American Football

Random Ramsdom: Former LA player, Robert Woods, signed with Houston Texans

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Los Angeles Rams Training Camp
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Los Angeles Rams News and Links for 3/13/23

Timber! LA Rams reunion with Bobby Trees axed by Texans (ramblinfan)

“Wide receiver Robert Woods was released by the Tennessee Titans, making him an immediate free agent. That means that he was under no obligation to wait for the end of the 2022 NFL season before negotiating and ultimately signing with a new team.

That also applies to WR Odell Beckham Jr., whose contract with the LA Rams expired at the end of the 2021 NFL season. He also has the opportunity to sign with any NFL team at any time. In fact, that can be said of the myriad of veteran NFL players who find themselves being released by teams shedding excessive salary expenses in time to be under the 2023 NFL salary cap by the deadline at 1:00 pm PT on March 15, 2023.

The LA Rams are not in a position to have offered Robert Woods a two-year deal with $10 million guaranteed. In fact, without available details regarding how the LA Rams have restructured contracts and shed salary to be under the cap at the start of the new NFL season, the Rams are not in a position to make any offers or signings.

Of course, we don’t know what we don’t know, and the Rams could be on track to have $20 – $40 million of free salary dollars to commit to new NFL free agents in 2023. But, until the details and the Rams current projected 2023 salary are updated with new information, I’m afraid that the LA Rams are locked in limbo for the time being.”

Biggest questions after Rams trade Jalen Ramsey to Dolphins (espn)

“The Rams received a 2023 third-round pick (No. 77 overall) and tight end Hunter Long. The trade will be processed Wednesday when the 2023 league year officially begins.

Ramsey, 28, is a three-time first-team All-Pro, most recently in 2021, although his performance last season wasn’t as strong. The Dolphins, who had been restructuring contracts recently to create salary cap space, also informed cornerback Byron Jones that he will be released after the new league year begins.

It’s the second consecutive year the Dolphins have made a splashy offseason move, having traded for former Kansas City Chiefs star wide receiver Tyreek Hill, who turned in a first-team All-Pro season, in 2022. The Dolphins are hoping Ramsey and a healthy Tua Tagovailoa, the dynamic quarterback who suffered two concussions last season, will be catalysts for a Super Bowl run after the team was eliminated by the Buffalo Bills in the wild-card round last season.

Miami’s odds to win the Super Bowl remained at 35-1 immediately after the trade, according to Caesars Sportsbook.

The Rams, meanwhile, are in the process of shedding salaries to get under the cap.

ESPN Dolphins reporter Marcel Louis-Jacques and Rams reporter Sarah Barshop broke down the trade from various angles, including what other Rams players might be on the move.

Could Ramsey be the final piece to the Dolphins’ Super Bowl puzzle?

Super Bowl talk might seem unrealistic for an organization that hasn’t won a playoff game since 2000, and the Dolphins still need to shore up a couple of positions, but they’re closer to possessing a Super Bowl-caliber roster than they were a week ago.

They had a need at cornerback after informing Jones he would be released, and they addressed it after a week of clearing salary cap space through multiple contract restructures. The Dolphins restructured the contracts of Hill, Terron Armstead and Bradley Chubb to clear space for this move, and they reworked Ramsey’s deal to guarantee the 2023 and 2024 seasons. Miami will have roughly $12 million in salary cap space.

Now that it has made its big splash of the offseason, Miami can focus on adding depth at offensive line, adding running backs and evaluating its situation at inside linebacker. But the core of the roster it hopes will lead to a Super Bowl is built. –– Louis-Jacques”

LA Rams roster purge continues well beyond Leonard Floyd (ramblinfan)

“The team made it a point to offer Reserve/Future contracts to many of the players who were available on the team’s 2022 practice squad. But most of those players have been released as well, as the team also waived tight end Roger Carter, defensive back T.J. Carter, wide receiver J.J. Koski, tight end Jared Pinkney, wide receiver Jaquarii Roberson, wide receiver Jerreth Sterns, and defensive end Brayden Thomas.

The news is a bit surprising, as Reserve/Future contracts have historically held minimal importance to an NFL team’s holistic roster perspective. But it does indicate one thing: The LA Rams mean business in 2023. So why would the Rams take so many cuts to the bottom of the projected 2023 90-man roster before free agency hits? In short, the new positional coaches are weighing in, and these players simply no longer fit the specifications for their roles on the 2023 Rams roster.

If you need a positive spin on the news, let’s look at this in a new framework. It’s far better to part ways this early, giving players a chance to sign on with another NFL team, and perhaps earn a roster spot elsewhere, than compete for a spot on the LA Rams roster and have no chance of earning playing time, only to be released along with hundreds of other players.”

Jalen Ramsey trade grades for Dolphins, Rams: Miami has Pro Bowl CB duo with Xavien Howard, L.A. eyes future (cbssports)

“Trade grades

Dolphins: A

Acquiring a 28-year-old superstar who is one of only seven players in the entire league to make each of the last six Pro Bowls is a significant win. Ramsey was Pro Football Focus’ third-highest graded cornerback last season with a grade of 86.4, trailing only 2022 NFL Defensive Rookie Year of the Year and New York Jets cornerback Sauce Gardner (87.9) as well as Denver Broncos 2022 First-Team All-Pro cornerback Pat Surtain II (86.8).

To be able to rebound from the failed move that was cornerback Byron Jones’ five-year, $82.5 million contract to add Ramsey to a secondary with Pro Bowl cornerback Xavien Howard and their promising, 23-year-old safety Jevon Holland gives Miami one of the best defensive backfields in the entire NFL. This is a big deal because the Dolphins will face Josh Allen’s Bills twice, Mac Jones with an actual offensive coordinator twice, and potentially Aaron Rodgers’ New York Jets twice. Shoutout to general manager Chris Grier for maximizing the salary cap window provided by having starting quarterback Tua Tagovailoa on his rookie deal for two more seasons as he has added All-Pro wide receiver Tyreek Hill, Pro Bowl pass rusher Bradley Chubb, and Ramsey via trade in the last 365 days. The cap may not look as pretty following the 2024 season, but as Grier observed from the Rams, that’s tomorrow’s problem.

Rams: C+

For Los Angeles, the bill for their Super Bowl LVI run is now due, and they are paying up. On Friday, general manager Les Snead referred to quarterback Matthew Stafford, wide receiver Cooper Kupp, and defensive tackle Aaron Donald as the team’s “pillars.” Ramsey was noticeably absent from that statement, indicating he was up for grabs. Following a 5-12 finish in 2022, the worst record in NFL history for a defending Super Bowl Champion, Snead correctly realized that their lack of depth brutalized any hopes of staying afloat after injuries to all three of the team’s pillars last season.”

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