The Los Angeles Rams’ offseason is already off to a shaky start. Although the biggest rumors focus on a possible Todd Gurley trade, a number of defensive players have already moved on from the team.
Michael Brockers is expected to sign a three-year contract with the Baltimore Ravens while Cory Littleton is expected to join the Las Vegas Raiders and Dante Fowler Jr. is heading to the Atlanta Falcons. While those moves were out of the team’s hands, the Rams themselves decided it would be best if they moved on from cornerback Nickell Robey-Coleman, declining to pick up his option.
Robey-Coleman spent three years with the Rams after a four year stint with the Buffalo Bills. He made it to the playoffs with the Rams every year of his tenure until 2019, and shared his appreciation for the team in what he called a bittersweet departure, via Josina Anderson of ESPN:
Just got off the phone w/ Nickell Robey-Coleman: "It's bittersweet right now because I love the Rams…I don't really know why they moved on, but I'm grateful to be apart of something special. I was always in the playoffs w/ them, so no bad blood. Looking forward to a new start."
— ig: josinaanderson (@JosinaAnderson) March 17, 2020
Robey-Coleman certainly is taking this in stride, as new opportunities can always be daunting. For him especially, coming to the Rams was somewhat of a homecoming as he is a USC alumnus. Robey-Coleman attended high school in Florida, so perhaps a true homecoming could be in store for him in the future.
Of Robey-Coleman’s pair of playoff runs with the Rams, there was nothing more infamous than his late hit on New Orleans Saints receiver Tommylee Lewis during the 2019 NFC Championship Game. Pass interference was not called and the Rams’ win propelled them to the Super Bowl, where of course they lost to the New England Patriots. The NFL then decided to make pass interference challengable due to that play.
This past year, Robey-Coleman continued to come off the bench but saw plenty of playing time, as usual. He played in a career-high 64% of defensive snaps, finishing with seven passes defensed and 32 solo tackles.
Robey-Coleman’s departure is likely bittersweet for many Rams fans as well. The question marks on defense keep multiplying as the Rams get deeper and deeper into the offseason. Of course they still have Aaron Donald to hold things down and with the NFL Draft coming up, hopefully the team can add some strong pieces.
