Former Rams linebacker Mark Barron finds new home with Steelers

Former Los Angeles Rams linebacker Mark Barron has found a new home for the 2019 season with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Leading up to the start of free agency, the Los Angeles Rams knew one of the toughest decisions they would have to make involved Mark Barron, and whether it would be worth keeping the linebacker around for another year.

Unfortunately for the Rams, Barron’s production didn’t seem to match the money the linebacker was making from the five-year, $45 million deal struck back in 2016, which led to his recent release back at the beginning of March.

When looking at the money Los Angeles would save as a result of the release, it was easy to understand the decision to move on from Barron, although it seemed like only a matter of time before the linebacker found himself a home for the 2019 season.

Turns out, that new team for Barron is going to be the Pittsburgh Steelers, who could certainly use some help at the linebacker position.

Over the last two seasons, the fact that Barron only combined for 145 tackles with two sacks in 26 games is just one of a few reasons behind the decision by Los Angeles to move on from their former linebacker.

Most importantly, when looking at how Barron’s release resulted in some salary cap space freeing up, the Rams can hopefully use some of this money to help fill some of their other needs this offseason, whether it happens to be on offense or defense.

Similar to last offseason, linebacker was one of the main areas Los Angeles was hoping to improve on before training camp arrived, making the Barron decision come as a surprise.

But when looking at some of the available prospects that will be worth selecting in April once the draft officially gets underway, this will be well worth it for the Rams in the long run.

As for the Steelers, this team simply has nothing to lose bringing Barron on board at a price like that over two years since a fresh start on a new team may be what the veteran needs to get back on track.

At least for Los Angeles, no matter what happens with Barron in Pittsburgh, the Rams will still feel confident over making the right decision to move on after five years since from a financial stand point, the decision made the most sense.