You know it's a slow day when you're getting a post about Dane Looker. And what exactly do we want to say about Dane Looker?
Look, you and I both know the Rams don't have a lot of experience at WR - note I said they lack experience not talent - the two guys on the depth chart behind Donnie Avery - Keenan Burton and the newly acquired Laurent Robinson - carry big question marks. Now, teams have gone far with lesser receiving corps, but there's usually always some experience on the roster...that and an unstoppable defense and/or running game. There's not exactly anyone on the free agent market who'd be considered elite, to say the least, but there is plenty of experience, and some names the Rams could be considering. From a Pro Football Weekly item last week:
...we hear it’s quite possible the Rams might decide to re-up with veteran free agent Dane Looker after the draft if he's still available. Consistent and reliable, Looker has managed to stick around because of his savvy, versatility and special-teams ability. After the draft, we hear it’s also possible that the Rams might consider adding veteran free-agent WR Amani Toomer, whom Rams head coach Steve Spagnuolo is familiar with from their time spent together with the Giants, or perhaps Ike Hilliard, a former Giant who was released by Tampa Bay.
They could do a lot worse than Toomer or Hillard, who would just be one-year hands hired to work the ranch as the Rams rebuild. Football Outsiders even suggested Philly WR Hank Baskett, a restricted free agent the Eagles tendered at a second round level. That seems unlikely until you consider that the Eagles are interested in some big names like Ocho Cinco and earlier talk about being a player for Anquan Boldin. If that happens, they might be willing to let Baskett walk since they also have Kevin Curtis, DeSean Jackson and Reggie Brown on the roster, unless they see his productivity from last season as a sign of things to come.
Baskett would be a nice get, more of a long-term solution at 26 than Toomer or Hillard. I also like his blocking ability. The Rams have decent blocking WRs in Burton and Robinson, but, again, we come back to the injury question marks surrounding those two. It seems pretty unlikely that Baskett will be a Ram.
And so we're back to Looker. He's a known commodity. He can block, play special teams (he's a fine holder). Don't overlook the blocking thing; one of Robinson or Burton is likely to be healthy at any point in the season but just one blocker among the WRs isn't enough. Looker wouldn't be much of a cap hit either. He's not your playmaker to complement Avery, but seems like a useful enough part to have around, as Tackle Box mentioned in his Being Billy Devaney series.
Bringing Looker back makes sense and gives the team some much needed experience at WR, but is that going to be enough?