Rams get last laugh as Bills poach 3rd pass rusher, but with a diabolical twist

Since the Los Angeles Rams won Super Bowl LVI, several things have been constants as far as the Rams roster. For openers, the team has slowly but consistently vying to remake the Rams roster, shedding veterans and highly compensated players and adding a host of passionate rookies from each season's NFL Draft.

Secondly, and Rams pass rusher who is not extended inevitably finds himself signing with the Buffalo Bills.

I'm not convinced that Buffalo Bills GM Brandon Beane made it a point to specifically target former Rams outside linebackers in reconstructing the Bills roster year after year. But the pattern of doing so is very difficult to brush off as a random occurrence. The Bills signed OLB Von Miller to a massive contract after the 2021 NFL season. When Miller was injured, the Bills signed OLB Leonard Floyd to a one year deal. And now after releasing Von Miller, the Bills have signed OLB Michael Hoecht.

That feels like more than random luck-of-the-draw.

Bills Brandon Beane blunders latest Rams OLB signing

In the NFL, it's always caveat emptor when shopping in the NFL Free Agency market. If it is not a trade, NFL teams are under no obligation to share intel, medical records, or pending NFL discipline, status of a player with another team. And so, Buffalo Bills GM Brandon Beane appears to have skipped a step or two in his vetting of Rams edge rusher Michael Hoecht.

Or he was so anxious to get that contract signed that he really did not care.

In any case, the Bills added veteran edge rusher Michael Hoecht and veteran DT Larry Ogunjobi to their roster, who are now facing six-game suspensions to start the 2025 NFL season. No matter how the rationalization is spun after the fact, adding two new players who will sit out a third of the 2025 NFL season seems like human error:

I was a bit confused over the fact that the very versatile Michael Hoecht was so easily pried away from the Rams roster this offseason. After all, Hoecht's ability to play in a two-point, three-point, and even four-point stance afforded DC Chris Shula's defense a wide range of formations and looks to confuse opposing offenses. And Shula showed quick mastery of using different looks to his advantage on defense.

Hoecht will not be back for the Rams in 2025. he won't even suit up for the first six games. Buffalo Bills GM Brandon Beane has had fun at the Rams expense by signing their former pass rushers. But he who laughs last, laughs best. And with Beane getting Hoecht and his six-game suspension to start 2025, I think I hear some muffled chortles already.

As always, thanks for reading.

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