NFL Rumors: WR Jones to LA Rams. Others to follow.

The LA Rams made quite a coup when the team outbid about a half dozen or so active suitors for QB Matthew Stafford. Of course, there was a method to that madness. Perhaps the latest NFL Rumors hold the reason why the Rams were so adamant about drawing the line in the sand here and now.

Now comes word on Sunday, February 7, 2021, as NFL rumors begin to heat up around the league. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, not only has Detroit WR Marvin Jones let it be known he wants to be an LA Ram, but others might even follow.

I guess we can safely conclude that the signing and new presence of QB Matthew Stafford on the Rams means there’s more to LA’s draw than sunshine, bikinis, and palm trees. That shiny new bauble of a $6.5 billion stadium known as So-Fi certainly adds to the team’s appeal, too. Per Schefter, Detroit Lions WR Marvin Jones is about to hit free agency and is already discussing reuniting with his former quarterback in Los Angeles. And Schefter has even alluded to the idea that other players beyond Jones might follow in Stafford’s footsteps.

Schefter points out some obvious reasons for Jones to pursue a new football chapter with the Rams. Jones’ contract expires and he is all set to test the NFL Free Agency market. Jones grew up in Fontana, California, and later attended the University of California. Even before Stafford arrived, the Rams would certainly have been a team on his shortlist of preferred destinations. Now? The draw may be enough to give the Rams some leverage to sign Jones at a discounted price.

We anticipated this interest from Lions’ receivers with a recent article about three wide receivers who could unlock Stafford’s deep-ball. It seems we were spot on. Of course, right now the LA Rams haven’t enough free cap space to pay for his cab fare. So the Rams will need to work quickly to build a war chest for their 2021 offseason roster acquisitions.

It kinda makes sense. After you’ve played 10 years in the league, word gets around amongst players who have played with Stafford (or against Stafford)  know what’s up with him. about Stafford. They know he’s a tough hombre who stands tall in the pocket, won’t wilt under pressure, that he has a rifle arm and can spin it downfield with the best of them. In short, they know he can still ball out.

And we’ve all just witnessed from the Super Bowl what a little QB & WR familiarity can bring to the table.  Brady hit both his former Patriots WR mates  Rob Gronkowski and Antonio Brown for first-half TDs with Gronk hauling in two TD catches for TDs.

Seems familiarity breeds success.

And all that the Stafford-Jones connection did for Detroit last year was 76 catches out of 115 targets, 978 yards, and nine TDs, often of the aerial bobs-away variety, too. Now just add those numbers to the Rams offensive ledger and it’s a pretty picture, indeed.

Will Jones be willing to give the Rams a preferred destination discount to come to LA? Are the Rams interested enough in Jones to bring back a tandem that clicked so well in Detroit? They are already halfway there.