NFL rumors are heating up as the day moves along. For the St. Louis Rams, however, things have been all but silent after announcing the acquisition of S Quintin Mikell yesterday afternoon. That silence may has since been broken with more whispers of the Rams' interest in a handful of linebackers. And the weakside might not be the only linebacker position the Rams address via free agency.
After trying multiple players on the weakside last year, none of them emerged to make a statement that the spot belonged to them. Now, the Rams are considering three names for that spot: Minnesota's Ben Leber, Carolina's Thomas Davis and Houston's Zac Diles. Diles is a new name on the list, and might be the best of the bunch. He's the youngest at 26, and was part of a group of Houston linebackers that stood out last year. Awareness and solid tackling stand as his strengths.
New Orleans' Scott Shanle is being considered for the strongside, according to a report today from Jim Thomas at the PD. Strongside? What? This would seem to indicate that the Rams have no plans to bring back Na'il Diggs, who was adequate if unspectacular there last year. He tore a pectoral muscle and spent his last four games on IR. Cutting Diggs would save the Rams $1.25 million in salary costs this year.
The thing is, the Rams already have a pretty good strongside backer on the roster: David Vobora. They tendered him an RFA offer, at the seventh-round level, so he's coming back this season. Obviously, Vobora could still be in the mix. The Rams would first have to sign Shanle, and even if they do, Vobora can compete in training camp and through the preseason.