St. Louis Rams 2014 free agents

[Vitamike]

With a little over a month to go, I thought I'd kick this off....

What we do here will paint a clearer picture on what we may do in the draft.

The Rams offense line and the safeties could take a hit via free agency this year.

The St. Louis Rams don't have a long list of pricey players breaking for free agency this year. However, the list of guys scheduled for free agency this year will have an impact on two units where the team already had question marks. Let's take a look at the list.

Free agency officially starts on March 11 this year. Teams will have a three-day "tampering" window, where they can dance around with representatives from free agents on other teams. And general managers can always re-sign or franchise tag their own players in the weeks ahead of that date too.

Rodger Saffold, OL
Chris Williams, OL
Darian Stewart, S
Will Witherspoon, LB
Kellen Clemens, QB
Jo-Lonn Dunbar, OLB
Matt Giordano, S
Brady Quinn, QB
Mike McNeil, TE (RFA)
Shelley Smith, OG
Tim Barnes, C (exclusive rights FA)
Quinton Pointer, CB (exclusive rights)
Justin Veltung, WR (exclusive rights)

We'll obviously be getting into the free agent situation a lot more, but there are few things that jump out at you right off the bat.

Here's the rest of the Story...
St. Louis Rams 2014 free agents - Turf Show Times

 

[Vitamike]

Here, Around The League, are the top 25 NFL free agents for 2014:

1. Jimmy Graham, New Orleans Saints tight end
2. Greg Hardy, Carolina Panthers defensive end
3. Brian Orakpo, Washington Redskins linebacker
4. Jairus Byrd, Buffalo Bills safety
5. T.J. Ward, Cleveland Browns safety
6. Alterraun Verner, Tennessee Titans cornerback
7. Branden Albert, Kansas City Chiefs left tackle
8. Michael Johnson, Cincinnati Bengals defensive end
9. Lamarr Houston, Oakland Raiders defensive end
10. Brent Grimes, Miami Dolphins cornerback
11. Eugene Monroe, Baltimore Ravens left tackle
12. Vontae Davis, Indianapolis Colts cornerback
13. Linval Joseph, New York Giants defensive tackle
14. Jason Hatcher, Dallas Cowboys defensive tackle
15. Jared Veldheer, Oakland Raiders left tackle
16. Aqib Talib, New England Patriots cornerback
17. Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, Denver Broncos cornerback
18. Alex Mack, Cleveland Browns center
19. Eric Decker, Denver Broncos wide receiver
20. Michael Bennett, Seattle Seahawks defensive end
21. B.J. Raji, Green Bay Packers defensive tackle
22. Sam Shields, Green Bay Packers cornerback
23. Walter Thurmond, Seattle Seahawks cornerback
24. Donald Butler, San Diego Chargers linebacker
25. Randy Starks, Miami Dolphins defensive tackle

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap20...-graham-leads-top-25-nfl-free-agents-for-2014

 

[Vitamike]

So, who do we cut, re-sign and try to pick up?

What say you Rams' fans?

 

[jacobarch]

Saffold, Dunbar, Pointer, Barnes, & Clemens. Bye bye everyone else.

I'd go after TJ Ward or Grimes (not both) & a mid level Offensive Guard and then call it day.

 

[Retroram52]

Saffold, Dunbar, Stewart, Clemens, Quinn, Smith, Barnes, and Veltung will be back almost undoubtedly and McNeil will sign like Veltung, Quinn, Smith, and Barnes because they have no place else to go. Saffold and Dunbar and maybe Stewart will be the focus. Everybody else will be what I call loyalty signings.

 

[jacobarch]

Why would we resign Quinn?

 

[icefreeze57]

What happened that now everyone thinks Saffold will stay? I hope he does but I don't think thats what the consensus was.

 

[elmouse03]

Saffold is priority #1. Dunbar is a maybe. Everybody else is ehh.

 

[Retroram52]

What happened Icefreeze is in Boudreau's genius, he moved Saffold inside to guard and Saffold started playing like everyone thought he would at tackle. In fact, Saffold and Barksdale provided a pretty consistent line play when that move took place after Dahl got hurt.

That is what changed everyone's mind. Saffold played so well he was being mentioned as a Pro Bowl candidate until he got hurt-again. And that will be his Achilles heel-no pun intended. Whether the guy can stay healthy. At 330lbs and Barksdale at 337lbs, that side of the line is pretty darn big and like I already stated, they both played pretty well.

 

[SJ76]

Dudes... Vonte Davis is a good CB with size to tackle and speed. He Vernon's lil bro and he's a tough SOB!

Sign Saffold for not an outrageous amount.


Don't know about Dunbar or maybe get another OLB in the draft?

Can we sign Jarious Byrd or would that be too much?

 

[icefreeze57]

What happened Icefreeze is in Boudreau's genius, he moved Saffold inside to guard and Saffold started playing like everyone thought he would at tackle. In fact, Saffold and Barksdale provided a pretty consistent line play when that move took place after Dahl got hurt.

That is what changed everyone's mind. Saffold played so well he was being mentioned as a Pro Bowl candidate until he got hurt-again. And that will be his Achilles heel-no pun intended. Whether the guy can stay healthy. At 330lbs and Barksdale at 337lbs, that side of the line is pretty darn big and like I already stated, they both played pretty well.

Yes, I understand why we want him. I thought everyone was saying that he was going to leave to go get more money than we can give him. Is he no longer asking for all the money?

 

[Retroram52]

We don't know yet Icefreeze. The FA period is for a couple of months and everyone is basically taking the month off before things start to pick back up in prep for said period and OTA's to follow.

 

[Vitamike]

Time to resurrect this thread...

Here are some of the top OL FA's

Branden Albert
Alex Mack
Jared Veldheer
Anthony Collins
Eugene Monroe
Jordan Gross
Michael Oher
Zane Beadles
Zach Strief
Geoff Schwartz

 

[Vitamike]

Here are some of the top CB FA's

Alterraun Verner
Vontae Davis
Jairus Byrd
T.J. Ward
Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie
Antoine Bethea
Donte Whitner
Sam Shields
Aqib Talib
Malcolm Jenkins

 

[jacobarch]

I still stand my initial post. Sign TJ Ward, he's a pro bowler and will be cheaper than Bird. And sign the Guard from the Chiefs.

From our team;
Dunbar
Pointer
Shelly Smith
Chris Williams
Tim Barnes

We need some continuity on the OL.
I also think losing Saffold isn't going to be as big we all feared. After-all he was injured 50% of the time anyways.