5 LA Rams emergency LB signings from NFL Free Agency

ILB Burfict

One of the most intriguing, and yet risky, players at the linebacker position in NFL Free Agency is Vontaze Burfict, the player many remember as the Cincinnati Bengals player with anger management issues.  He is the linebacker who put up 171 tackles in one season.  He is also the player who was suspended on September 30, 2019, for the remainder of the 2019 season for repeated violation of player safety rules.

Burfict is a street-fighter. He occasionally lowers his head to punish a ball carrier and has repeatedly violated that safety rule. So the NFL suspended him for a full season. But when he plays within the rules, he is a very physical and dominating linebacker.  He stands 6-foot-1 and weighs a very stout 255-pounds.

Big player for a huge need

While he certainly has the size to pressure the quarterback, he was seldom used in that fashion. Burfict can pick off a pass, as he has five interceptions in his career. He can sack a quarterback, as he has 8.5 sacks in his career as well. But most of all, he can sniff out the ball carrier and bring him down with a bone-jarring thud.

Burfict is a high-risk, high-reward type of player. While he does not have off-field issues, he certainly does get caught up in football’s violent physical nature and takes it one step further than the rules allow.  Can the LA Rams harness that energy? If they could, Burfict would be incredibly valuable for the Rams right now. His last season with the Las Vegas Raiders resulted in just 191 defensive snaps for 18 tackles and one deflected pass.

Right now, the LA Rams are not in an ideal situation. As such, it would be foolish to try to find the ideal solution. There is no perfect fit in NFL Free Agency. Either the Rams must settle for a young linebacker with no experience, or a veteran linebacker with known flaws.  If there is a standard for ‘in case of emergency, break the glass and pull down handle’, this is the emergency.

The Rams need more men. Here are five who are available. Ideal? No. But we’ve covered this topic before, and many of the more ideal players have already signed elsewhere.  Time’s up.