Rams awarded two compensatory draft picks at NFL meeting
By Jim Thomas
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
03/26/2007
PHOENIX - Call it an unexpected surprise. The Rams arrived in Arizona for the NFL’s annual owners meetings fully expecting to receive no compensatory draft picks for the first time in five years.
But the Rams were awarded two seventh-rounders Monday, Nos. 248 and 249 overall in the draft April 28-29.
Since the start of the current system of free agency in 1993, compensatory draft picks have been awarded to teams that lose more free agents than they sign. The complicated formula is based on salary, playing time and postseason honors of free agents signed and lost.
Last offseason, safety Adam Archuleta, and defensive tackles Ryan Pickett and Damione Lewis were among the Rams’ free-agent defections. The Rams were under the impression that those losses were more than offset (under the league formula) by signing defensive tackle La’Roi Glover, linebacker
Will Witherspoon, and safety
Corey Chavous. "We finished on the ‘plus’ side (of the formula)," said a Rams official. Which meant the Rams weren’t going to receiver compensatory picks.
But when the 2007 compensatory picks for all 32 teams were announced early Monday evening at the owners meetings, the Rams were awarded two seventh-rounders. Over the previous four offseasons, the Rams had received 14 compensatory picks _ two last season, and four apiece in ’05, ’04, and ’03.
Over the years, the Rams have had a fair amount of success with compensatory picks.
Mark Setterstrom, a seventh-round compensatory pick last year, started six games at left guard as a rookie in ’06. Quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, fullback Madison Hedgecock, linebacker
Brandon Chillar, and tight end Brandon Manumaleuna (now with San Diego) are past compensatory picks. Fitzpatrick and Hedgecock were seventh-rounders; Chillar and Manumaleuna were fourth-rounders.
The Faulk cap hit
The Rams plan to spread out the cap hit caused by running back Marshall Faulk’s retirement over two seasons. (Faulk has two years left on his current contract.) As a result, there will be $2 million of so-called "dead money" that counts against the team’s salary cap in 2007. But since that money was already being counted against the Rams’ 2007 cap, the team actually experiences a cap savings of $820,000 -- which is the base salary Faulk was scheduled to make this coming season had he played.
The team will experience a $2 million cap hit in 2008, the last year of Faulk’s contract.
A Rams official also confirmed Monday that the team did pay Faulk a $225,000 roster bonus that was due earlier this month.
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