Tight end Daniel Fells enters the offseason as the St. Louis Rams starting TE, after the free agent accepted the Rams contract offer. The talking paper was reported to be a $1.5 million, one-year deal.
The Rams needed a tight end after the Randy McMichael became the last of the heaviest Scott Linehan Era free agents to be unburdened by the team. Fells has been a useful presence in the lineup since joining the Rams during the 2008 season.
While I think there's some logic, informed gambling really, behind the decision to quote/unquote lowball Oshiomogho Atogwe (preview for a post tomorrow), I did not understand the decision to let Fells walk. The second round tender for a RFA was $1.6 million. Maybe they just wanted to see what the market value was before giving Fells a deal on the higher-end of the range they were prepared to go to with a contract offer. It sounds kind of like a dick move, but it makes sense from a business standpoint. I think Fells is a good player with some potential, but I don't think he's so good that the Rams failed to consider that they could probably find someone similar in free agency or a practice squad, where Fells himself came from. Cautiousness about his injury may have added motivation.