Rams Twitter Mailbag: Is Earl Thomas the prized free agent for L.A.? – Rams Wire


With the offseason in full swing, it’s the perfect time for a Twitter mailbag. Readers submitted questions on Twitter about everything from the Rams’ pending free agents to possible players they might pursue in March, and I’m here to answer all of them.

On the surface, the idea of trading Todd Gurley is absolutely ludicrous. When you dig deeper into a scenario where the Rams move him, it’s even more difficult to fathom. If they did trade him, they’d take on $16.8 million in dead money this year, which is $7.6 million more than his 2019 cap hit. In other words, the Rams would have to pay him $16.8 million to play for someone else.

Good luck with that.

So while fans are disappointed with the way Gurley played in the postseason and some are worried about his knee, the chances of the Rams trading him this offseason are slim to none – with a heavy lean toward none. It’s not happening, so feel free to go out and buy all the Todd Gurley jerseys you’d like.

I wrote about Brandon Marshall as a good fit for the Rams on Friday and the reasons are obvious. He has plenty of experience in a 3-4 defense, specifically win Wade Phillips’ scheme. He’s coming off a season in which he missed five games due to a knee injury, but durability isn’t a major concern for him.

Assuming Mark Barron is cut and the Rams save $6.3 million in doing so, Marshall would be a great replacement for a relatively low cost – certainly less than the $6.5 million he was set to make in 2019.

Landing Earl Thomas would be absolutely huge for the Rams. He would bring veteran leadership to a team that might lose the likes of Michael Brockers, Barron and Ndamukong Suh, depending on what Los Angeles does. Not to mention, he’s probably a future Hall of Famer and the numbers speak for themselves when it comes to his production.

Thomas is arguably the best single-high safety in the league and would allow John Johnson to play closer to the line of scrimmage. Both would be interchangeable, but finding a true free safety instead of a replica of Johnson would be ideal.

The chances of it happening aren’t great because of the Rams’ financial situation, Thomas’ clear connection to Dallas and the 49ers likely making a bid for him, too, but it’s not out of the question. It’ll probably take around $11-12 million per year to make it happen, though.

They’ll definitely try to keep him, it’s just a matter of whether they’ll be able to. Fowler is among the bigger names at edge rusher in this free agency class and teams love to overpay young players who can get to the quarterback. Fowler comes with greater question marks than guys like Dee Ford, DeMarcus Lawrence and Trey Flowers, but he found a groove with the Rams late in the year. My target price for him is around $9 million per year, give or take a million.

I don’t think it’s necessarily true that John Sullivan “has to go.” He’s definitely the weak link up front, but he can still play in this league. Moving Austin Blythe to center – whether Sullivan retires or is cut – isn’t a bad idea, knowing Joseph Noteboom can play guard, too.

For me, it’s about getting the five best linemen on the field at the same time. If Sullivan’s out for one reason or another, it’ll just depend on whether the Rams can get a better center in free agency or the draft compared to Blythe at center.

I’d probably prefer to keep Blythe at guard and keep grooming Noteboom to be the left tackle of the future, though.

Jared Goff is eligible for an extension this year, but if he signs one, it definitely won’t be team-friendly. The Rams would love if it was, but he has no reason to discount himself at this point in his career. The longer he waits to sign, the more his deal will be worth thanks to the rising salary cap and ever-increasing quarterback contracts.

The Rams still have Goff under contract for two more years so there isn’t a rush to sign him, especially after seeing him struggle in the second half of the year. Whenever he does sign an extension, it’ll be in the range of $30 million per year, particularly if Dak Prescott gets $28-plus million per year this offseason.

Fowler, though I’m not confident the Rams will be able to retain either. In my opinion, they’ve seen enough of Joyner to feel he’s not worth a huge contract after he struggled in 2018. Fowler fills a far greater need at outside linebacker and if he can be had for around $9 million per year for three years, it’ll be a good signing for Los Angeles. Joyner simply hasn’t shown he can have sustained success to warrant a huge contract as a safety.

Jeffrey Allison was a tackling machine at Fresno State and the Rams are likely to need linebacker help in 2019 if Barron is cut. They went heavy on the linebackers late in last year’s draft and with undrafted free agents and I could see them doing the same again in 2019 as they look for help up the middle. Allison is a smart player who can certainly help against the run.

The Rams were actually one of the most explosive teams in the NFL last season, but they didn’t produce as many big plays as they did in 2017 – especially on the ground. I don’t think that’s necessarily the result of changes on the coaching staff, but rather that Gurley simply didn’t rip off as many long gains. They were plenty explosive, though, especially with Brandin Cooks in the fold.

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