Alex Mack or TJ Ward

[TEB11]

Cleveland won't be able to keep both. We have holes in both positions these two pro bowlers play. We need to snag one of them in free agency.

 

[shopson67]

Safety is the bigger immediate need, but isn't Mack more of a strong safety? Rams bigger need is a free safety.

 

[TEB11]

shopson67, he is a strong safety, we could move TJ McDonald to free safety. I guess I am wishful thinking here, eh?

 

[mutigers1fan]

I don't think the Rams can afford either.

 

[jacobarch]

Ward wont be that expensive. But yes, i'd love to get him

 

[zeke2829]

NO CAP room, if we sign one of these guys, Saffold is history!

 

[jacobarch]

zeke do you really think we're gonna go into next season with no cap room???

We've gone over this. Finnegan is as good as gone. and with dahl and Wells probably on their way out we'll be sitting at 11 to 12 mil. Not to mention Jake long has to eat 4mil because he ended the season on IR. So we should have about 15 mil cap room when its all said and done with our cuts.
If we resign Saffold I can't see it eating up more than 4 to 5 mil. So that will leave us with 10 to 11mil left over. I think that should suffice. Not to mention thats with no restructures which will probably happen with a couple of players.

 

[Clayton]

Finnegan is as good as gone.

Man, we really need a CB

 

[jacobarch]

Man, we really need a CB

Yes, yes we do......It's scary. Makes me wish we never traded Gordy to the Colts. He was pretty good.

 

[27mtrcougar]

NO CAP room, if we sign one of these guys, Saffold is history!

I will be shocked if Saffold comes back it doesn't make sense if your the Rams anyway.

1. Hes a FA He's going to want at least a 4 year deal and at least 6-7m a year. giving that much to an injury prone guy would be risky to say the least. yes he is a good player and had a good year last year while playing for his next big contract but people seem to forget that he still missed 4 games last year.

2. Its a deep draft for good linemen. there will be a solid OT or G In the second rd to grab for almost nothing compared to what you will have to pay Saffold.

3. I doubt he wants to play here. Remember he was pissed when we drafted Long and moved him to the RT side. but he played it smart bit his lip and was a team player and played for his payday. I think someone will make an offer and he will be gone.

 

[27mtrcougar]

Man, we really need a CB

That would be Dennard with the 13th pick

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=euhgckO5MA8

 

[Clayton]

That would be Dennard with the 13th pick

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=euhgckO5MA8

Dennard sucks. He would need to get really good coaching

 

[zeke2829]

zeke do you really think we're gonna go into next season with no cap room???

We've gone over this. Finnegan is as good as gone. and with dahl and Wells probably on their way out we'll be sitting at 11 to 12 mil. Not to mention Jake long has to eat 4mil because he ended the season on IR. So we should have about 15 mil cap room when its all said and done with our cuts.
If we resign Saffold I can't see it eating up more than 4 to 5 mil. So that will leave us with 10 to 11mil left over. I think that should suffice. Not to mention thats with no restructures which will probably happen with a couple of players.

HEY Jacob?? who in the hell taught you how to add??

15mill??....you better rethink our finances. This article says that we will have around 32mill available after all cuts are made,(possibly 36 mill if Langford is cut) But you didn't take in consideration all of the inflated salaries and rookies salaries. Let me sum it up for you.

32 mill to start
minus 20 mill(inflated contracts of Bradford, C. Long, J. Long, Jarod Cook)
=12 mill -see below

12mill
minus 8.5 mill(rookie pay scale)-see below
that leaves approx. 3 mill in space

Cutting Finnegan creates a new hole at CB, Saffold still not signed, we need major o-line help and if we cut Langford then we create a new hole.




Creating Wiggle Room
The 2013 NFL salary cap of $123 million will likely undergo a 2.68 percent inflation to $126.3 million—providing St. Louis with an extra $3.3 million in cap space right off the bat.
The Rams also have $11.2 million of dead money from the 2013 season that will be coming off the books, according to Spotrac.
The term "dead money" refers to guaranteed money that is still being paid out to former players. For example, ex-Rams safety Quintin Mikell counted for $6 million against the 2013 cap even though he was no longer with the team. That money was still guaranteed to Mikell and therefore went against the 2013 cap.
That brings to total to $14.5 million in extra cap space.
James Laurinaitis' cap hit will go down $2 million, bringing the total to $16.5 million.
Next, it's time to make some cuts.
Cortland Finnegan will most likely be cut after an injury-plagued 2013 season. He has a $10 million cap hit in 2014 with only $3 million guaranteed, so the cut will save St. Louis $7 million in 2014 cap space.

Scott Wells is another cut that is highly likely. Wells is due $6.5 million in 2014, and only $2 million will count as dead money, leaving the Rams with a $4.5 million savings.



Kendall Langford and Harvey Dahl are both possible candidates, but both players have something to offer on the field, so it's hard to tell what management will do here. Each player is worth $4 million in savings if cut.
For argument sake, lets say just Dahl is cut. That brings the total to $32 million in extra cash based on all the moves covered in this section. Possibly $36 million if Langford is cut as well.

Extra Expenses
While Laurinaitis' cap number will decrease in 2014, several players will get an inflated pay day.
Four players in no danger of being cut—Jake Long, Chris Long, Sam Bradford, Jared Cook—will see their cap numbers rise a combined $19 million in 2014.
William Hayes will also see his cap number rise from $2 million to $3.8 million, but his status is not as concrete as the other four players.
All of the mentioned players are possible candidates for contract renegotiations to create cap space, except for Bradford, who is more likely a candidate for a contract extension (a questionable proposition given his injury).
Take the combined $20 million inflation from these players, subtract that from the $32 million total in the section above, and that leaves $12 million.
The next expense is draft picks. The Rams have the No. 2 and No. 13 overall picks in the first round, followed by (approximately) the 13th pick in each additional round.
Here's the cap hit from those same picks in 2013, according to Spotrac:
Round 1 (2): Luke Joeckel, Jacksonville ($3.854 million)
Round 1 (13): Sheldon Richardson, New York ($1.828 million)
Round 2 (45): Kevin Minter, Arizona ($798,000)
Round 3 (75): Terron Armstead, New Orleans ($559,000)
Round 4 (110): Ryan Nassib, New York, ($518,000)
Round 5 (146): Quanterus Smith, Denver ($336,000)
Round 6 (181): Latavius Murray, Oakland ($314,000)
Round 7 (218): Jordan Poyer, Philadelphia ($238,000)
Total: $8.445 million
Subtracted from the $12 million, that leaves approximately $3 million in spending, assuming there are no contract negotiations or contract extensions to create extra wiggle room.
There are obviously other factors, such as aging low-end players reaching the next level of minimum pay, low-level cuts and other small variables, but the $3 million figure is a rough number.

Where Should the Money Be Spent?

The totals above are not 100 percent on target, and truthfully no one outside of the St. Louis front office has a real concrete grasp of the 2014 salary cap, but I think we all can agree that the Rams have very little spending money in 2014.
With this in mind, the Rams need to pursue a position in free agency that will give them the most bang for their buck—they need to sign a safety.
Unlike most skill positions, high-end safeties can be had for cheap.
Of the 12 safeties in his top-two tiers, those players had a combined average cap hit of just $5.02 million in 2013—and we're talking cream-of-the-crop safeties.
Some of the safeties, such as Earl Thomas, are still in their rookie contracts. Even so, the 2013 franchise tag cost for safeties was just $6.91 million—the second-lowest total for non-special teams positions—so it's clear that teams are unwilling to pay big bucks for talented safeties.
With so little spending money available in 2014, the Rams need to get good value, and that makes the safety position awfully appealing, especially since it's a glaring roster need.
If the Rams prefer to look for a safety in the draft rather than free agency, then the money will most likely be used to re-sign tackle Rodger Saffold.
Saffold is talented enough to pull in a contract averaging about $6 million per year. If that's the case, it's hard to picture Saffold wearing a Rams uniform in 2014.
However, Saffold has missed 17 games in the last three years and hasn't started all 16 games since 2010, so his questionable health could certainly result in a substantial discount.
It might be in Saffold's best interest to play on a modest one-year contract in 2014 to demonstrate his health. A successful 2014 campaign in that scenario would really inflate his price tag and allow him to maximize his earnings.

 

[ksudodger]

Darqueze Dennard will not make it past Detroit at #10... period, end of statement. Marcus Roberson of Florida in round 3 is where I think the Rams go for a CB. As for safety, if we do go after TJ Ward, we need to do it QUICKLY because if we drag it out beyond the draft and do not draft Pryor,Dix,Buchanon,Bailey or the like then we will be out of luck. Personally, I think Ward is the guy they should target but they should still draft 1 safety, maybe in the later rounds, for depth. If they sign Ward, then you can go best OT available and best WR or best OLB available in the first round.

 

[jacobarch]

HEY Jacob?? who in the hell taught you how to add??

15mill??....you better rethink our finances. This article says that we will have around 32mill available after all cuts are made,(possibly 36 mill if Langford is cut) But you didn't take in consideration all of the inflated salaries and rookies salaries. Let me sum it up for you.

No no .........Zeke Im only accounting for players that will be most likely cut. Langford probably WONT be cut because he has another year on his contract and he didn't play bad at all this year. I'm not saying you're wrong because we don't know who they are going to cut loose and keep. But I can tell you Fine,Wells,and Dahl are the most likely to go.
And the rookie salary cap doesn't count against our 121mil (or whatever it is) cap right? So I'm not really understanding where you're getting your numbers from.
You're also forgetting to add the 4mil from J Longs status of IR at the end of the season.

Someone asked Jim Thomas in one of his Tuesday Q&A's about the salary cap and it pretty much put it in the same light as I did. He estimated we'll have about 14 to 16 mil cap space after the cuts are done. I'm not talking about resigning of Saffold and others. I'll try to find the post where he broke it down.

 

[Clayton]

Darqueze Dennard will not make it past Detroit at #10... period, end of statement.

Well, there usually is at least one bust in the top 10 but I wouldn't bet your house on it. Dennard likes to play man but doesn't play fast enough to stick with them. He can't locate the ball well. He holds the WR on every play...thats getting called at the next level.

The Rams are better off drafting DBs in Round 2 and 3. S and CB.

 

[zeke2829]

No no .........Zeke Im only accounting for players that will be most likely cut. Langford probably WONT be cut because he has another year on his contract and he didn't play bad at all this year. I'm not saying you're wrong because we don't know who they are going to cut loose and keep. But I can tell you Fine,Wells,and Dahl are the most likely to go.
And the rookie salary cap doesn't count against our 121mil (or whatever it is) cap right? So I'm not really understanding where you're getting your numbers from.
You're also forgetting to add the 4mil from J Longs status of IR at the end of the season.

Someone asked Jim Thomas in one of his Tuesday Q&A's about the salary cap and it pretty much put it in the same light as I did. He estimated we'll have about 14 to 16 mil cap space after the cuts are done. I'm not talking about resigning of Saffold and others. I'll try to find the post where he broke it down.

The 32 mill estimate was with Lanford still on the team. I deducted Fininegans, Dahls and Wells. If we did cut Langford, we would save and additional 4 mill bringing our CAP # to 36 mill. I started out at 32 mill.

So why wouldnt rookies salaries count? They are part of the roster and their salaries do count. My article shows what last year rookies pay scales were, so that is a good gauge to show approxiamately what we will be shelling out this year.

I havent seen anything on where it states that we will save 4 mill on Jake Longs injury. So ..I hope this is true, do you have a link to show where this is true?

 

[jacobarch]

The 32 mill estimate was with Lanford still on the team. I deducted Fininegans, Dahls and Wells. If we did cut Langford, we would save and additional 4 mill bringing our CAP # to 36 mill. I started out at 32 mill.

So why wouldnt rookies salaries count? They are part of the roster and their salaries do count. My article shows what last year rookies pay scales were, so that is a good gauge to show approxiamately what we will be shelling out this year.

I havent seen anything on where it states that we will save 4 mill on Jake Longs injury. So ..I hope this is true, do you have a link to show where this is true?

ask and you shall receive......Rams place OT Jake Long on injured reserve - ESPN

"For 2014, Long was scheduled to make $8 million in base salary with the $1.25 million from his signing bonus added for a total cap charge of $9.25 million. However, the Rams added a provision to the deal that would guarantee only half of the $8 million base salary if he didn't finish the 2013 season on the roster. Now that he's on injured reserve, Long technically is only guaranteed $4 million. "

I'm still looking for the Jim Thomas Answer where he broke it down. I'm sure he knows more about it than we do.

 

[zeke2829]

ask and you shall receive......Rams place OT Jake Long on injured reserve - ESPN

"For 2014, Long was scheduled to make $8 million in base salary with the $1.25 million from his signing bonus added for a total cap charge of $9.25 million. However, the Rams added a provision to the deal that would guarantee only half of the $8 million base salary if he didn't finish the 2013 season on the roster. Now that he's on injured reserve, Long technically is only guaranteed $4 million. "

I'm still looking for the Jim Thomas Answer where he broke it down. I'm sure he knows more about it than we do.

So this is the first time I've seen this, my article doesnt mention any savings coming from this. So this will help some..... but IMO we are still in bad shape. We have holes at safety, cornerback, guard. Also depends on whether or not we resign Saffold, Dunbar. Can Jake Long rebound? Can Sam Bradford rebound? my.. my...my... when will the pain go away?

 

[Clayton]

So this is the first time I've seen this, my article doesnt mention any savings coming from this. So this will help some..... but IMO we are still in bad shape. We have holes at safety, cornerback, guard. Also depends on whether or not we resign Saffold, Dunbar. Can Jake Long rebound? Can Sam Bradford rebound? my.. my...my... when will the pain go away?

This offseason will make or break the team for the next few years. The Rams have excellent draft picks but a lot of mediocre contracts. I could see us being 4-12 next year. I could see us being 12-4. The margin between a good team and a bad team in the NFL is really slim.

We have arguably the best defensive line in football and we have the best defensive player in football from last year (and he arguably hasn't hit his prime yet). If you have that, you really should have a top 5 defense. The Rams don't currently have that.

We've needed a Safety for 2 years now. Its hard to know how much that has really kept STL's defense from being elite. On paper, we absolutely need a #1 CB, too.

On the flip side, the #1 thing keeping the Rams from competing is a passing game. All of the playoff teams are efficient passing teams. All of them. Its the most important factor in making the playoffs next to turnover margin and strength of schedule. We need Bradford healthy for a whole year with all of these young players around him. Maybe Austin is due for a 'Quinn like' breakout season. Maybe its Quick that breaks out. Maybe Cook. Its hard to say. The Rams just need to figure out how to pass the ball. The weapons are there even if there isn't a go to guy.

If Bradford doesn't work out next year...it sets the team waaaaaaaaay back unless we stockpile draft picks from a trade down off the #2 pick. But then that makes the draft even more important. 5 years from now, we'll be known as the team that passed on RG3 and Clowney. Or we'll be really good.