Grading latest 8 Rams free agency moves including Ahkello Witherspoon signing

(6) - DL Larrell Murchison | 1-year deal terms undisclosed

When it comes to the LA Rams' defense, the team has been restocking the roster with young players each year. By re-signing veteran defensive tackle Larrell Murchison, the team ensures that there is a level of continuity and consistency that remains on the defensive side of the football. Murchison is entering his sixth NFL season and fourth with the Rams. He was injured in 2024 and sat out the entirety of last season on Injured Reserve.

Still, Murchison flashed some serious potential in 2023. He saw modest action with 252 defensive snaps over 15 games and three starts. Over that period, he put up 16 tackles and a tackle for a loss. In 2022, he leveraged 53 defensive snaps into 2.0 quarterback sacks, two tackles for a loss, six tackles, and two quarterback hits. Murchison has made the most of a limited role in the defense.

With the exodus of NTs Neville Gallimore and Bobby Brown III, the team needed to re-sign Murchison for roster depth, if for no other reason. Murchison will be back to compete for his fifth NFL season. While his role may again be limited in terms of actual playing time on the defense, his presence is vital to ensure sufficient competition for playing time. Perhaps with the absence of Brown and Gallimore, Murchison may seize the opportunity to earn a larger rotational role on defense. Championship teams find contributors up and down the roster. I like this signing.

Grade for re-signing DL Larrell Murchison: B+

(7) - RB Ronnie Rivers | 1-year deal with undisclosed terms

I have to admit that I am personally a bit confused by the Rams re-signing RB Ronnie Rivers for 2025. While I agree that Rivers deserved to return based on his performance, he is undeniably similar to the other three running backs on the Rams roster. And with the team committed to feature running back Kyren Williams, still trying to unlock the potential of Blake Corum, and sitting on RB Cody Schrader, how much work is trule available in this offense until the Rams suffer injuries to the running back position?

The return of Rivers puts the Rams roster at four running backs before the 2025 NFL Draft, a draft loaded with running back talent. So are the Rams purposely constructing the roster to discourage the team from making the obvious selection of a rookie running back? Or is Rivers that invaluable to the team's 2025 offensive plans? The Rams roster currently boasts:

RB Cody Schrader | 5-foot-9 | 214 pounds | 1 carry | 3 yards | 0 TD
RB Ronnie Rivers | 5-foot-9 | 192 pounds | 22 carries | 99 yards | 0 TD
RB Blake Corum | 5-foot-8 | 210 pounds | 58 carries | 207 yards | 0 TD
RB Kyren Williams | 5-foot-9 | 202 pounds | 316 carries | 1,299 yards | 14 TDs

The team is stuck on the same basic size at the running back position. No running back is taller than 5-foot-9. No running back weighs more than 215 pounds. While neither dimension ensures success in the NFL, the fact that the Rams consistently stick with players who are so homogenous suggests that the team has ample replicable talents on the roster before bringing Ronnie Rivers back. Has the team already begun to second guess drafting RB Blake Corum so early in the 2024 NFL Draft?

I don't understand why Rivers is back beyond an experienced rusher for training camp. I like Rivers, and do see value in his presence as a potential backup for Kyren Williams. But with the team restoring the roster to four running backs with a loaded draft class on the horizon feels a bit like overkill.

Grade for re-signing RB Ronnie Rivers: B-

(8) - CB Ahkello Witherspoon | 1-year deal with undisclosed terms

The LA Rams' efforts to 'fix' the secondary at the cornerback have met with frustration ever since the team traded All-Pro cornerback Jalen Ramsey to the Miami Dolphins after the 2022 NFL season. While I won't go as far as to say that signing veteran cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon has solved the Rams' defensive back woes, he has been signed twice in two consecutive seasons to one-year deals.

On both occasions, he signed too late to have much benefit from OTAs, mini-camp, or training camp. But in both years, he earned a pivotal role in the starting secondary. In 2023, he started every game for the Rams at cornerback. In 2024, he appeared in 13 games and started five games, despite signing to the Rams practice squad just four days before the opening kickoff.

The front office finally signed Witherspoon to the roster early enough to afford him the full benefit of the team's offseason. While that may not seem like much, the secondary is one of the most dependent units of NFL football on solid communication, chemistry, and a real-time sense of what teammates are doing to ensure that each player responds correctly. Since Witherspoon has earned his playing time despite the odds being severely stacked against him in the past two seasons, it's a refreshing breath of air to see he won't have to play catch-up with his teammates in 2025.

Grade for re-signing CB Ahkello Witherspoon: A

All in all, the Rams front office has done remarkably well. Admittedly, grading individual signings this early invites a number of problems, not the least of which is trying to judge the final image of a jigsaw puzzle based on the quality of individual pieces. The Rams roster already has rounded out into shape to afford GM Les Snead ample opportunity to trade up, back, or stand pat in the upcoming 2025 NFL draft, and to target almost any position he sees the most value throughout the three-day event.

I will continue to examine specific positional depth charts, despite the fact that the Rams roster is still under construtction. By doing so, hopefully it will help you anticipate how the team will approach the draft, and understand why the team selects specific players.

Most of all, thank you for reading.