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The Los Angeles Rams entered the 2016 offseason with several key players in their secondary becoming free agents, including four starters in Trumaine Johnson, Janoris Jenkins, Mark Barron, and Rodney McLeod.
The Rams have over $58 million in cap space, due in large part to the team cutting two defensive mainstays in defensive end Chris Long and linebacker James Laurinaitis along with tight end Jared Cook last week.
General manager Les Snead started working on the secondary by placing the franchise tag worth $13.9 million on Johnson, which keeps the fifth-year cornerback for the 2016 season. Things appear to be a bit more complicated with Jenkins, who has become so frustrated with the contract negotiation process that he has fired his agent. This makes it a much more difficult process for the team possibly retaining the 27-year-old.
In that same breath, Snead has recently stated that re-signing the duo is the team’s top priority this offseason, according to ESPN.com.
“If I were to prioritize what’s going on in our building, and there’s a lot of things going on, that is priority A right now, even at this combine,” Snead said. “We’ll meet with their reps, maybe more than one time at the combine, and I’m not going to say anything gets done, but we’ve got a lot going on here and that’s priority A.”
Johnson is coming off arguably his best campaign finishing with 71 tackles and seven interceptions, which tied him for second-most in the league. Jenkins took another stride forward in his progression, recording 64 tackles and three interceptions.
Barron, who played his first three years in the league primarily at safety, made a solid transition to taking the bulk of his snaps at weakside linebacker by recording a team-high and career-best 116 tackles in 2015. He had three games with 10 or more tackles, including a career-high 16 tackles against the Cleveland Browns. The 26-year-old has excelled in the Rams’ blitz-heavy defense under Gregg Williams since being acquired midway through the 2015 season. His high level of production last season could lead to plenty of interest from other teams in free agency given that the league has transitioned to safeties that can also play outside linebacker. It could also drive up the asking price out of the range that the Rams are willing to spend.
McLeod has been a mainstay for the Rams since signing with the team as an undrafted rookie. He has started at free safety alongside T.J. McDonald over the last three seasons, helping them develop the reputation as a hard-hitting duo. McLeod recorded his best season in 2015, ranking fourth in tackles among safeties and becoming the ninth-rated in coverage at his position by Pro Football Focus.
All of this leaves the Rams in a precarious position with the realistic possibility of losing a couple key players from their defense via free agency. If they are unable to ink either Jenkins or Johnson to a new deal, LaMarcus Joyner has shown the ability to play cornerback with most of his play being out of the nickel package. E.J. Gaines is also set to return in 2016, after missing all of last season due to surgery to repair a Lisfranc injury that he suffered in the preseason.
Gaines is a former sixth-round pick in the 2014 NFL draft, who proved to be quite a find for the Rams. He became the only rookie corner in the league to start the first 15 games. Gaines also exhibited much progress as the season wore on and finished tied for 12th in the league with 15 passes defended along with notching 70 tackles and two interceptions.
It’s likely the Rams will keep one or both of their free agent safeties in Barron or McLeod, but the team does possess a couple in-house replacements if needed in Cody Davis and Maurice Alexander. However, neither has proven to be near the same caliber of player as their two pending free agents.
What this all means is that the Rams will focus primarily on their secondary in the offseason. Ultimately, how the front office handles this situation will play a major factor in how the team goes about the entire offseason.
Chris Long, Cody Davis, featured, Gregg Williams, James Laurinaitis, Janoris Jenkins, Jared Cook, Les Snead, Mark Barron, Maurice Alexander, Rodney McLeod, T.J. McDonald, Trumaine Johnson
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The Los Angeles Rams entered the 2016 offseason with several key players in their secondary becoming free agents, including four starters in Trumaine Johnson, Janoris Jenkins, Mark Barron, and Rodney McLeod.
The Rams have over $58 million in cap space, due in large part to the team cutting two defensive mainstays in defensive end Chris Long and linebacker James Laurinaitis along with tight end Jared Cook last week.
General manager Les Snead started working on the secondary by placing the franchise tag worth $13.9 million on Johnson, which keeps the fifth-year cornerback for the 2016 season. Things appear to be a bit more complicated with Jenkins, who has become so frustrated with the contract negotiation process that he has fired his agent. This makes it a much more difficult process for the team possibly retaining the 27-year-old.
In that same breath, Snead has recently stated that re-signing the duo is the team’s top priority this offseason, according to ESPN.com.
Johnson is coming off arguably his best campaign finishing with 71 tackles and seven interceptions, which tied him for second-most in the league. Jenkins took another stride forward in his progression, recording 64 tackles and three interceptions.
Barron, who played his first three years in the league primarily at safety, made a solid transition to taking the bulk of his snaps at weakside linebacker by recording a team-high and career-best 116 tackles in 2015. He had three games with 10 or more tackles, including a career-high 16 tackles against the Cleveland Browns. The 26-year-old has excelled in the Rams’ blitz-heavy defense under Gregg Williams since being acquired midway through the 2015 season. His high level of production last season could lead to plenty of interest from other teams in free agency given that the league has transitioned to safeties that can also play outside linebacker. It could also drive up the asking price out of the range that the Rams are willing to spend.
McLeod has been a mainstay for the Rams since signing with the team as an undrafted rookie. He has started at free safety alongside T.J. McDonald over the last three seasons, helping them develop the reputation as a hard-hitting duo. McLeod recorded his best season in 2015, ranking fourth in tackles among safeties and becoming the ninth-rated in coverage at his position by Pro Football Focus.
All of this leaves the Rams in a precarious position with the realistic possibility of losing a couple key players from their defense via free agency. If they are unable to ink either Jenkins or Johnson to a new deal, LaMarcus Joyner has shown the ability to play cornerback with most of his play being out of the nickel package. E.J. Gaines is also set to return in 2016, after missing all of last season due to surgery to repair a Lisfranc injury that he suffered in the preseason.
Gaines is a former sixth-round pick in the 2014 NFL draft, who proved to be quite a find for the Rams. He became the only rookie corner in the league to start the first 15 games. Gaines also exhibited much progress as the season wore on and finished tied for 12th in the league with 15 passes defended along with notching 70 tackles and two interceptions.
It’s likely the Rams will keep one or both of their free agent safeties in Barron or McLeod, but the team does possess a couple in-house replacements if needed in Cody Davis and Maurice Alexander. However, neither has proven to be near the same caliber of player as their two pending free agents.
What this all means is that the Rams will focus primarily on their secondary in the offseason. Ultimately, how the front office handles this situation will play a major factor in how the team goes about the entire offseason.
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