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Random Ramsdom: March 7: Los Angeles Rams - Free Agency Awaits & Peyton Manning Retires

In a little over 48 hours, the new league year (and Free Agency) begins. The Rams will have plenty of work ahead of them, as they attempt to re-sign many of their 27 pending Free Agents, while at the same time looking at other players to possibly fill holes on the roster. Should be quite the week for excitement and intrigue in RamsWorld.

By Frank "Dubs" Dobozy
Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Twitter Talk

Not a great way to start off the new league year:

A great player and a great career. Many thanks to Mr. Manning for all the memories!!

Todd Gurley is the only RB I can see breaking ED's record in the foreseeable future:

Funny, but that's the kind of job security Sam Bradford thought HE had at this time last year:

Some things in life are just a little more important than football. Congrats to Chris Long and his family!:

2016 NFL Mock Draft: Walter Football

Walt updates his mock draft and adds a 5th round. The Rams select QB Paxton Lynch in the first round, TE Hunter Henry and DE Noah Spence in the second round, DT Maliek Collins in the third round and CB Kevon Seymour in the fourth round. Aside from the lack of a WR, a pretty decent draft for the Rams.

More details emerge on Tre Mason arrest: The NFL in L.A.

Vincent Bonsignore shares more details of Tre Mason's arrest on Saturday.

Peyton Manning to retire after Super Bowl finish to 18-year NFL career: denverbroncos.com

Peyton Manning and Tom Brady. The two greatest QB's of this generation.

Rams re-establishing L.A. foothold: NFL.com

Rams players and coaches gathered in Manhattan Beach on Friday for a two-hour orientation meeting regarding the logistics of the move to Los Angeles. They also met with the media for the first time officially as the Los Angeles Rams.

Planned Inglewood stadium is in the running for the Super Bowl in 2020/2021: Los Angeles Times

The Rams hosting (and participating) in the Super Bowl on their home turf in 2020? One can dream.

Rams' free agent focus should be on keeping their own: ESPN NFL Nation

With 27 pending Free Agents (11 UFA's, 6 RFA's and 10 ERFA's) the Rams will be hard-pressed to re-sign all of the players they may desire to retain, irrespective of the salary cap space available to them.

"He Set The Standard": Sports Illustrated - MMQB

Peter King takes us through the week that was in the NFL.

Draft Prospect Highlight Reel: DE - Shaq Lawson - Clemson

Case Keenum happy with the vote of confidence, even if just for now: The NFL In L.A.

As Sam Bradford learned last year, a vote of confidence from the Rams' brass may not mean a whole hell of a lot. As Vincent Bonsignore notes:

"But with the calendar having just turned to March and training camp still four months away and the Rams not exactly acting shy about the possibility of adding a quarterback or two, who knows how much longer "for now" lasts."

Rams make plans for putting down roots in Los Angeles area: Orange County Register

The Rams are doubtless the busiest team in the NFL. Aside from preparing for the opening of the new league year and free agency, they are in the midst of moving the franchise to Los Angeles. Looks like it's all being done in a careful, methodical manner.

Rams have free-agent work to do on DL: ESPN NFL Nation

They sure do. Eugene Sims, William Hayes and Nick Fairly are all eligible for Free Agency in a couple of days. The Rams already released Chris Long. The team has some work to do if it wants to once again have one of the best DL's in the league.

2016 NFL Draft Big Board: Bleacher Report

Matt Miller presents his port-combine rankings both by position and by means of a top 300 board.

The end is near for flawed QB's Griffin and Kaepernick: Sports Illustrated

Should the Rams kick the proverbial tires on RG3 and Colin Kaepernick? This analysis will make you think twice.

On This Day In Sports History

1996 - Magic Johnson becomes the 2nd NBA player to reach 10,000 career assists.

1857 - Major League Baseball decides nine innings constitutes an official game, not nine runs.

Stat Facts Of The Week: 2015 Failed Completions

Rk Quarterback Passes Comp. Failed FC% FC %ATT Rk ALEX Rk
1 Cam Newton 494 296 44 14.9% 8.9% 1 1.4 3
2 Carson Palmer 532 342 52 15.2% 9.8% 2 2.1 1
3 Jameis Winston 533 312 60 19.2% 11.3% 3 0.5 6
4 Blake Bortles 603 355 69 19.4% 11.4% 4 0.3 8
5 Brian Hoyer 369 224 45 20.1% 12.2% 5 0.5 7
6 Andy Dalton 386 255 52 20.4% 13.5% 9 -0.2 13
7 Brock Osweiler 275 170 35 20.6% 12.7% 7 0.0 12
8 Marcus Mariota 368 230 49 21.3% 13.3% 8 0.1 11
9 Russell Wilson 481 329 71 21.6% 14.8% 12 -0.5 17
10 Ben Roethlisberger 469 320 70 21.9% 14.9% 14 1.5 2
11 Matt Ryan 614 407 90 22.1% 14.7% 11 -1.2 24
12 Andrew Luck 291 162 36 22.2% 12.4% 6 0.6 5
13 Matthew Stafford 592 398 90 22.6% 15.2% 15 -2.4 35
14 Tom Brady 621 402 96 23.9% 15.5% 18 -1.2 27
15 Philip Rivers 661 438 105 24.0% 15.9% 21 -2.0 33
16 Jay Cutler 482 311 75 24.1% 15.6% 19 -0.3 15
17 Ryan Fitzpatrick 562 335 81 24.2% 14.4% 10 0.3 9
18 Matt Hasselbeck 257 157 38 24.2% 14.8% 13 -1.2 26
19 Eli Manning 617 387 98 25.3% 15.9% 20 -0.8 18
Rk Quarterback Passes Comp. Failed FC% FC %ATT Rk ALEX Rk
20 Derek Carr 572 350 91 26.0% 15.9% 22 -1.1 22
21 Drew Brees 626 429 113 26.3% 18.1% 27 -1.3 28
22 Johnny Manziel 222 129 34 26.4% 15.3% 17 -1.1 23
23 Kirk Cousins 543 379 100 26.4% 18.4% 29 -0.8 20
24 Ryan Mallett 242 136 37 27.2% 15.3% 16 -0.2 14
25 Aaron Rodgers 571 347 96 27.7% 16.8% 23 -0.8 19
26 Alex Smith 471 308 86 27.9% 18.3% 28 -2.4 36
27 Joe Flacco 409 266 76 28.6% 18.6% 30 -1.4 30
28 Ryan Tannehill 585 364 105 28.8% 17.9% 26 -0.5 16
29 Sam Bradford 531 346 100 28.9% 18.8% 31 -2.0 34
30 Josh McCown 292 186 55 29.6% 18.8% 32 -1.4 29
31 Tyrod Taylor 380 242 72 29.8% 18.9% 33 1.0 4
32 Peyton Manning 330 198 59 29.8% 17.9% 25 0.3 10
33 Colin Kaepernick 244 144 43 29.9% 17.6% 24 -0.8 21
34 Teddy Bridgewater 447 292 95 32.5% 21.3% 35 -1.6 32
35 Matt Cassel 202 119 39 32.8% 19.3% 34 -1.2 25
36 Blaine Gabbert 282 178 63 35.4% 22.3% 36 -2.6 37
37 Nick Foles 335 190 78 41.1% 23.3% 37 -1.5 31
- 2015 NFL Totals 18258 11534 2893 25.1% 15.8% - -0.6 -

From the February 18 Football Outsiders article "Failed Completions 2015" (with Nick Foles ranked 37th):

"The Super Bowl is over, which means it is time to start cranking out stat studies from the previous season. One of the quickest categories we can analyze from the play-by-play data is failed completions. These are any complete passes that fail to gain 45 percent of needed yards on first down; 60 percent on second down; or 100 percent on third or fourth down."

The Pressers

Jeff Fisher's First LA Press Conference: Los Angeles Rams Official Website
One-On-One with Jackie Slater: Los Angeles Rams Official Website
Case Keenum Press Conference: Los Angeles Rams Official Website
One-On-One with Kevin Demoff: Los Angeles Rams Official Website
One-On-One with Aaron Donald: Los Angeles Rams Official Website
One-On-One with John Hekker: Los Angeles Rams Official Website
Jeff Fisher Interview: therams.com

NFL Media's Steve Wyche talks with Coach Jeff Fisher after Friday's player meetings.

Lakers or Clippers?: TMZ

Well Mr. Gurley, welcome to TMZ and Hollywood!

2016 Free Agency: Top 99 Available Players: NFL.com

The Rams main focus should be on re-signing its own Free Agents. Nonetheless, there are some intriguing names on this list that could cheaply fill holes at center, tight end and wide receiver.

Fox 11 Report from the Rams Players Meetings: Rams News Now

Liz Habib reports from the Rams players meeting held on Friday in Manhattan Beach.

Plenty of work to be done for Rams in secondary: ESPN NFL Nation

Although the Rams did lock up Trumaine Johnson (at least for a year), there are still plenty of question marks left, as Janoris Jenkins, Cody Davis and Rodney McLeod all appear to be headed for Free Agency on Wednesday.

Should the Rams trade QB Nick Foles?: Ramblin' Fan

Easier said than done. Foles' base salary ($1.75M) and roster bonus ($6M) are both guaranteed. Which team (especially the cash strapped ones mentioned in the article) would take on that liability, especially given Foles' poor 2015 season (and 2014 season for that matter). Not likely to happen.

League softens its stance on the legal tampering period: Pro Football Talk

The pre-Free Agency tampering period has never made any sense to me. Why not just move up Free Agency a couple of days? Or better yet, how about making the rules clear and enforcing them?

Los Angeles Rams Weekly Salary "Re-Cap"

I will be publishing a complete salary cap update in the next day, reflecting the Rams' exact financial position heading into the opening day of Free Agency. Stay tuned!

Please visit Rams In Perspective for my regular updates on the Rams' salary cap position throughout the year.

Los Angeles Rams Current Roster, Depth Chart & Pending Free Agents

On March 9, 4pm ET, the Rams' roster will not look anywhere near the same as the accompanying roster/depth chart presents it. 27 players will become Free Agents on the 9th, as all 2015 contracts expire at that time. Who will the Rams attempt to re-sign? The Free Agent chart lists the 27 pending Free Agents and what they can expect to receive on average in their next contract.

C Tim Barnes Demetrius Rhaney Eric Kush
RG Jamon Brown Cody Wichmann Brian Folkerts
LG Rodger Saffold Garrett Reynolds David Arkin
RT Rob Havenstein Andrew Donnal
LT Greg Robinson Darrell Williams Isaiah Battle
TE Lance Kendricks Cory Harkey Justice Cunningham
WR Tavon Austin Stedman Bailey Isiah Ferguson Kain Colter
WR Kenny Britt Brian Quick Nick Toon
WR Wes Welker Bradley Marquez Deon Long
RB Tre Mason Benny Cunningham Malcolm Brown Zach Laskey
RB Todd Gurley Chase Reynolds Trey Watts
QB Case Keenum Nick Foles Sean Mannion
PK Greg Zuerlein
P John Hekker
LS Jake McQuaide
DT Aaron Donald Nick Fairley Louis Trinca-Pasat
DT Michael Brockers Ethan Westbrooks Doug Worthington
DE William Hayes Eugene Sims
DE Robert Quinn Matt Longacre
MLB Alec Ogletree Daren Bates Bryce Hager
OLB Mark Barron Zack Hodges
OLB Akeem Ayers Cameron Lynch Matthew Wells
CB Janoris Jenkins Marcus Roberson Eric Patterson Troy Hill
CB Trumaine Johnson E.J. Gaines Lamarcus Joyner
SS Tim McDonald Jr. Maurice Alexander
FS Rodney McLeod Cody Davis Christian Bryant
70 Players Total

Position Player FA Status Avg. Per Year
QB Case Keenum RFA 3,635,000
RB Benny Cunningham RFA 1,670,000
RB Chase Reynolds RFA 1,000,000
RB Malcolm Brown ERFA 450,000
TE Cory Harkey UFA 2,000,000
WR Brian Quick UFA 1,400,000
WR Wes Welker UFA 800,000
WR Nick Toon ERFA 600,000
C Tim Barnes UFA 800,000
OT Isaiah Battle ERFA 525,000
OL Eric Kush ERFA 675,000
OL Brian Folkerts RFA 700,000
K Greg Zuerlein UFA 2,750,000
DT Nick Fairley UFA 4,750,000
DT Doug Worthington ERFA 600,000
DT Louis Trinca-Pasat ERFA 525,000
DE Eugene Sims UFA 2,000,000
DE William Hayes UFA 6,000,000
DE Matt Longacre ERFA 525,000
OLB Daren Bates RFA 850,000
CB Janoris Jenkins UFA 10,000,000
CB Eric Patterson ERFA 525,000
CB Troy Hill ERFA 525,000
SS Mark Barron UFA 4,500,000
FS Rodney McLeod UFA 3,635,000
FS Christian Bryant ERFA 525,000
FS Cody Davis RFA 875,000
27 Players Projected Total 52,840,000

Blast From The Past: Classic Rock Monday: Guns 'N Roses - Rocket Queen

Please have a great Monday and a Ramtastic week!

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