5 former Rams we’d like to see return in 2024

Boosting the pass rush?

No matter how you look at his career, OLB Dante Fowler Jr. played the best football in horns. In 2019, he put up 58 tackles, 11.5 quarterback sacks, 16 quarterback hits, and 16 tackles for a loss. He never came close to matching that output either before or since. After competing so effectively for the Rams in 2019, he signed with the Atlanta Falcons, where his performance suffered considerably.

Now, four years after his breakout season on the Rams defense, he is about to hit the free agency market again. He will be turning 30 this season, and that is typically the beginning of the end for edge rushers who have a history of moving from one team to another. But he has an option that could revitalize his career as well as put him back on the shopping list of other NFL teams.

The LA Rams are a rapidly rising team, one that simply needs a couple of pieces to make a serious run at competing in Super Bowl LIX. If Fowler returns to the team, he could help this defense rush opposing quarterbacks once more. Will he see double digit sacks again? Probably not. But even a solid pass rush from Fowler in a rotational role will help a great deal.

Another pass rusher who used to play for the LA Rams is OLB Leonard Floyd. While the finances were too difficult to manage keeping him on the team's payroll, he was the one player out of everyone who was shed in 2023 that I thought was a mistake to cut. He simply signed on with the Buffalo Bills and, without the Aaron Donald effect, put up 10.5 quarterback sacks and 19 quarterback hits there.

Imagine if the Rams had the benefit of that impressive pass rush?

While I do not think that the Rams and Floyd parted on the best of terms (he wanted to stay), he has already gone public in stating that he will go wherever the money is. In short, he is up for the highest bid. Will the Rams throw their hat into the ring?

They probably should think long and hard about doing so. While Floyd is about to turn 32, his production on the football field is still elite. He knows this team, the players, the coaches,and the defensive scheme. Best of all, he averaged just under 10 quarterback sacks per year in three seasons with the Rams. Yes, he can get after the quarterback still.

I, for one, would be thrilled if he returned to the team for 2024.