3 players that Rams should avoid in FA…

3 players that the Rams should avoid in free agency
EDGE player Bryce Huff among players the Rams should avoid in free agency

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Blaine Grisak



The Los Angeles Rams will be looking to make a splash signing or two when NFL Free agency begins next week. However, when it comes to free agency there are always players that bust and don’t fit with their new teams. With the amount of money involved, that can make the implications much worse than busting on a player in the draft. Below are three “buyer beware” players that come with some risk and are players that the Rams could be interested in next week.

EDGE Bryce Huff, New York Jets

A few things can be true here. Bryce Huff is a good player and performed well last season in which he had 10 sacks. For an undrafted free agent, he has certainly exceeded expectations. Throughout his time with the Jets, he’s been a good rotational piece. It’s possible that Huff goes from solid rotational piece to excellent pass rusher. However, as of now, he’s primarily been a rotational piece that plays and has success on passing downs.

Starting with the snap count, Huff only played 42 percent of the defensive snaps for the Jets last season. In his career, he’s played over 50 percent of the defensive snaps just once. In 2023, Huff was great at getting to the quarterback. At the same time, he benefitted from the situations that he was put in by a good defensive coaching staff. It’s fair to wonder if he can be a full-time, three-down starter in the NFL.

Among edge players with at least 480 snaps, Huff’s 134 snaps on run plays were the second-fewest. If Huff is going to command $16M per year, which is his projected contract via PFF, a team should hope to get more than just a rotational pass rusher. This isn’t to say that Huff can’t be a run defender as he has the size. With that said, life for an edge rusher is much easier when all they are having to focus on is getting to the quarterback. When snap count goes up, efficiency tends to go down.

Additionally, prior to this season, Huff had just 7.5 sacks. When projecting Huff, how much of last year development and what he’s going to be going forward? It’s fair to have concerns that last year’s 10-sack mark was just a one-off. With a big contract, he could bust in a big way.

Again, there are things to like. His true pressure score of 42.8 via Brandon Thorn’s Trench Warfare and 5.6 snaps per pressure are impressive. His 8.25 true sack score ranked 19th while his 28.6 pressure snaps per sack was the sixth-highest. However, he’s very difficult to project given that he’s only been a rotational player up to this point in his career. That’s tough to invest a lot of money in when it comes to a big contract.

OT Tyron Smith, Dallas Cowboys

The Rams could be in the market for a left tackle during free agency. It’s possible that they decide to keep Alaric Jackson at that spot, but he is also a player that may work better on the inside. In that case, signing a bridge left tackle to get you through this year makes some sense.

With that being said, while Tyron Smith fits that mold, he is also a player to avoid. When it comes to signing a left tackle, it’s important to sign someone that can be relied. Smith can be relied on when he is on the field. The issue is, he isn’t on the field very often. The Cowboys left tackle has only played 30 games over the past four years. In 2020 and 2022, he played just two and four games due to injury.

Again, when he is on the field Smith remains one of the best left tackles in the NFL. Last year, he was peak Tyron Smith. Pro Football Focus graded him as the number one pass-blocking tackle and fourth best tackle overall. According to ESPN metrics, Smith ranked fifth in run-block win-rate.

It’s easy to look at Smith as this short-term fix at 33-years old and know that is a player the Rams can have success with in the offense. That’s a type of player that they had success with when they signed Andrew Whitworth back in 2017. The parallel is certainly there. However, at 36 Whitworth had missed eight games total in the previous 11 years combined. Smith has missed eight or more games total in two of the last four seasons.

The former Cowboys left tackle is certainly a short-term fix with elite upside. It’s fair to look at the Rams training staff who has done a good job at keeping players healthy and wonder if they can have a positive effect on Smith. Still, that’s a lot to gamble on for a player with reliability issues at 33 years old.

RB Saquon Barkley, New York Giants

The Rams need a running back behind Kyren Williams. However, that doesn’t mean that they need to be spending $12M per year on that player. It should be possible to find a cheaper running back like JK Dobbins, AJ Dillon, or Zack Moss that can be had for under a $4M price tag.

A player like Saquon Barkley in the Rams offense is fun to think about when it comes to the potential outcomes. Barkley is an explosive play-maker and the type of runner that the Rams have missed since Steven Jackson was running in horns in the mid-2000s. Unfortunately, with the current market of running backs, investing in the running back position simply is not a smart move.

Barkley is the type of player that can take over games and be the engine of an offense. However, that’s not necessarily the type of player that the Rams need. There’s also the conversation of injuries. Barkley has consistently dealt with lingering injuries and has played at sometimes 70 percent rather than at full health. The Giants running back also tends to take a lot of negative runs. Last season, he ranked second in the NFL in tackle for loss percentage at 15.2 percent. The Rams simply aren’t a running back away, especially after the emergence of Kyren Williams. Snead will be looking for a RB2A to Ronnie Rivers’ RB2B rather than someone to share the backfield with Williams.