Jason Smith to Jets (Not Finalized, yet)

[Rambos]

Fisher also said Barry Richardson has "won" the RT job, cited his experience as a starter as a factor.
— St. Louis Rams (@STLouisRams

[AvengerRam]

If you feel that your opinion of Hunter is not relevant, I don't see why you are in this thread then.

Clearly, you have major reading comprehension problems. Sorry, but I can't help you with that.

[Nick]

The fact that Jason Smith had already been benched behind Richardson likely meant his time with this team was drawing to a close. The Rams weren't going to pay their back-up right tackle a $4 million salary.

Even if you're among those who feel Hunter is awful, an opinion that I'm certainly closer to agreeing with as opposed to its opposite, the Rams' coaching staff at least seems to have a plan on how to use him in specialty packages. He's familiar with the coordinator and the offense, as well as this role. That's probably more than can be said for Smith.

But let's be real here. The Rams' situation at right tackle is far from ideal. Replacing Jason Smith with Wayne Hunter doesn't really change that. Aside from Dahl and maybe Wells, the starters on this line are shaky enough. Should the Rams have to go two-deep at some positions, then it's bad news whoever is back there.

Whatever small increment of difference there is between the suck-itude of Jason Smith and the suck-itude of Wayne Hunter probably won't make much of a difference if there comes a point where either would have to play.

[RockinRam]

Clearly, you have major reading comprehension problems. Sorry, but I can't help you with that.

Clearly.

How about you respond to the gist of my post instead of clearly trying to divert the attention to my...er...questionable reading comprehension? (Guess I shouldn't have bought my college diploma at Wal-Mart...knew it would backfire eventually...)

Well kinda a better fit with Hunter as he knows position and he is not injury prone.

Yeah but he sucks. At least with Smith, you have a somewhat strong athletic lineman. And if you only use him occasionally in the jumbo package, his durability won't be as big of a factor like it would be if he was a starter.



But what do I know. Supposedly every football game my IQ drops by 100 and I think I'm watching The Masters or Deadliest Catch instead of a Rams game.

[Rambos]

Yeah but he sucks. At least with Smith, you have a somewhat strong athletic lineman. And if you only use him occasionally in the jumbo package, his durability won't be as big of a factor like it would be if he was a starter.

He may have struggled as a RT, but apparently he was more then capable in the role as a TE in the sixth man role.

I think we can agree that Smith, Richardson and Hunter are not the long term answer at RT right?
If this year we have too line up both Richardson and Hunter on the right side in a jumbo package to get the running game going and to protect Bradford so be it. We have less then two weeks before Detroit if this is the plan that Fisher and Schotty feel is the best for the team, lets roll with it.

Rex Ryan also said he was solid in this role.

Despite all of that, the Jets maintained last week that they weren’t trying to trade Hunter. However, the Rams approached the Jets for a deal, according to a source.

“Is he perfect as a starting tackle? No,” Ryan said last week. “Nobody’s perfect. But I’m saying this: I know the success he had in the first two years in this role, I think, can really be helpful for this team.”

[Nick]

Rex Ryan also said he was solid in this role.

What size grain of salt do you recommend one taking when one is considering the glowing quotes of the coach who just traded the player away?

[Rambos]

What size grain of salt do you recommend one taking when one is considering the glowing quotes of the coach who just traded the player away?

Ha Ha that quote was from the week before the trade.. But that being said it was tough to use Rex as my source for inspiration and I will never do it again

[thillis]

The Rams weren't going to pay their back-up right tackle a $4 million salary.

I thought the same but looks like the Rams are still going to be paying $4 million for a backup tackle....

per Jim Thomas

Bottom line on Smith-Hunter trade: by assuming $1.55 million of Smith's 2012 pay in the trade, the Rams do not realize any cap savings.

[Nick]

I thought the same but looks like the Rams are still going to be paying $4 million for a backup tackle....

per Jim Thomas

I just saw that as well. I stand corrected, then. :-\

[AvengerRam]

If this was not a cap move, then clearly the Rams' coaches believe Hunter will be a more useful player than Smith would have been.

I just hope they consulted with Twitter before making this call.

[Goldenfleece]

It would appear that the coaching staff just didn't see a future for Smith on this team anymore. It's unfortunate, since I think many of us were holding out hope that he might at least develop into a serviceable right tackle. The reality was that he lost out in a camp competition to a really bad starter. Schotty has worked with both players, so if he said he'd rather have Hunter, who was going to say "boo" about it?

[ramsbruce]

It would appear that the coaching staff just didn't see a future for Smith on this team anymore. It's unfortunate, since I think many of us were holding out hope that he might at least develop into a serviceable right tackle. The reality was that he lost out in a camp competition to a really bad starter. Schotty has worked with both players, so if he said he'd rather have Hunter, who was going to say "boo" about it?

Boo....

[bradwill]

Pretty simple: there was no future for either of these two players with their present teams so it was a swap of one team's failure for another. A complete wash on cap implications and two teams hoping that the guy they got might improve with a change of scenery. While Smith is the far younger player involved, his concussion history balanced that out and maybe even tilted the trade somewhat to the Rams' favor.

In the end, it's backup tackles we are talking about here. Rams' depth on the OL is bad right now and this trade doesn't change that. Rams had so many glaring holes to address this off-season in their starters that they haven't had much of a chance with backups. Hopefully the new regime can develop some guys upwards because Bradford's health is riding on that.

[Rambos]

The Rams restructured Smith deal before the trade and paid Smith 1.5 Mil, a signing bonus to go to the Jets. Wow they really did not like him!

[Ventesette]

The Rams restructured Smith deal before the trade and paid Smith 1.5 Mil, a signing bonus to go to the Jets. Wow they really did not like him!

I think the money was guaranteed anyway. They were going to be paying him. Nobody was taking Smith at full salary. Hunter seemed to be a capable backup/spot starter. He also played most games as a TE and even some DT at the goal a few times - as did Rob Turner. The Rams got him for free if they were considering cutting Smith.