel to pull off, but the Rams could be in a position to make
this work. They have a coach unafraid of taking risks with an innate ability to
develop successful QBs.