Round Two: Does Salary Cap Jump Make Room For SJ39?

[r8rh8rmike]

Round Two: Does salary cap jump make room for SJ39?

1 hour ago • By DON REED dreed@post-dispatch.com

TODAY'S QUESTION:

With the NFL salary cap going from $120.6 million to $123 million, will the Rams have room for Steven Jackson now? Or would one of these backs in the draft be a better investment: Eddie Lacy (Alabama), Giovani Bernard (North Carolina), Joseph Randle (Oklahoma State), Stepfan Taylor (Stanford), Montee Ball (Wisconsin and Timberland High) or maybe even injured Marcus Lattimore (South Carolina)?

JIM THOMAS:

Make no mistake, an extra $2 to 2 1/2 million helps the Rams' overall salary cap picture. But I think the Rams have pretty much decided what Jackson is worth in terms of a contract offer.

And I think Jackson is pretty set on the fact that he wants to at least see what's out there in free agency.

JEFF GORDON:

The higher cap makes re-signing Steven Jackson somewhat easier — assuming that he would prefer finishing his career here instead of moving to a more established contender.

This NFL Draft is short on high-end running back prospects and the free-agent market isn't great. If Jackson exits, Isaiah Pead, Daryl Richardson and an additional young back or two could end up fighting for the role. How confident are the Rams in Pead, really? Les Snead's actions during the next few months will tell us.

ANDY STRICKLAND (KFNS radio host):

Cap space is not the issue with bringing Steven Jackson back. The Rams have the money but they aren't looking to spend $7 million on a 30 year-old running back. There's a limit as to how much they're willing to pay a guy with a lot of miles on his tires. This is more about the principle of what his value is at this stage of his career.

The Rams may very well look at a RB early in the draft but could just as well dip into free agency to find a replacement.

[Fortuninerhater]

I certainly don't see us drafting a RB early in this draft.

What kind of message would that send to a guy they drafted in the 2nd round less than a year ago?

To say nothing of how it'd make Fisher and Snead look.