Which “bonus free agent” makes most sense for Rams?

The LA Rams are not expected to have a lot of spending money this year, but that won’t mean that they have no money either. Although overthecap only lists four teams who enter 2021 in a worse financial position than the Rams, restructuring Aaron Donald, Jalen Ramsey, and Robert Woods, plus re-working the deal of Matthew Stafford, should open up space for Les Snead to make moves.

Whether that is a good thing or a bad thing remains to be seen, but LA couldn’t have possibly pushed all-in for 2021 without at least a plan to continue improving before the season begins.

ESPN posted their top-50 free agents behind a paywall last month, but we can’t expect the Rams to spend a lot of time talking to those players anyway given their financial constraints. However, we should expect them to be poking around at all types of free agents, especially veterans who might be overlooked and who are willing to take a discount to come join Matthew Stafford for a push to host the Super Bowl in LA next year.

Thankfully, ESPN also posted 25 “bonus” free agents as well and I want to know which of them would be most appealing to Rams fans next year.

I removed any quarterbacks from the list. And while it is not outlandish to wonder if the Rams will do anything at tackle, I removed veteran tackles like Russell Okung because they wouldn’t make sense at this stage in their careers; why would LA add a player like Okung for someone who might not even be an upgrade and would cost them additional money? Finally, I just wanted to get the list down to 12 names, so I removed a few others that weren’t as intriguing.

• T.Y. Hilton, WR

Very well still capable of being a threat, especially with an upgraded offense.

• Rob Gronkowski, TE

Improbable that he leaves the Bucs, but if he were to put his services on the market he would be very popular.

• Mike Hilton, CB

Potential Troy Hill replacement in the slot. Missed four games with shoulder injury.

• Quinton Dunbar, CB

Highly rated by PFF in 2019, struggled with his new assignments in Seattle in 2020.

• Jayon Brown, LB

Local product who played at UCLA. Missed six games last season with dislocated/fractured elbow.

• Brian Poole, CB

Slot option, had season-ending knee surgery.

• K.J. Wright, LB

Spent his whole career as an off-ball linebacker in a 4-3, but could instantly be a reliable veteran presence that the middle of the defense lacked last season. Raheem Morris spent years working for Dan Quinn, who spent several years coaching K.J. Wright, so the bloodline between the Rams and Wright may not be as long as presumed.

• Sammy Watkins, WR

Perhaps it would be a strange reunion, but if Watkins has no designs on getting a lucrative deal, he’ll still fill a need for LA.

• David Andrews, C

Center upgrade.

• Denico Autry, Edge

Has quietly compiled 20 sacks and 32 QB hits over his last 40 games, dating back to the start of the 2018 season.

• Jason Verrett, CB

His first healthy season since 2015. Will Verrett get more than a one-year deal?

• Kenyan Drake, RB

Is it crazy to add a running back when you already have Cam Akers? Or is it crazy to not have a two-headed attack in the modern game? This is assuming you see Drake as an upgrade to Darrell Henderson.