LA Rams free agent kicker Greg Zuerlein rejoining Coach Fassel at Dallas

The LA Rams lose another special teams player to the Dallas Cowboys. K Greg Zuerlein will rejoin Coach Fassel and sign with the Dallas

The LA Rams have been one emotional roller coaster so far in the 2020 NFL Free Agency. It seems as though the team is doing the least possible moves in signing free agents. And that seems to be an odd strategy.

Of course, it paid off when the team was right there at the moment news broke over the Baltimore Ravens declining to sign Rams defensive tackle Michael Brockers over a flagged medical exam. Brockers had suffered a high ankle sprain at the end of the 2019 season. The injury did not require surgery, but healing an injury of that nature takes time. Apparently, not enough time had lapsed as the Ravens flagged his ankle.

The Rams were more than happy to reclaim Brockers and re-signed him to a deal similar to one the Ravens had offered him.

Now the LA Rams will lose another long-time veteran. This time it’s kicker Greg Zuerlein. And the suitor is not surprising, as it’s the Dallas Cowboys, the same team which had poached the Rams’ special teams coaching staff

Zuerlein has been a hero of the Rams for years. he has been very reliable in the past. in 2016 and 2017, he was one of the most accurate kickers in the NFL.

But as is the career of most NFL kickers, the accuracy comes in waves. In 2019, the accuracy was not as good, and his 40-49 yards range may have cost the team a win or two. We had suspicions that the Rams would not re-sign Zuerlein.  Were it to happen, it would have happened quickly.  The Rams may be shopping the ranks of undrafted free agents for a new kicker.  The team would likely sign multiple rookies and have an open competition to see which player the would keep.

The team also has veteran kickers to consider.  The Tenessee Titans just released kicker Ryan Succop might be worth kicking the tires on.

The Cowboys had Zuerlein on their list the moment they poached special teams coordinator John Fassel.  Of course, the Rams then signed John Bonamego as their new special teams’ coordinator. He will likely have a lot to say about who the Rams next kicker will be. Based on his track record in the NFL, the Rams are in excellent hands.

The LA Rams lost a potential fourth-round compensatory pick when the Ravens declined to sign Brockers. Zuerlein will likely restore another comp pick to the Rams, albeit this one likely to be a seventh-round pick.  Zuerlein’s deal appears to be three years at $7.5 million, or a $2.5 million average per year.