Can The St. Louis Rams afford to lose Joe Barksdale?

With all of the great things that the St. Louis Rams have done in the 2015 offseason, there is one weak spot, the offensive line. The Rams went out and drafted four offensive lineman, but one name remains a mystery, right tackle Joe Barksdale.

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In past years, the window for free agency additions counting toward the compensatory draft pick formula has closed on June 1. This year, for the first time, it is May 12, tomorrow.

Barksdale has met with several NFL teams over the course of the offseason including the Tennessee Titans and the Atlanta Falcons.

Barksdale visited with the Falcons this past week, but left without a contract. St. Louis remains his most likely landing spot, where Barksdale would compete with rookie Rob Havenstein for the starting right tackle job.

Barksdale was the 11th ranked run-blocking OT and would fit in nicely with an Atlanta offensive line that was graded as the 5th worst run blocking offensive online.

But, can the Rams really afford to let Barksdale walk with a line that is already in question heading into 2015?

When it comes down to it, money is always the reason as to what a player decides to do. Barksdale is looking in the 3-4 million dollar range which could keep the Rams from resigning him. And with the addition of Havenstein and Jamon Brown, it is looking more and more unlikely that the Rams resign him.

As of right now, the Rams have only two clear-cut starters. Tackle Greg Robinson and Rodger Saffold. But, the Rams will likely start 3rd year guard/center Barrett Jones. This leaves two major holes for the Rams to fill with what would likely be rookies. Nobody ever wants to start a rookie on the offensive line right away, especially two for that matter, so with Barkesdale still available, the Rams must do everything in their power to re-sign him.

Barkesdale has started 29 games over the last two seasons and would add a much-needed veteran presence to the Rams’ offensive line.

Do the Rams need to do everything they can to re-sign Barksdale?