Another LA Rams gone: Panthers rush to sign Edge Morgan Fox

The LA Rams 2020 defense had a knack for getting to the quarterback in 2020. Now the Carolina Panthers hope that knack comes with one of the players, DE Morgan Fox, that contributed to that ability. It comes as no surprise that the NFL Free Agency market is snatching up virtually any and all LA Rams defensive players.

They all helped to contribute to the number one defense in the league.

What is surprising is how little pull the many LA Rams defensive coaches seem to have with each of their respective new teams. The Rams lost defensive coordinator Brandon Staley to LA Chargers, linebacker coach Joe Barry to the Green Bay Packers, cornerbacks coach Aubrey Pleasant to the Detroit Lions.

So far, no Rams’ free agent has been signed by any of those teams. Go figure. Speaking of figures, what kind of deal was able to get a solid defensive end who is certainly on the rise? Well not as much as you might think it seems.

So there is the next LA Rams defender off the market. Now, just defensive back Troy Hill remains unsigned.

Why the Carolina Panthers will love Morgan Fox

The Carolina Panthers hit the reset button in 2020, and are now looking to add promising players coming off their rookie contracts on a positive slope. They must have done their homework because that is exactly what they’ll get in Morgan Fox. Unlike Samson Ebukam‘s two-year deal for $12 million, the Panthers get a more productive Fox at a fraction of the cost.

The Panthers’ defense is a 4-3, and they have had mixed results. Players who seem to rush the quarterback well do not stand up to the run, and players who seem to hold their ground on running plays do not seem to get to the quarterback  But Morgan Fox, coming out of a 3-4 defensive front, will be solid at both. In fact, the even front could amplify his ability to get after both the running back and the quarterback.

Fox is a constant source of quarterback pressure.  In just 403 defensive snaps in 2020, he put up 6.0 quarterback sacks, nine quarterback hits, 13 pressures, and even recorded a sack in the NFL Playoffs. All of that happened on just 39 percent of the defense.  Double the snaps and the Panthers are looking at a double-digit sack-master at the cost of just a smidge over $4 million per season. Whoa.

Versatile, plug-n-play defender

While he has remained on the outside of the Rams 3-4 front, he absolutely has the size and power to slide inside on the Panthers’ even-man front. In fact, another characteristic that the Panthers will love about Morgan Fox is his ability to line up anywhere on the defensive front and be very effective.

With the arrival of Fox, the Carolina 23rd-ranked pass defense (in QB sacks) now has the potential to rank in the mid-teens in that department. And in the process, their 20th-ranked rush defense should show improvement as well. Will the Rams be able to compensate for the loss of both Fox and veteran Michael Brockers? That is a topic for another day.

I love the Brockers fit on the Lions and the Malcolm Brown fit on the Miami Dolphins. I have to rank this one up there as well. It could be that the play of Morgan Fox strongly benefitted from playing next to Aaron Donald, but the Panthers appear to have baked that into this contract price. I think that Fox could earn a start there, and show even more progress on the football field.