[Elvis]

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/football ... um=twitter

Just in time for LA, Rams swimming in salary-cap room

By Jim Thomas St. Louis Post-Dispatch


Rams cornerback Janoris Jenkins (21) intercepts a pass intended for Arizona Cardinals wide receiver John Brown (12) in a game in October. Jenkins appears unlikely to stay with the Rams. (David Kadlubowski/The Arizona Republic via AP)

There were many offseasons, particularly during the “Greatest Show on Turf” era and its immediate aftermath, in which the Rams did everything but search underneath sofa cushions for loose change.

They were that tight under the salary cap. My, how things have changed. Even after committing $13.9 million to place the franchise tag on cornerback Trumaine Johnson, the Rams still have $43.7 million in cap space according to latest figures from the NFL Players Association.

Only six NFL teams have more, according to the NFLPA.

During most of their 21 seasons in St. Louis, the Rams entered the free-agency period with maybe one-third of that total — or less. Of course, the fact that all this money is available just in time for the team’s first season in Los Angeles is mere coincidence.

Right?

Well, not exactly. It would be naive to think the Rams didn’t want to make an offseason splash in their return to the West Coast. But most teams try to plan their salary cap a few years in advance anyway, with an eye toward which players’ contracts might be up at that time.

The Rams have been eyeing this offseason for quite a while, in part because of all the bodies brought in as a result of the deal that allowed Washington to draft Robert Griffin III, and spinoff deals. It was nice to get all the extra manpower in 2012 and 2013 to rebuild what might have been the league’s worst roster when coach Jeff Fisher and general manager Les Snead came aboard.

But now, those contracts are starting to expire. The Rams have 11 players scheduled for unrestricted free agency starting Wednesday afternoon, and five of those players were either drafted or signed as undrafted rookies in 2012: cornerback Janoris Jenkins, safety Rodney McLeod, fullback/tight end Cory Harkey, wide receiver Brian Quick and kicker Greg Zuerlein.

A sixth player from the Class of 2012, Johnson, has basically been taken off the market with the franchise tag.

Of the remaining players scheduled for unrestricted free agency, two were on the roster when Fisher and Snead arrived — center Tim Barnes and defensive end Eugene Sims. The other four came to the team via free agency — safety/linebacker Mark Barron, defensive end William Hayes, defensive tackle Nick Fairley and wide receiver Wes Welker.

Of the entire group, it’s safe to assume that Welker is the only player the Rams have no interest in re-signing. He was brought in almost on an emergency basis, at age 34, after Stedman Bailey’s four-game NFL drug suspension.

There’s at least some interest in retaining everybody else. As a group, they started 88 games a year ago. And that’s not including Zuerlein, the team’s leading scorer in each of the past four seasons.

Defensively, you’re talking about two of the Rams’ top three tacklers from last season in Barron (135, first) and McLeod (106, third). Hayes was second on the squad in sacks (5 ½), while Jenkins was second in interceptions (three) and led the team in pass breakups (13).

On the eve of free agency, it’s amazing that none of these players has been locked up to long-term deals by now. And not in a good way. It’s not as if the team woke up Jan. 4, the day after the season finale, and discovered each of these players had a contract set to expire March 9.

They’ve had the whole year to work on them. Perhaps all the energy spent on getting out of St. Louis via relocation took away from efforts to re-sign players. The only player signed to an extension was quarterback Nick Foles, way back in August. Then you have the franchise tag for Johnson, and that’s it.

“We tried all year, and just couldn’t ever get anything done,” Snead said at the NFL Scouting Combine. “Now that the guys have gotten to free agency, they would like to continue testing the waters and try to get the best deal they can for themselves.”

That’s usually the way it works. The closer it gets to the free agency period, the more likely players are to see what’s out there. As of 11 a.m. Monday, the Rams lost sole negotiating rights with their pending free agents.

That’s when the “legal tampering” period began, when teams can begin to contact and negotiate with players on other teams. They can even agree to terms — they just can’t sign contracts until after 3 p.m. Wednesday.

Although it wasn’t necessarily legal, the combine used to be the place where agents and team execs got a feel for the market value of a player. But since the advent of the legal tampering period, a couple of years ago, it’s tougher to gauge the market until now.

Of all the Rams’ free agents, Hayes and Barron would be the most likely to re-sign with the team because of the fit with Fisher and the defense of coordinator Gregg Williams. Hayes was drafted by Fisher as a Tennessee Titan and is very loyal to him. With the release of Chris Long, Hayes has the opportunity to be a full-time starter.

As for Barron, the creative mind of Williams has created a unique niche for him as a linebacker/safety hybrid. It’s a relatively new thing in the NFL, using a player the way the Rams use Barron, so there might not be much of a market for his skill set.

The release of middle linebacker James Laurinaitis, coupled with moving Alec Ogletree inside, means Barron has a starting spot at weakside linebacker with his name on it.

Jenkins has dropped hints that he’s going to the highest bidder. As for McLeod, good free safeties are hard to come by, and early indications are he’s drawing some interest around the league.

[OldSchool]

JT does his best to put some reality and truth into this article but the negativity is just overwhelming to me.

[dieterbrock]

Swimming in Cap room in a year where there is no attractive FA QB or WR.
If it wasn't for bad luck, we'd have no luck at all

[Hacksaw]

Swimming in Cap room in a year where there is no attractive FA QB or WR.
If it wasn't for bad luck, we'd have no luck at all

Sometimes it seems that the Rams may have been 'Born Under A Bad Sign', with the luck of these things. Last huge QB rookie contract and now this poor alignment of talent with our team needs.

[Stranger]

Hell has no fury like a St Louis Sports Reporter who has lost his professional football team (twice).

[KarlBaker]

..

Swimming in Cap room in a year where there is no attractive FA QB or WR.
If it wasn't for bad luck, we'd have no luck at all

..
Welcome to the Life of a Rams Fan.
It Never Ends.
Same Bat-Time -- Same Bat-Channel.
..

[LoyalRam]

I am most upset about McCloed not getting re-signed before now...

[RamsFanSince82]

Hell has no fury like a St Louis Sports Reporter who has lost his professional football team (twice).

I love that he's now covering high school basketball.

[rams74]

Hell has no fury like a St Louis Sports Reporter who has lost his professional football team (twice).

I love that he's now covering high school basketball.

No matter what your opinion of Jim Thomas' performance as beat writer for the St. Louis Rams, it's hard not to feel for the guy. He's the only media member who has personally attended every game the St. Louis Rams ever played. 21 years and he never missed a game. And now he has no team to cover. Rams Park, where he usually worked from, is being packed up and disassembled right out from under him, yet he's still covering the Los Angeles Rams from St. Louis. Whether you like his style of reporting or not, he's always been a professional. I'm as happy as anybody else that the Rams are back home, but from JT's perspective, this has gotta hurt (professionally, as well as personally). The Times or Daily News should offer him a spot, but that's not going to happen.

[Hacksaw]

Hell has no fury like a St Louis Sports Reporter who has lost his professional football team (twice).

I love that he's now covering high school basketball.

No matter what your opinion of Jim Thomas' performance as beat writer for the St. Louis Rams, it's hard not to feel for the guy. He's the only media member who has personally attended every game the St. Louis Rams ever played. 21 years and he never missed a game. And now he has no team to cover. Rams Park, where he usually worked from, is being packed up and disassembled right out from under him, yet he's still covering the Los Angeles Rams from St. Louis. Whether you like his style of reporting or not, he's always been a professional. I'm as happy as anybody else that the Rams are back home, but from JT's perspective, this has gotta hurt (professionally, as well as personally). The Times or Daily News should offer him a spot, but that's not going to happen.

I'm sure you are correct 74. His meter was broken (RFU joke) but I'm sure this is adversely effecting his life. And for all the good fans in the Loo like him, I feel some compassion. He/they should remember that this was caused by GF and her actions in the first place.