Sean McVay should feel better about decision to move on from Mark Barron

Sean McVay and the Los Angeles Rams made the decision to release former linebacker Mark Barron back at the beginning of March.

As bad as it sounds, no one was really all that surprised earlier in March when the Los Angeles Rams made the decision to release Mark Barron before the former linebacker ended up joining the Pittsburgh Steelers.

When looking at the kind of contract Barron was under compared to his production, the Rams didn’t feel like they were getting their money’s worth with only two sacks and 145 combined tackles over the previous two seasons.

Rightfully so, Los Angeles wishes nothing but the best for Barron as he begins the next step of his NFL career in Pittsburgh. And while Sean McVay may feel at the moment the loss of Barron will be a tough to void to fill on defense, the Rams head coach should feel a little more confident about the team’s situation.

Dating back to last offseason, linebacker was one of the weaker areas for Los Angeles on the defensive side of the football, but the unit actually looks to be in better shape than they realize.

It was great to see the Rams convince Dante Fowler Jr. to return on a one-year deal, and the addition of a veteran like Clay Matthews should work wonders from a veteran experience on top of mentoring some of the younger players.

But if Los Angeles really wants to look at a major positive factor in regards to the departure of Barron, it should be that his absence will provide better opportunities from some of those younger defenders like Cory Littleton and Micah Kiser.

Whether it seems tough to realize at the moment or not, the decision to move on from Barron was the right one, and if they don’t realize now, the Rams will certainly realize later on, especially if some of the younger guys are stepping up.

Plus, when looking at all of the talent at the linebacker position in the upcoming NFL Draft, there’s a good chance that Los Angeles already has a few potential rookies in mind to add to the depth chart.

So while McVay may feel the void left by Barron will be difficult to fill, this really isn’t the case at all for the Rams, as the defense will be just fine without him.