Which unrestricted free agent would be your TOP priority to bring back?

[Nick]

The NFL season is officially over. The offseason has begun!

From February 19th to March 5th, NFL teams can assign franchise and transition tags to players. The free agency negotiating window - aka the legal tampering window - begins March 11, while free agency officially kicks off on March 13th at 4pm.

Which player currently on the roster, scheduled for unrestricted free agency, would be your top priority to bring back for 2019?

Please vote and explain why you made your choice.

[SavageRam]

I wish we could vote for more than one.

IMO, order of priority:

Saffold
Whitworth
Suh
Anderson

[SavageRam]

Saffold and Whitworth are on the same side of the NFL's 2018 Offensive Line of the Year. They would be very, very difficult to replace.

[Nick]

Whitworth is not an UFA; he's under contract for 2019. The only issues that might affect his return would be if the Rams jettison his contract ($15 million plus cap number) or if he retires. Otherwise, he'd be back.

[MrOrange]

I went with Saffold. He's been a Ram his whole career, has been fairly durable in recent seasons, had second highest grade in NFL among left guards according to PFF, and has hinted at a possible hometown discount. At 30 years old, he should still have some gas left in the tank. Need to keep the O line strong to have success in today's NFL and with possible question marks around Whitworth and Sullivan, I'd like to maintain some continuity with one of the line's better players.

[Ram Dragoon]

Its all going to come down to Salary Cap and who else is available balanced against NEED

When Fisher drafted Gurley, my concern was can he or any other player remain healthy during the course of a season and into the playoffs. Its pretty slim odds if you think about it, especially if the position takes lots of hits. Injury hit Gurley and Kupp this season and in many respects Kupp is as important as Gurley to the Rams.

FA, should for any team should bare out that reality...if your number one FA pickup gets injured who else fills his shoes; its a lesson not to sell the farm for "one guy". Something the Bearsd and Cowboys are going to have to deal with, though not as bad as the RGIII deal was for the Red Skins.

For the Rams they have to think OL first and last--the difference between the Fisher Era and McVay Era is that OL. Under McVay the Rams can run the ball and protect Goff throwing the ball--Fisher's couldn't--those are the need areas the Rams always have to address first and last with FA and draft...get the OL solid and then go after playmakers. Something the Lions should have considered all these years Right now the Rams OL is starting to get long in the tooth...if the Rams are to continue with success, they have to think "long term" OL and find Gold in the later rounds of the draft or find those players in FA

[KoaKoi]

I agree with the posts above. Sully and Whit are on limited time and Saffold has more in the tank. I wouldn't give up the farm on him, but that's part of the reason he's a priority. Get the talks going now and find a way to lock him up for a few years and allow some time for draft picks to round out the future of the OL. Rams already extended Havenstein, and will have 2nd year players in Noteboom & Allen at T and C, respectively. Given their little playing time, it's hard for us to truly know what what they bring to the table. If they're ready to go, then Saffold's value drops accordingly. But something tells me that at 30 years old, he's got great value for another few years.

I like Joyner. But he's just not the top priority just yet and the problem with pursuing him is he's going to look for a multi-year deal. (I'm not sure I like the prospect of Joyner being our safety for the next 5 years). He hasn't been flashy this year, but he willingly comes up to try to lay on some wood with his little body. His greatest asset has been cleaning up after Marcus Peters' mistakes in coverage. For nothing else, he's useful in that category. And he seems to pair well with Johnny john john. But if a stellar safety falls in the draft, though, I think the Rams have to seriously consider taking him. Hopefully, Joyner will be willing to do a 2 or 3 year deal... thus allowing the Rams to find Peters' replacement. If not, maybe one last tag for next year while his replacement is grooming, though I would worry another tag would disgruntle him. So ultimately, he may be a cast off.

Fowler, I like him too, but not as much as what I think his demand will be on the open market; someone's going to pay him a lot. He brings good pressure so I think he'd be worth throwing an offer at, but he doesn't blow my skirt up as much as I'd like. Sadly, I'm more enticed by the 3rd or 4th round compensatory pick that'll come from losing him, more than having him gobble up cap money for a job somebody else could do just as well at (looking at you Obo!). I think if I'm Snead, I have a heart to heart with sonuvbum and see how married to the guy he is, and drop some encouragement for actively looking for a cheaper someone else to take over at the outside.

Brown will be back so I'd just throw a one year deal at C.J. Tell him he can try to take away Brown's job. A 3 way battle between him, Brown, and Kelly in training camp would be sweet to watch.

Suh is bye bye. His brain tells him to play the way he always has, but his body is not that player anymore. For his price, there are tons of other hogs available at play at nose. Time to find someone new to pair with AD and Brockers (that is unless Suh wants to play on a super cheap contract). And by super cheap, i'm talking like half of what he made this past season. He'd be worth keeping for that.... I just don't think he'd even remotely consider something like that. And that's ok. Good luck Suh. Hey, maybe you can go get the Rams a compensatory pick too!

[NJ Ramsfan1]

There is a reason teams prioritize the offensive line. So much of what a team does offensively is predicated on having quality O-linemen. QBs like Andrew Luck get killed without protection. And guys like Brady excel because they're rarely touched. Surely we Rams fans remember the not-too-distant past with busts like Greg Robinson, Jason Brown, Jason Smith, Alex Barron, etc. When you have the opportunity to get or retain a top guy, you do so. And that is why I feel Saffold is the choice here. He is a veteran who provides solid performance. And as others have mentioned, we will need to re-tool this line. Whitworth was an excellent pick-up for us, but father time is the enemy of us all. And Sullivan is no spring chicken, either.

CJ Anderson is an interesting case, but I'd hate to give up on Malcolm Brown, who was looking like a real solid back-up before the injury. And as good a job as Anderson did for us, he WAS cut by several teams- which makes me question whether or not he can sustain excellent performance. Plus- I'd think he'd look for an opportunity to start- an opportunity he will not get with a healthy Gurley. (Of course, we have to figure out what the hell is going on there...)

Fowler is a decent player whose production won't match the numbers he'll want. Ditto for Joyner, who we should not overpay under any circumstances. And don't be fooled by Suh's decent playoff performances. That doesn't erase a season's worth of sub par efforts.

[mde8352gorams]

I voted for CJ Anderson, but easily could have selected Rodger Saffold who is equally important. My thinking about Anderson is that he adds a potent offensive threat to our running game. I know we have Gurley as our #1 RB but I look at a team like New Orleans and how their offense with Kamara and Ingram is pretty good. Anderson is an upgrade over Brown, who I also like but think we might be able to trade him for a day 3 pick. We seem to have little to no faith in Justin Davis, so perhaps he becomes expendable and Brown stays until his rookie deal is over.

My other reason for keeping Anderson is that he's a good pass protector and if we learned anything from Sunday its that we need to protect Goff AMAP. That could also include an in-line TE to assist with blocking.

Saffold is also critical. His play beside Whitworth was excellent and best of all he remained healthy. He did offer a hometown discount in the negotiations during the season, so he should be relatively easy to sign.

I like Fowler but heard Charlie Casserly make an interesting point that the Rams should not put any money into him as we need to upgrade our LB corps. If Fowler's demands are reasonable I would like to see him stay with us. He already indicated a desire to remain with the Rams. prior to Sunday. Meaning very little if he expects an oversize pay day.

I don't want to get too far astray here, but our division rivals AZ and SF will be selecting #1 and #2 in the draft and those picks could likely be Nick Bosa and Josh Allen 2 of the better edge rushers in the draft. Blocking for pass pro and running will be key for the Rams to ensure for next year and beyond.

I won't shed any tears if Suh and Joyner leave. I do have a question, isn't Peters at the end of his rookie deal or is he on a 5th year option?

Go Rams!

[KoaKoi]

...
...
I do have a question, isn't Peters at the end of his rookie deal or is he on a 5th year option?

Go Rams!

He was optioned, so this coming season is his 5th and final season of his rookie deal.

[ManofGod]

This is a tough one. I said
A. Anderson-he fits a zone scheme perfectly, provided that he is able to make a commitment to get his weight under control and coming into the season in better shape; I would offer him a 1-2 year deal.

B. Saffold-if you watch the games closely especially the superbowl, Saffold is starting to struggle especially when it comes to pass protection, he is beginning to have a hard time setting an anchor which makes him susceptible to the bull rush.

Fowler is limited in what he can offer a defense, and despite his skills still struggles to consistently beat 1 on 1 matchups.

Joyner is a liability in the defensive backfield due to his size & height as was seen several times during the season where he would have had a INT had he been a few feet taller. He also struggles in run defense as he lacks the size to be a "thumper".

Suh looks so disinterested in football at times. On the tough downs I watched him get pushed back consistently. He did not show up until the playoffs, and stole money for most of the season.

[Ewreck]

Saffold /Anderson

[isaacbruce4ever]

Saffold /Anderson

I agrees with this. Kinda hard to pick between the two, but Saffold to maintain OL consistency or Anderson to keep Gurley fresh and perhaps force Coach to add two-back sets to the offense.

[Ewreck]

I agrees with this. Kinda hard to pick between the two, but Saffold to maintain OL consistency or Anderson to keep Gurley fresh and perhaps force Coach to add two-back sets to the offense.

Football at this level is a crapshoot in best case scenarios. One injury, "Kupp", changes the whole dynamic. Sometimes an injury or pickup lets a diamond in the rough, "Warner", fall into your lap. Rams management has been very disappointing more than not since I've been a fan.

[gap]

I had to go with CJ because it gives Coach McVay more play calling options.

I too struggled choosing between Saffold and CJ, but I am a bit concerned about Saffold's longevity. While he has been durable the past few years, he has played through a couple injuries that could have been worse. We should remember how much time he missed in his early career and how likely that is to happen as father time adds to the damage this game does to Linemen.


gap