Here’s when every Sean McVay era Rams FA signed…

Here’s when every Sean McVay era Rams free agent signed
The Rams have been relatively quiet at the start of free agency but is history destined to repeat itself?



JakeEllenbogen



The Rams are going into tomorrow’s tampering period for the NFL Free Agency having just re-signed their big impending free agent Kevin Dotson. This time around they don’t have as many key contributors to worry about losing as years past.

However, if you are wondering about the Rams history and whether they ever make any sort of big splash signings early on in the process, this is a list of every Rams signing in the Sean McVay era. For what it’s worth, I don’t believe this free agency is going to follow the usual history of most Rams off-seasons.

Deals before the tampering period

- Kevin Dotson (2024)

- Dante Fowler Jr. (2019)

- Eric Weddle (2019)

- Sam Shields (2018)

- LaMarcus Joyner (2018) - Franchise Tag

- Trumaine Johnson (2017) - Franchise Tag

This is a list of players mainly starters who have left or still do leave a big mark on the Rams football team. Kevin Dotson just joined this list as he agreed to a three-year deal right before free agency. Dante Fowler Jr. was also a trade acquisition the Rams aimed to bring back and they did, giving him a one-year deal an hour before the tampering period commenced.

Eric Weddle was a free agent open for business due to the fact he was released by the Ravens before even the tampering period. The Rams wasted no time adding the veteran safety. Sam Shields was another free agent who signed before all the chaos ensued and the Rams added him to their would-be NFC championship roster.

As for the last two names, the Rams franchise tagged both defensive backs Trumaine Johnson and LaMarcus Joyner back to back years. Johnson had already been tagged in 2016 but the Rams didn’t want to commit to a long-term deal and opted to tag him a second time. Both players left the following year but played their pivotal roles for the team.

Deals reported during the tampering period

- Brian Allen (2022)

- Joe Noteboom (2022)

- Leonard Floyd (2021)

- Nickell Robey-Coleman (2018)

As you can see the Rams aren’t normally quick to get things done as soon as the tampering period begins. They most recently signed Brian Allen and Joe Noteboom to long-term deals. Allen was just released from his this off-season and Noteboom is having his re-worked to try and make it fair for both parties. It’s safe to say neither deal went the way the Rams wanted it to.

The same cannot be said for the other two players on this list in Leonard Floyd and Nickell Robey-Coleman. Floyd signed a four-year deal worth $64 million in total. He was a key cog to the Rams pass rush and while they had to move on from him last year due to cap, he was definitely missed. As for Robey-Coleman he was a key component in the Wade Phillips defense and was the go-to slot corner for the NFC title team.

Deals on day one of free agency

- Leonard Floyd (2020)

- Andrew Whitworth (2020)

- Andrew Whitworth (2017)

- Robert Woods (2017)

Floyd signed initially the first time with the Rams on free agency day. It was a big of a surprise for some but he ended up turning his one-year prove-it deal into a long-term contract that gave him the opportunity to be part of a Super Bowl win.

As for the other three players, one of them is listed twice because Andrew Whitworth who was the cornerstone to the Rams ascension at left tackle, signed as a free agent in 2017 and then re-signed with the Rams on the same day in 2020. Robert Woods left the Bills who were a run-first team and carved out an imperative glue-guy role in the high-powered Rams offense. Both would end up winning Super Bowls.

Based on this list, you see a lot more contribution and production, it’s just very slim which goes to show you the Rams don’t go this route often.

Deals after day one of free agency

This is the most popular category for the Rams who typically find their bargains after the first wave of free agency. A big reason for this is because the Rams are not only good at finding value studs like Ahkello Witherspoon, DeMarcus Robinson, A’Shawn Robinson, Kayvon Webster among others but they also salvage their compensatory picks by avoiding most signings that would cancel out incoming compensatory picks from departed players.

The Rams have chosen to abide by the compensatory pick formula year in and year out but that should cease this year. With Dotson locked in, the Rams don’t have any impending free agents that are going to bring home big third-to-fourth round value. They might be lucky to get a fifth round compensatory pick with the way things are now.

The Rams did not have the cap space to pursue any big-name free agents last year. Most of the off-season they were dumping big named contributors. However, this off-season the feeling is a bit different. While the Rams could totally stick to their usual plans, I don’t expect them to do that this time around. They are closer to a return to the Super Bowl than maybe they even thought and will have to regroup and re-adjust to those findings.

- Ahkello Witherspoon (2023)

- DeMarcus Robinson (2023)

- Michael Hoecht (2023)

- Christian Rozeboom (2023)

- Duke Shelley (2023)

- Shaun Jolly (2023)

- Marquise Copeland (2023)

- Tyler Johnson (2023)

- Allen Robinson (2022)

- Bobby Wagner (2022)

- Brandon Powell (2022)

- John Wolford (2022)

- Travin Howard (2022)

- DeSean Jackson (2021)

- Johnny Mundt (2021)

- Travin Howard (2021)

- Anthony Levine (2021)

- Corey Bojorquez (2021)

- Darious Williams (2021)

- Kareem Orr (2021)

- A’Shawn Robinson (2020)

- Michael Brockers (2020)

- Austin Blythe (2020)

- Coleman Shelton (2020)

- Morgan Fox (2020)

- Clay Matthews (2019)

- Blake Bortles (2019)

- John Wolford (2019)

- Cory Littleton (2019)

- Malcolm Brown (2019)

- Bryce Hager (2019)

- Blake Countess (2019)

- Troy Hill (2019)

- Morgan Fox (2019)

- Dominique Hatfield (2019)

- Kevin Peterson (2019)

- KhaDarel Hodge (2019)

- JoJo Natson (2019)

- Ndamukong Suh (2018)

- Dominique Easley (2018)

- Ramik Wilson (2018)

- Troy Hill (2018)

- Malcolm Brown (2018)

- Sam Ficken (2018)

- Kayvon Webster (2017)

- John Sullivan (2017)

- Tyrunn Walker (2017)

- Lance Dunbar (2017)

- Connor Barwin (2017)

- Carlos Thompson (2017)

- Dan Orlovsky (2017)

- Matt Longacre (2017)

- Ethan Westbrooks (2017)

- Nickell Robey-Coleman (2017)

- Greg Zuerlein (2017)

Conclusion

I have to be honest with you this is just a fun compilation of data. The Rams have such a small sample size with signing guys on the first day of free agency and during the tampering period that it isn’t fair to say thats the correct way to do business. However, I don’t think history is going to affect this off-season. As for this year, I sense the Rams could go after some big ticket names.

The team values their picks more than years past and while that might not be enough to stop them from making trades, its worth noting they are interested in quite a few big-named free agents. As mentioned, the Rams are reportedly keeping an eye on the cornerback and edge defender market.

We have no idea for sure what the Rams will do but I wouldn’t be surprised if this was like the 2017 season all over again when the Rams identified some key big-named players and made sure to get them signed. Will the Rams sign players that equal the impact Andrew Whitworth and Robert Woods had? That’s asking a lot but I do expect a big name or two to end up signing with this team if not during the tampering period, on the first day of free agency. Buckle up folks, this should be a wild ride of an off-season. In more ways than you realize.