Random Ramsdom: Jacob Harris’ time seems to be up in LA

Los Angeles Rams News and Links for 3/25/23

Are the Rams done with the Jacob Harris experiment? (RamsWire)

“He became an exclusive rights free agent this offseason but surprisingly, the Rams chose not to tender him. It’s not as if tendering him would’ve cost them very much. He’d have been kept on the roster at the league minimum.

They did so with Michael Hoecht, Shaun Jolly and Christian Rozeboom, who will all have cap hits below $1 million in 2023, according to Over The Cap. Why not do the same with Harris and continue trying to develop him into the hybrid receiver-tight end they envisioned him being?

Opting not to tender Harris does not mean his time with the Rams is done. He’s now an unrestricted free agent who can sign with any team, and so far, no one has signed him yet. The Rams can still bring him back, but that seems unlikely after passing up the opportunity to keep him at the league minimum.”

‘Make No Mistake’: Rams COO Kevin Demoff Makes Bold Super Bowl LVIII Claims (SportsIllustrated)

Photo by Icon Sportswire

“It can be easy to go ahead and write off the Rams after their early off-season moves, but Demoff still has high expectations for what they can accomplish.

“While this year may feel different given the first two weeks of the offseason, make no mistake, we expect to compete for the NFC West division title this season and make a run towards Super Bowl LVIII in Las Vegas,” Demoff wrote.

Even with how the early stages of free agency has gone for the Rams so far, they still have a solid roster when healthy. The duo of Matthew Stafford and Cooper Kupp have shown how lethal they can be, while Cam Akers seemed to be putting it together toward the end of last season.

As for the defense, well, there are definite question marks. Losing Ramsey and Wagner, as well as guys like Leonard Floyd and Nick Scott won’t be a simple fix.

That being said, when the Rams won the Super Bowl they were a middle-of-the-pack defense – coming in at 15th in points against after holding opponents to 21.9 points per game.”

4 disastrous picks LA Rams must avoid in the 2023 NFL Draft (RamblinFan)

“It appears more and more likely that the 2023 NFL Draft is going to be a one-stop shopping trip for the LA Rams in their quest to restock the shelves of the Rams roster. And that could be a good thing, or it could be a bad thing, but it will most certainly be something different. Very much like the 2020 NFL Draft when the Rams draft emerged with nine rookies, and then the team followed up quickly by signing 22 undrafted rookies after the 2020 NFL Draft ended.

The prerequisite for that 2020 NFL Draft was the fact that the Rams had traded WR Brandin Cooks and released RB Todd Gurley. So despite all of the bravado of drafting for the best player available, the LA Rams quickly addressed glaring needs of their roster by selecting RB Cam Akers, and then WR Van Jefferson. While those choices have panned out to some degree, the strategy was risky.

Huh? That’s right. Drafting for need is a risky business. But it’s only one of the many perils that the LA Rams face in the 2023 NFL Draft. Let me explain. While the LA Rams have 11 draft picks in the 2023 NFL Draft, the team has three picks on Day 2, and the remaining 8 picks on Day 3. The real problem lies in the fact that the LA Rams make a selection with the 77th overall pick and then must cycle through 90 picks before stepping up to the podium once more. Of course, business picks up rapidly in late Round 5, but the gap is significant.”

15 former Rams who are still available in free agency (RamsWire)

Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images

“There are still a lot of members of the 2022 Rams team who are still available in free agency, including Taylor Rapp and A’Shawn Robinson. However, there are also a bunch of former Rams who are free agents this offseason and still sitting on the market.

It’s unlikely the Rams will reunite with any of them in 2023, given their desire to build through the draft, but it’s worth keeping tabs on former players such as Marcus Peters, John Johnson and Rodger Saffold.

Here’s a list of 15 former Rams who are still available in free agency.”