2016 NFL Free Agency: Los Angeles Rams Potential Free Agent Targets At Tight End, Defensive End, and Middle Linebacker

The Los Angeles Rams released three key veterans on Friday:  middle linebacker James Laurinaitis, defensive end Chris Long, and tight end Jared Cook.  All three were starters, which means they’ll now be in search of their replacements.

They’ll also, assuming it’s in their plans, need to re-sign a few free agents of their own at these positions.  At defensive end they’ve got Eugene Sims and William Hayes both set to hit free agency, as well as inside linebacker Daren Bates.  With the recent cuts, which freed up nearly $23M, one would assume they’d find a way to retain these guys, even if just for depth purposes.

The fact the remains, though, that they’ll either need to look towards free agency or the 2016 NFL Draft to backfill these positions.

Let’s start with who’s available in free agency - assuming they don’t get re-signed or franchise tagged - and what it might cost the Rams to sign them?

Tight Ends

Antonio Gates [35] Spotrac estimated market value of 2 years, $12.2M [$6.1M per]

• 2015 Stats - 56 Recs, 630 Yds, 5 TD's

Dwayne Allen [25]

• 2015 Stats - 16 Recs, 109 Yds, 1 TD

Ladarius Green [25]

• 2015 Stats - 37 Recs, 429 Yds, 4 TD's

Vernon Davis [32] Sportrac estimated market value of 3 years, $5.4M [$1.8M per]

• 2015 Stats - 38 Recs, 395 Yds, 0 TD's

Benjamin Watson [35]

• 2015 Stats - 74 Recs, 825 Yds, 6 TD's

Coby Fleener [25] Spotrac estimated market value of 4 years, $24M [$6M per]

• 2015 Stats - 54 Recs, 491 Yds, 3 TD's

Honorable Mentions:  Jermaine Gresham [27], Marcedes Lewis [31]
Former Rams:  Michael Hoomanawanui [27]

Defensive End

Muhammad Wilkerson [26] Spotrac estimated market value of 5 years, $67.4M [$13.4M per]

• 2015 Stats - 64 tackles, 12 sacks, 2 forced fumbles

Olivier Vernon [25] Spotrac estimated market value of 5 years, $48.2M [$9.6M per]

• 2015 Stats - 61 tackles, 7.5 sacks

Jason Pierre-Paul [27] Spotrac estimated market value of 5 years, $63.6M [$12.7M per]

• 2015 Stats [8 games] - 21 tackles, 1 sacks, 2 fumble recoveries

Malik Jackson [26] Spotrac estimated market value of 5 years, $53.5M [$10.7M per]