LA Rams Von Miller, Darious Williams in PFF’s 2022 Top 50 FAs

Sign a Free Agent

Well, the good news is that the 2022 NFL Free Agency Marker will be loaded with hopeful edge pass rushers, all hoping to cash in on a very hot market. But as we have seen with players who sign on the dotted line each season, getting the right outside linebacker at the right price is a real spin of the wheel.

While he didn’t perform well for the Atlanta Falcons when he signed with them in 2020, OLB Dante Fowler Jr. is back on the market, and his price will undoubtedly be rather depressed after his past two seasons. After putting up 11.5 quarterback sacks for the Rams in 2019, he has mustered only 7.5 quarterback sacks over the past two years. Not only that, but his 59 tackles over the past two seasons are on par with his 2019 production for the Rams.

Re-sign Fowler? It’s how the Rams roll right now

Would the Rams re-sign him? That may be a very hard sell if Raheem Morris remains at defensive coordinator. The Falcons were so pissed off with his performance that they renegotiated his three-year $45 million deal down to a 2022 one-year deal worth $6 million. The Rams could squeeze him for a one-year $5 million if they take him back. That would be a good deal for Fowler as well, who could rejuvenate NFL interest if he puts up a solid season.

A relatively inexpensive option would be to kick the tires on DE/OLB Vic Beasley. Beasley is a 6-foot-3 246-pound edge rusher who has to be in the right defensive scheme to be truly effective, and the LA Rams have that scheme. Beasley is a versatile option because he has flexed from his hand in the dirt, to playing upright, to putting his hand back into the dirt. In 2016, he was a dynamo, bringing down NFL quarterbacks 15.5 times. He hasn’t been close to that production since. He can play a rotational role for the Rams, and with the current roster, that may be all the team needs.  His last contract was for an NFL minimum with the Las Vegas Raiders in 2020.