LA Rams lose 2nd vet to NFL Free Agency, Littleton to Raiders

The LA Rams lose their second defensive star to NFL Free Agency, this time it’s ILB Cory Littleton to the Las Vegas Raiders.

The LA Rams are either very patient or very broke. On Monday, March 16, the team watched helplessly as the Baltimore Ravens reached an agreement to sign defensive lineman Michael Brockers to a three-year $30 million deal.  The very next day, on Tuesday,  March 17, the team once more must sit back and watch helplessly as the Las Vegas Raiders are now reported to have reached an agreement to sign on inside linebacker Cory Littleton to a three-year $36 million deal.

The market for Littleton was expected to be quite hot and competitive. The Green Bay Packers, New York Jets, New York Giants, Las Vegas Raiders and others were all reported to have serious interest in Littleton in 2020.

Cory Littleton was ranked among the top ten 2020 NFL Free Agents by Pro Football Focus, and for good reason. Littleton was not only an excellent tackling machine for the Rams, but he was one of the better pass defenders in the NFL at his position.  And that is punctuated from the fact that he was a UDFA signing by the Rams in 2016.

Our projections for Littleton anticipated his signing with the Green Bay Packers, and due to the heated interest of multiple NFL Teams, we had his contract terms at four-years and $50 million. While we did allow for a potential bidding war for Littleton which never happened, we did not expect the Rams would have much chance re-signing him.

In the end, the LA Rams 2020 Free Agency strategy of piling up 2021 compensatory picks appears to be making significant progress.  The fact that Littleton is heading for the Las Vegas Raiders on a $12 million/year deal should result in the Rams receiving a third-round compensatory draft pick in 2021.