Brandon Lloyd Likes The Jeff Fisher Hire; Can It Sway Him To Stay In St. Louis?

Hiring a head coach like Jeff Fisher should have several added benefits for the St. Louis Rams ability to attract free agents. It might even be enough to help keep a big free agent in St. Louis, despite his stated preference to follow his former coach.

Brandon Lloyd just finished an appearance on the NFL Network expressing considerable happiness over the news that the Rams hired Jeff Fisher to be their new head coach. Could the hiring of Jeff Fisher be enough to keep Lloyd with the team?

Update by VT: Brandon Lloyd Video is right here

Wide receiver Brandon Lloyd was the best wide receiver the Rams added to their roster since parting ways with Torry Holt and Isaac Bruce. They had him for an 11 game stretch of the 2011 season, after swapping a fifth-round pick to Denver for him.

He'll be a free agent this year, and said that he would prefer to follow Josh McDaniels wherever he goes. Lloyd credits McDaniels for turning his career around, the only coach who knows how to use him, to paraphrase.

The Rams could sure stand to keep a receiver like Lloyd. They could use the franchise tag, but that will cost about $9.5 million in salary for 2012. They have $10 million in cap space, and even if they found more via creative cap management, it would still represent a potentially intrusive chuck of it.

The New England Patriots, McDaniels' new team, could use a receiver like Lloyd, but they also have to spend some money to hang onto Wes Welker. They're expected to franchise him, which leaves the question of whether or not they would have money for both receivers. It's not like they couldn't use a downfield threat like Lloyd, though.

Ultimately, it's Fisher's call which free agents the Rams will pursue.