Omar Speights must fight for playing time after latest Rams FA signing

There has been plenty of speculation surrounding the Los Angeles Rams over the status of their inside linebacker position. The team refrained from extending either ILB Christian Rozeboom or Jake Hummel. Instead, the team opted to sign a new veteran free agent, inside linebacker Nate Landman. The biggest challenge to adding Landman is the fact that his style of game is curiously similar to that of returning starting inside linebacker Omar Speights.

And we know how dysfunctional sending two inside linebackers to the football field with similar playing styles can be.

The Rams lost two and added one, with one free agent pending. Well, he's pending no more, as the team has agreed to terms with former starting inside linebacker Troy Reeder on a one-year deal:

Now comes the tough part, trying to make sense of it all. So here are some thoughts off the cuff:

(3) - The Rams roster is still shy of one ILB

If the Rams are comfortable with the number of inside linebackers carried on the roster in 2024, then the first assessment of this move lies in doing some simple math to determine how the Rams depth chart now stands. With the team losing two, adding one, and re-signing one, the Rams depth chart remains one player short at the inside linebacker position.

I would not rule out the Rams choosing an inside linebacker in the 2025 NFL Draft. But this move seems to indicate that the team is comfortable in avoiding any significant investment into the position this year. If the Rams do pull the trigger on a rookie ILB, the odds to that player joining the team in Round 6 or after the draft has increased substantially.

(2) -Troy Reeder is a likely starter in 2025

Let's not kid ourselves. However the Rams coaches seem to grade the performance of linebackers in training camp, Troy Reeder always seems to come out on top. Perhaps its the lack of hard hitting and tackling that gives him an edge. Perhaps it's the fact that he has been through so many Rams training camps that he knows where to be on almost every drill, snap, and scrimmage.

After years of hoping for a teammate to win the competition, I surrender. Call it reverse psychology, or just surrendering, but with the Rams current inside linebackers, I expect Troy Reeder to emerge as one of the starters in 2025, and to be the guy wearing the green dot.

I loved what Omar Speights showed in 2024. But the truth of the matter is that Christian Rozeboom and Troy Reeder's skillsets overlapped. Omar Speights was the unicorn in a hard-hitting run stuffer. But that brings me to the final observation:

(1) - Nate Landman will vie with Omar Speights for the other starting ILB role

When the Rams added Nate Landman to the roster, I was not satisfied with the fact that the Rams front office doubled down on a run-stuffing veteran who played a very similar style of defense to that of rookie Speights. The Rams' coaches and personnel executives know that their window of Super Bowl competition is open as long as the team can coax quarterback Matthew Stafford to perform at his best for as long as possible.

With a limited shelf life, the Rams are inclined to lean to veterans who have been there, done that. While that does not ensure that Landman is a starter in 2025, it absolutely puts in on the table. Despite Speights spirited effort last season, it could be Landman's ability to offer better pass defense that gets the nod to start.

The team must navigate the 2025 NFL Draft, and then round out the 90-man roster by stockpiling undrafted college free agents after the draft. So, more changes are coming. But for now, I suspect that the path to starting in 2025 just became significantly more difficult for Omar Speights

As always, thanks for reading.

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