On Tuesday, March 12th the Los Angeles Rams tendered nine players. Those players include: Cory Littleton, Malcolm Brown, Blake Countess, Troy Hill, Morgan Fox, Kevin Peterson, KhaDarel Hodge, JoJo Natson and Dominique Hatfield. These signings come after the Rams retained Dante Fowler and signed Eric Weddle.
Restricted free agents
The Rams gave Littleton the highest tender, receiving a second round tender. This means that any team can sign him, but they must give the Rams a second round pick. That isn’t likely to happen since he holds more value to the Rams than most other teams.
Troy Hill, Blake Countess and Malcolm Brown were given original round tenders. Countess was a sixth round selection, so if a team signs him the Rams would get a sixth round pick. Hill and Brown were both undrafted free agents, therefore, the team would not receive any draft pick compensation. However, the Rams do hold first refusal rights to those players, meaning they can match another team’s offer in order to retain the player.
Exclusive rights free agents
The Rams tendered five of six exclusive rights free agents: Fox, Peterson, Hodge, Natson and Hatfield. The Rams did not tender edge rusher Garrett Sickels. The moves place the Rams’ 2019 cap space at $8.767,895, leaving little room for any more signings. The Rams still have to factor in $5 or $6 million for the NFL Draft as well.
Potential moves
The Rams could move some money around with players like: Andrew Whitworth, Todd Gurley, Aaron Donald, Michael Brockers, Brandin Cooks, etc. Restructuring contracts would need to happen if they wanted to sign anyone else. Plenty of players still on the free agent market could entice the Rams to do just that. A couple players I’d consider in that situation would be nose tackle Danny Shelton or edge rusher Justin Houston. However, consequences would occur too. This means that the money will be spent in the coming years instead of this year, which could create more problems down the line. The only way this problem goes away is if players willingly take a pay cut for the benefit of the team. Good luck with that Les Snead.
Sources: overthecap.com, therams.com
Follow Josh Kollack on Twitter @rn_kylo and stay up-to-date on all the latest news and updates on the Los Angeles Rams by following @TalkRams.
