With NFL free agency set to begin on Wednesday and the Rams having roughly $50 million under the salary cap to work with, the list of things to do is long and detailed.
With one obvious general theme: Focus on taking care of their own.
Yes, the Rams have a definite need to improve the quarterback position, but with the options dwindling – Kirk Cousins signed his franchise tag contract to remain with the Washington Redskins, Peyton Manning is set to retire and the Denver Broncos are working hard to lock up Brock Osweiler – the Rams open market options are taking a chance at Robert Griffin III, making a run at veteran stop-gap Ryan Fitzpatrick or perhaps dealing for the 49ers Colin Kaepernick.
All of which come with major question marks, making it just as likely the Rams will look to the draft to find their quarterback upgrade.
If so, the focus in free agency most certainly becomes retaining their own players, a process already underway with Trumaine Johnson under contract for 2016 on a franchise tag designation.
With all that in mind, here is the work the Rams have cut out for them when free agency officially begins:
RE-SIGN JANORIS JENKINS
The Rams attempts to lock Jenkins up on a long-term contract hit a snag when he fired his long-term agent shortly after rejecting a five year, $45 million contract offer. By league rules, Jenkins was unable to secure a new agent for five days, and the Rams were disallowed from negotiating with him during that hiring freeze. In the interim, the Rams placed the franchise tag on Johnson, and now have to sweat out any overtures on Jenkins from around the league. That’s dicey no matter how you slice it, although the Rams have plenty of money to spend and have made re-signing Jenkins a priority. They value the time and effort investment in both Jenkins and Johnson, and envision a long-range future in which their two home-grown corners are an integral part.
SIGN WR MARVIN JONES
The Rams have an obvious need at wide receiver, and the former Etiwanda High and Cal Golden Bear is a player on the rise after showing improvement and development over his three years in Cincinnati, Jones is a big (6-2, 215) target and a well-respected young player who finished with 65 catches for 816 yards and four touchdowns last year playing alongside Bengals star A.J. Jones. And at 25, the Rams would be getting him just as he hits his prime years.
RE-SIGN LB MARK BARRON
A big part of the thinking of releasing long-time starting middle linebacker James Laurinaitis was moving Alec Ogletree from the Will linebacker to the Mike to replace Laurinaitis and moving Barron full time to the Will. It’s a sound plan as the Rams struck gold in landing the versatile Barron and his combination of power, speed and instincts makes him a perfect fit at outside linebacker. The trick now is re-signing him, although Barron figures to draw plenty of interest from around the league. Barron has expressed sincere interest in returning, and the Rams absolutely want him back.
RE-SIGN FS RODNEY MCLEOD
On his way out the door, James Laurinaitis paid McLeod the ultimate respect by pointing out the fourth-year free safety’s study habits, leadership skills and the security net he provided as the de facto coach of the back-end of the Rams talented defense. Those are attributes hard to replicate by merely replacing McLeod, whom the Rams uncovered as an undrafted free agent in 2012 and nurtured and developed into a solid front-line player. Bringing him back – along with Jenkins – would help solidify a strength of the Rams defense.
SIGN QB ROBERT GRIFFIN III
It seems unlikely the Broncos will let Brock Osweiler go, and with Kirk Cousins off the market the quarterback options are limited. RG3 comes at considerable risk, but the Rams would be betting on themselves that the strong foundation they’ve laid will provide the former NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year the perfect landing spot from which to reclaim his once promising career. The price tag will not be exorbitant and the time commitment probably minimal as RG3 is likely to prefer a short-term show-me deal in which he can tap back into the market after a strong showing. The risk is negligible compared to the potential reward, which is a physically and emotionally rejuvenated RG3 fitting perfectly with Rams’ running back Todd Gurley and play-maker Tavon Austin. All the more ideal if the Rams can draft or sign an impact wide receiver to create a much more dependable, productive offense. And signing RG3 should not impact the Rams draft plans, which includes identifying a quarterback of the future. But with a healthy, productive RG3 in the fold, the Rams could develop the draft pick either as a long-range option or flip him down the road for a more immediate need or multiple draft picks.
