Rams rumors: Edge rusher has been on FA shopping list all along

To no surprise, the LA Rams front office has been very aggressive in the early 'legal tampering,' period of the 2024 NFL Free Agency market. Even though the actual and official signing of players appears to be just over one day away, the team has been very busy. The team has reached contractual agreements with veteran left guard Jonah Jackson, and tight end Colby Parkinson, and now reuniting with former Rams defensive back Darious Williams.

Not bad in under 24 hours.

But the team has been far more active than we may know. You see, with so much going on in the opening hours, and days, of the NFL Free Agency market, only the highlights see the light of day. Multiple teams, including the Rams, may be earnestly pursuing a player, but the only reports that surface are the summary that occurs where an NFL team and a player reach an agreement that both sides are willing to sign on the dotted line.

Occasionally, rumored interest is reported about an NFL team or teams that were not successful in reaching an agreement with a player. When that happens, it's always a great idea to sit up and take notice.

Well, such a report about the Rams rumored interest in ex-Miami Dolphins outside lineback Andrew Van Ginkel surfaced recently. So what does that tell us?

Andrew van Ginkel is a young outside linebacker who was drafted in Round 5 of the 2019 NFL Draft. He has mixed success, but seemed to put it all together in 2023, playing in 17 games with 11 starts. He generated 69 tackles, 6.0 quarterback sacks, 19 quarterback hits, eight tackles for a loss, and one interception that became a pick six. He was even an effective pass defender, allowing only 17 of 25 passes targeting his receiver to find their mark (68 percent completion rate). He is about to turn 29 years old, which places him at a prime football age.

While the front office was unsuccessful in reaching an agreement with van Ginkel, the interest in doing so is very promising.

We know that Rams GM Les Snead addressed interest in bolstering the team's pass rush. But offseason comments can also take the form of misdirection to point competing teams in the wrong direction in terms of their true intentions.

These Rams rumors add more evidence that the team is shopping for edge rusher help. When they may find some remains to be seen.