[safer]

I'm a fan of Whitworth's but his prime is over. There is NO way we can afford to pay him what he would want and still sign Ramsey, Littleton and Fowler Jr. I still think we will only be able to sign two of them, and Fowler, with the young depth behind him, is the guy we can't afford. Cory makes so many big plays....man he might be my favorite player right now.
My take on our Oline next year....I think Noteboom already is a better LT than he is a LG. Regardless of where Edwards says he wants to play, he's my RT and Hav goes into RG. Rob is pretty tough, but doesn't excel in space. I think Rob will become a much better OG. Hopefully Evans, moving inside will become a starter. I'm still mixed on Allen as our starting c. Most centers are the smallest guys on the Oline because it's better that they are quick, rather than bulked up. I think he will pan out. I just think that when you have a guy Allen's size in the middle, you'd better surround him with bigger OG's than Blythe. The best OG's seem to be in the 330 range, right?
Obviously, at the very minimum, we will need more depth, either thru f/a and/or the draft.

[BobCarl]

Not to mention what is a rookie going to do with a line that cannot protect him? With a predictable offense that isn't fooling anyone anymore. Might as well stick with Goff and see if they can do something about pass protection. Maybe he's making bad decisions and his release is slow, but I seriously doubt a rookie would do better in those circumstances. Probably worse.

Great post.

I think that Goff is one of the best EVER when it comes to throwing 10+ yards downfield. And I think that the 2018 team was built around Goff's strengths.

It is rather obvious that Goff's serious weakness of the short passing game is now being exploited by other teams. Goff is not a "complete passer".

Now with Goff being paid top-tier money and Donald being paid top-tier money AND not having enough draft picks to have acquired game-ready elite O-Linemen at a rookie's salary, the Rams no longer have a top-10 O-Line that is required to exploit Goff's strengths.

Next season might be worse.

The Rams will have to pay top-tier money for the best CB in the NFL. Will the Rams be able to pay the market value for the elite WR's this team has now?

Does anybody know what the market value is for a player at Cooper Kupp's level? I can't blame him if he asks for a new contract and sits out a few games if the Rams don't comply.

[snackdaddy]

Great post.

I think that Goff is one of the best EVER when it comes to throwing 10+ yards downfield. And I think that the 2018 team was built around Goff's strengths.

It is rather obvious that Goff's serious weakness of the short passing game is now being exploited by other teams. Goff is not a "complete passer".

Now with Goff being paid top-tier money and Donald being paid top-tier money AND not having enough draft picks to have acquired game-ready elite O-Linemen at a rookie's salary, the Rams no longer have a top-10 O-Line that is required to exploit Goff's strengths.

Next season might be worse.

The Rams will have to pay top-tier money for the best CB in the NFL. Will the Rams be able to pay the market value for the elite WR's this team has now?

Does anybody know what the market value is for a player at Cooper Kupp's level? I can't blame him if he asks for a new contract and sits out a few games if the Rams don't comply.

I believe a player is eligible for an extension after year 3. Which means Kupp, and John Johnson will be eligible next year. Everett too. Then we have Littleton and Fowler who are free agents. It sucks but we won't be able to keep them all. It would be a disaster to give up two firsts and not extend Ramsey. So that deal has to be done.

I would rate Kupp as the highest priority. As much as we need defense right now with the offense struggling, this game is predicated on scoring. I'm thinking maybe we can hold off one more year and see what the new CBA will be in regards to the salary cap. At least I hope we can. I'd hate to see Kupp sit out till he gets extended.

[dieterbrock]

I believe a player is eligible for an extension after year 3. Which means Kupp, and John Johnson will be eligible next year. Everett too. Then we have Littleton and Fowler who are free agents. It sucks but we won't be able to keep them all. It would be a disaster to give up two firsts and not extend Ramsey. So that deal has to be done.

I would rate Kupp as the highest priority. As much as we need defense right now with the offense struggling, this game is predicated on scoring. I'm thinking maybe we can hold off one more year and see what the new CBA will be in regards to the salary cap. At least I hope we can. I'd hate to see Kupp sit out till he gets extended.

All rookies sign 4 year deals and can get extension after 3rd year.
The only difference is that 1st round picks have the 5th year option that the team needs to pick up prior to the beginning of the 4th year of the deal.

[BobCarl]

I believe a player is eligible for an extension after year 3. Which means Kupp, and John Johnson will be eligible next year. Everett too. Then we have Littleton and Fowler who are free agents. It sucks but we won't be able to keep them all. It would be a disaster to give up two firsts and not extend Ramsey. So that deal has to be done.

I would rate Kupp as the highest priority. As much as we need defense right now with the offense struggling, this game is predicated on scoring. I'm thinking maybe we can hold off one more year and see what the new CBA will be in regards to the salary cap. At least I hope we can. I'd hate to see Kupp sit out till he gets extended.

Kupp is already on his 2nd contract.

His pay this year is $811 K and next season set at $961 K ... I think his production warrants a new contract.

The Rams have been very good when it comes to rewarding their players, and perhaps an extension will get done before the start of next season and his agent won't make a public spectacle about asking for more money.

On the other hand, if the Rams can't pay him, they probably can find a team that will be willing to give up a very valuable draft pick or two.