Rams Free Agency: Alex Carrington signs one year deal

Kevin Hoffman-USA TODAY Sports

On Tuesday, the Rams announced the signing of the free agent defensive lineman Alex Carrington. The former Bill and third round pick adds a great layer of depth to our line. While not only being a clear upgrade to Matt Conrath and Jermelle Cudjo, he also has shown flashes of brilliance on special teams, blocking four field goals in 2012.

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While he had a solid start to his career in Buffalo, he found himself edged out of their already elite defensive line that just didn’t have room for him anymore. His quadron tear in week three that landed him on injured reserve early also didn’t help his chances of staying in Buffalo.

While the knee injury has significantly lowered interest in him, the Rams still had to duke it out with Pittsburgh, Cleveland and Oakland in order to sign him. His meeting the the Steelers reportedly went well, and he even passed their physical, but he still left without a contract. Then on Tuesday, Carrington visited the Rams and has signed to a one year contract for an unknown amount of money. This deal is a win for both sides, allowing the Rams to get out of the situation if needed, and allowing Carrington to redeem himself in the eyes of the league and earn a bigger paycheck in the future.

Carrington looks to be a rotational pass rusher that would fill in for Kendall Langford or Michael Brockers on certain blitz packages. While solid on run defense, Carrington excels in the pass rush, scoring a +9.6 pass rushing grade in 2012 according to Pro Football Focus. This makes him the 12th ranked pass rusher in the league that year.

The general opinion in Buffalo is that Carrington was a promising and very underrated player. Nobody is happy to see him go. If he can stay healthy, he would be a great rotational player and also add another layer to our special teams matrix.