The 2015 offseason has been very kind to Jeff Fisher and his St. Louis Rams. What should their offseason grade look like?
With a little under two weeks left to opening day for baseball, the people in St. Louis are starting to become more anxious.
Because of the long standing history and wild success of the Cardinals, the city of St. Louis will forever remain a baseball town. So much so that the Rams look to be heading out of town – Los Angeles as one of the potential destinations.
Despite the terrible relocation news for the Gateway City, they can feel incredibly optimistic about their team.
The 2015 offseason for the Jeff Fisher’s Rams has been a distinct positive.
The biggest splash is of course acquiring who they feel is a franchise quarterback. Nick Foles was shipped out of town by that mad scientist known as Chip Kelly, in exchange for the enigma that is Sam Bradford.
Oh yeah, and St. Louis general manager Les Snead also squeezed a valuable second-round pick from Philly in 2016 and a fourth rounder for this draft.
It’s no secret how the NFL as a whole feels about Foles: incredibly divided.
Because this is Bradford’s final season of his massive rookie contract, the Rams are only on the hook for $3.595 million (guaranteed money which now becomes dead). The beauty is the $12.985 base salary the Rams immediately opened up.
This allows a ton more flexibility for Snead and Fisher as they navigate through the rest of free agency. The transaction possibility to surely head their way during the draft will also become more abundant now.
It’s no secret how the NFL as a whole feels about Foles: incredibly divided.
Half the personnel decision makers feel he has the potential to be a franchise guy. While the other half, however, feel he’s nothing more than a number two.
Mar 13, 2015; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Rams head coach Jeff Fisher (left) introduces newly acquired defensive tackle Nick Fairley to the media at Rams Park. Mandatory Credit: Billy Hurst-USA TODAY Sports
Regardless of how it shakes out, he’s better than a guy in Bradford who is completely useless due to an extreme amount of injuries. Even if Bradford does stay with Kelly in Philadelphia, and starts off hot in 2015, fans will always be waiting for that other shoe to drop – which is a tremendous amount of unneeded, extra pressure (in Philly of all places).
The Rams also picked up a pretty solid big man in the middle in defensive tackle Nick Fairley. Agreeing to a one-year, $5 million deal, he’ll slide right into a role in a 4-3 scheme that fits his skill-set perfectly (as long as Fisher works his magic on the often times troubled young man).
Even though soon to be second-year man Aaron Donald is a stud at the starting 3-technique spot, Fairley can provide so much in a relief effort, and especially in pass situations alongside Donald in the interior.
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The re-signings of wide receiver Kenny Brit and tight end Lance Kendricks keep the offensive weapon depth up to snuff. The other two acquisitions noteworthy include linebacker Akeem Ayers and quarterback Case Keenum.
Nothing earth shattering has yet taken place in the Rams’ world. However, once you take a gander at what’s happening around them in the NFC West, St. Louis’ offseason feels a whole lot more exciting.
Simply put, the San Francisco 49ers are a mess. Stud linebacker Patrick Willis retired, shortly to be joined by youngster Chris Borland. The rapid decline of performance in 2014 and the personnel grouping this offseason is downright startling.
Colin Kaepernick will never again masquerade as a legitimate NFL quarterback again without the genius gameplanning of Jim Harbaugh. Jed York is going to rue the day he chose Trent Baalke over Harbaugh, and the bits and pieces we’ve already heard from new head man Jim Tomsula already supports the argument.
The Arizona Cardinals, while still immensely talented, haven’t improved at all. In fact, losing Antonio Cromartie to the New York Jets, and not knowing what Carson Palmer is going to provide coming off another major knee surgery is highly problematic.
The Seattle Seahawks are still the Seahawks. With the Jimmy Graham acquisition they’ll now have an explosive element to the offense.
Aside from Seattle, St. Louis is looking prettier by the day.
Current Offseason Grade: B+
The Rams still have a ton of work to do. The great news is getting out from under that crippling Bradford contract just took them from having little to now salary cap room to now having just over $13 million, via Spotrac.
The word around the facilities will continue to be “development,” but now flexibility is present should a sensational opportunity present itself from now through the NFL Draft.
Next: St. Louis Rams: Making The Case For Evan Mathis
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