[AvengerRam]

You're dead on with respect to the catch22 here. Polley has demonstrated flashes of being a top notch LB, but he has not been consistent - or consistently healthy.

That said, if he stays healthy and has even a decent year, he'll probably be a blue-chip UFA next year. Its going to be tough to sign him.

My feeling is that the Rams won't be able to resign him next year unless they clear some serious space by signing Pace to a cap friendly long term deal, and maybe restructuring older players like Faulk and Bruce. He may not be worth the effort, though, particularly if the DTs develop. If you have dominating DTs, even average LBs will play like Pro Bowlers, and paying top $ to Polley won't be necessary.