Re: Not Excited by Floyd Signing: Well said Albany_Ram

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AlbaNY_Ram
For the past several years the Rams seem to have been drafting 'successors' to prepare to step in for guys approaching free agency. When that move pays off they let guys go via FA (e.g., Joyner, Littleton, Robey-Coleman, Trumaine Johnson), often getting com picks in return. To me that looks like a factor in the Floyd / JJ discussion.

I think the reason Floyd was signed and JJ wasn't is the Rams think they have guys in house who can play well at safety (Fuller, Scott, Reed, Rapp, Burgess, Gervase, Hughes) whereas the EDGE position is loaded with question marks (Obo, Lewis, Lawler, Moncrief, Hollins).

It's not that Floyd is necessarily better than JJ, it's that the drop off in talent from Floyd to the next man up is so much bigger than the drop of from JJ to his replacement.

The Rams front office clearly agreed they were going to be in the market for a proven veteran edge rusher vs relying on draft prospects. They rolled the dice went with Leonard Floyd.

They could've went in another direction with some of the other UFA edge rushers.

Let's take a look at the one of the other higher ranked UFA edge rusher contract signings.

Defensive end Carl Lawson's departure from Cincinnati has turned into a most lucrative exit.

Lawson and the New York Jets have agreed to terms on a three-year, $45 million deal with $30 million in guaranteed money, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported Monday. Lawson can earn a max of $47.4 million, Rapoport added.

Following four seasons with the Bengals, who selected him in the fourth round in 2017, Lawson hit the market as the No. 5 free agent and No. 4 pass rusher in Gregg Rosenthal's Top 101 free agents of 2021 and has hit upon a huge pay day in Gotham.

Lawson recorded 20 sacks over four seasons with the Bengals, including 5.5 last season, but his talents go beyond those numbers as his 64 pressures were fourth in the NFL, according to Pro Football Focus.

Lawson also wreaked havoc to the tune of 22 and 32 quarterback hits in each of the last two seasons, respectively.
[www.nfl.com]

I'm sure the Rams brass had many discussions at the round table about what free agent edge rushers would be worth their investment. They came to the conclusion that Floyd was the best bang for the buck for the 2021 Rams roster.