The Los Angeles Rams have had a mixed bag of an offseason thus far. They’ve lost some key pieces on the offensive line, namely Andrew Whitworth (retirement) and Austin Corbett (free agency). They also let Von Miller walk to the Buffalo Bills after receiving a lucrative multi-year offer, creating a hole at the linebacker position.
The Rams are now looking for replacements, and have shared mutual interest with former Seattle Seahawks All-Pro linebacker Bobby Wagner. L.A. hosted Wagner on a visit last week, and it has been rumored that one of the best defensive players of the past decade would love to stay in the NFC West.
Although Miller and Wagner are different in play style, the money that could have been used to sign Miller can now go towards Wagner in what would be a slight identity shift for the Rams’ defense.
However, as things currently stand, the Rams are reportedly unwilling to meet Wagner’s asking price, according to Peter King of Pro Football Talk:
Rams have legitimate interest, but not at Wagner’s price—he’s thought to be asking for about $11 million on a one-year deal. The 32-year-old linebacker is still playing very well, and he’d be a luxury item for the Super Bowl champs. If he wants to stay in the same division as the team that dropped him, Seattle, Wagner will have to recalibrate his asking price down. He may just find another team—Baltimore? Dallas?—with more money available.
If the Rams are serious about adding Wagner to their defensive core of Aaron Donald and Jalen Ramsey, they may need to consider bumping up their offer closer to $11 million. They could also hope that wanting to play in L.A. — and the NFC West — makes Wagner take some sort of pay cut.
L.A. is dealing with a bit of salary cap trouble, especially as they work on a new contract for Donald. So just like Miller, Wagner could easily take more money elsewhere. But the Rams are hopeful that Wagner prefers to suit up for them, meaning they don’t have to reach quite as high of a number as other teams.
Wagner is one of the last major dominos to fall on the free-agent market, so the options will be slim after he signs. When the time comes for him to put pen to paper, if he chooses the Rams, it would be a game-changer in their quest to repeat as Super Bowl champions.
Compensatory draft picks are not playing role in Les Snead’s free agency decisions
For a team like the Rams, who have traded away nearly all of their top picks to land elite players, it might be wise to use the compensatory draft pick system to recoup some selections by letting free agents walk.
However, Les Snead doesn’t see things this way, saying that even if they have to pay a compensatory draft pick to land a star free agent, they’re not afraid to do so.
