The Jason Smith Dilema

by TheRamsFan on Feb 12, 2012 11:54 PM CST

Jason Smith, a name despised by us all. Arguably one of the bigger busts in Rams History. He also holds the key to this offseason. What the Rams do is entirely dependant on what they do with him this season. Will he be released or will he restructure his contract.

As many of you may know, we do not have all that much cap room this year, 10 million or so, next year is the year where we have the large amount of cap space. However we still have to resign Chris Long and Laurinitaus, but that's a topic for another post.

Jason Smith counts a for a good chunk of the money we have tied up, how much I am not sure, and frankly it doesnt really matter, as I have yet to see a number as to how much we would have availible if we did release him. Given that, if we did release him, we would save some money but not a whole lot.

Part of the problem i see with releasing him, is yes he sucked. But he wasn't the only bad offensive lineman. Bell and Brown were both also subpar. Releasing Jason Smith, leaves us 3 wholes on the line to fill. Now im not arguing he has shown much worth keeping. But there was a reason he was drafted 2nd overall. Id prefer that we restructure his contract than outright release him. If he is unwilling to do so, then we have to cut our losses.

If he is released, then I think its likely we draft Kalil at #2. Unless someone throws a bunch of picks at us, I think we will have to take Kalil to work on fixing our offensive line. Either that or pick up someone in FA, but I doubt we could get anyone good, without paying more than we are already paying Jason Smith.

If we do keep Jason Smith, we would be looking instead for a G and Center in the draft. It is possible that Smith could be moved to guard, but I feel like its more likely he stays at RT.

Now arguably this whole Jason Smith ordeal hinges more on how the front office feels about saffold at LT, but I still feel like Jason Smith is the key to what we do this offseason.

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I honestly think Saffold would turn into a stellar RT if given the chance to work into that roll. He doesn't have the physical attributes necessary to be an LT in my opinion.

Smith is someone the Rams need cut ties with, for his sake as much as theirs. His severe concussions over the last couple years is reason enough for him to think about stepping away from football. He’s lacked motivation and a love for the game since he first put on a Rams uniform.
I don’t hate the guy. Sometimes careers don’t work out. It is a cautionary tale though. I recently read that the Atlanta Falcons are thinking of cutting OT Sam Baker. A first round pick in 2008 out of USC, everyone thought he was a franchise OT… Oops!
When I look at the Top 3 OTs in the coming draft, I wonder which of them could take the Smith-Baker road? Will it be Kalil, Reiff or Martin, because odds are one of them won’t be what the team that drafts them hoped.
The biggest problem with Smith is the domino effect his pick has caused. If we draft Kalil, we’ll have spent 2 first round, and 1 second round picks trying to fill the LT position. The players that could have been chosen with these high draft choices marks well the reasons why the Rams never seem to improve and, relatively speaking, also shows we have time to be made up. The OT position has cost the Rams at least two years of forward growth, and no matter how good a coach Jeff Fisher is, I don’t see him being able to get back the time we’ve lost. It will take at least 2 years just to get us to even…

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by Douglas M on Feb 13, 2012 12:51 AM CST reply actions

We had the same problem with the DT position some years back.

by ZamRam on Feb 13, 2012 5:41 AM CST up reply actions

And DT still hasn't been completely addressed.

The team is so far away...yet so close...

by ramswo85 on Feb 13, 2012 12:15 PM CST up reply actions

Maybe we should go DT with our first pick after at least 1 trade

There are guys who are more likely sure things in that position this year than at OT. We could get a couple of FA O-linemen and concentrate on defense draft weekend. Gaithers and Nicks sound good. then DT, Konz, and OLB for our first 3 picks. With a WR FA also. Smith has to go though. If he could play interior line, then he could play OT. His career is probably over, but for waiting for him to make the right decision.

Wolf. Wolfgang Wolf

by dbcouver on Feb 13, 2012 4:20 PM CST up reply actions

can someone explain what that even means

the whole rodger saffold cant play LT but he’s perfect for RT. Im not disagreeing with the statement but like what the fuck how is that possible? what are the traits of LT’s that RT’s just dont have???

by Hibachi40 on Feb 14, 2012 5:33 PM CST up reply actions

blind side

gotta protect it. If their best pass rusher dominates your LT, and your QB is right handed, fumble-f’n-ruski….all….day…long. Not to mention potential for injuries. A RT would have the utmost importance if your QB is a lefty, for the same reason…

Maybe there’s more to it, but those are pretty basic reasons

by DCRamFan on Feb 14, 2012 5:37 PM CST up reply actions

JASON SMITH

The fact of the matter is, you should not pay over 33 million dollars to someone that cannot do the job.

by ZamRam on Feb 13, 2012 5:42 AM CST reply actions

Smiths 2012 salary & cap implications

I believe that Smith is due to earn $10m in 2012 but if the Rams cut him they would save $9m of that salary and thereby increase the 2012 cap space to $19m

by IrishRamsFan on Feb 13, 2012 7:40 AM CST reply actions

Its going to be 22.5 million

Because the salary cap that you ended the year on carries over to next year…we had 3.5 so that’s carries over. Plus if we cut brown and bell, we could easily have 27-30 million in cap space. But that would hurt us next year with penalties. Probably hurting our chances on resigning JL55 and Long

WE SUCK. THAT IS ALL.

by RAMSALLTHEWAY on Feb 13, 2012 7:48 AM CST via mobile up reply actions

thanks

i wasn’t aware of the roll over from 2011. I don’t see Bell and Brown being cut this year due to the 2013 cap penalties unless there’s a way to sign Long and JL to new deals this year.

Does anyone know what kind of cap space could be freed up from cutting Bartell and what penalties would apply to the 2013 cap from making this move?

by IrishRamsFan on Feb 14, 2012 7:43 AM CST up reply actions

This is why i said before.

give a guy a big contract when they haven’t played a snap in the nfl. in my opinon it’s always a big mistake. i know you have to pay these guys, but until they prove themselves for the first 3yrs then we’ll talk. these guys need to prove themselves before a big payday. earn your money man, because i haven’t seen alot of that this year. just a thought.

by crazy mike on Feb 13, 2012 10:42 AM CST reply actions