LA Rams offer apparently not sweet enough to attract Honey Badger

When the off-season really began to cook, the LA Rams were the talk of the town. The Rams had already signed highly talented wide receiver Allen Robinson (a player I’ve admired since his college days at Penn State) and All-Pro veteran inside linebacker Bobby Wagner. But there was so much talk, unexpected and out of the ordinary rumors buzzing, that the LA Rams were in the mix for veteran CB Stephen Gilmore and S Tyrann Mathieu, a.k.a. Honey Badger.

Of course, the LA Rams are often linked to any talented and available veteran free agent. But they are not the type of team that leaves a stack of available salary cap stash lying around for random opportunities. So the rumored acquisition of either Gilmore or Mathieu or both was never a matter of the LA Rams sitting down to cut a check. Freeing up money is a significant project, an investment of time by multiple staff members, and re-negotiating contracts with players.

In short, it’s a lot more involved than a three-day NFL Draft. And to be honest, it would likely have been far more costly.

The LA Rams draft started out as a shopping list of sorts, with the needs highlighted by a precariously thin roster depth in the secondary, pass rush, and offensive linemen. But this was the draft, and the team was able to add two offensive linemen during the draft and pick up a potential steal at pass rusher.

But when it came to that secondary, holy frijole the LA Rams opened up with both barrels. Not only did the Rams draft four defensive backs, but during the draft, the team traded for former starting cornerback Troy Hill.  To be perfectly honest, I loved re-acquiring Hill and would have been content at that point.

Instead, the LA Rams salvoed the secondary. I mean, this was a job where the data analytics, scouts, and personnel departments truly outdid themselves.

• Fourth Round
• No. 142 – South Carolina St CB Decobie Durant
• Sixth Round
• No. 211 – UCLA S Quentin Lake
• No. 212 – Georgia CB Derion Kendrick
• Seventh Round
• No. 253 – Kansas State S Russ Yeast

Quite a haul, eh?

The Rams are facing the risk of losing some key contributors in the back end of the secondary as several contracts are due to expire. Per Spotrac.com, the Rams now face the loss of CB Troy Hill, CB David Long Jr., S Taylor Rapp, S Jake Gervase, and S Nick Scott in the 2023 NFL Free Agency market. From the results of the 2022 NFL Draft, the team does not appear to be setting aside a war chest of funds to re-sign many of them either.