LA Rams: 3 available free agents to contribute immediately

Outside linebacker

With the recent interview by the Cleveland Browns, Jadeveon Clowney may soon be off the market. If nothing else, he now is aware of his market value, and he will be using that knowledge to leverage his bargaining position against negotiations with future interested teams. Whatever chance the LA Rams had of grabbing him to restore his NFL reputation, may have passed them by.

So let’s revisit that strategy, which remains quite sound. The LA Rams simply need to find an NFL veteran outside linebacker who is eager to restore his market worth and who still has something left in his tank. That strongly resembles outside linebacker  Aldon Smith, who learned today that the Dallas Cowboys will not pursue re-signing him.

Aldon Smith may not be ‘the guy any longer, but he was force enough after a prolonged absence from the NFL, and he should be more NFL-ready this year as a result. He faded rather quickly on a Cowboys’ defense that could not get off the field.

After a year of cardio-vascular training, and with the opportunity to play a rotational role alongside Rams All-Pro defensive lineman Aaron Donald would be the ticket to a speedy return to among the hottest NFL free agents in 2022.  The Cowboys signed him to a one-year $2 million contract. That’s the most I would expect him to get, perhaps less, to join the Rams defense.