Rams sign 14 players to futures contracts

As players, coaches, and fans basked in the afterglow of winning the Super Bowl, staff at the Los Angeles Rams headquarters were still taking care of league business. On Tuesday, LA announced the signing of 14 players to reserve/futures contracts.

• WR Landen Akers

Guy must be a gamer. His claim to fame in college was as a special teams demon. Saw 25 snaps on ST’s in two games. Good speed.

• T Chandler Brewer

Entering his fourth year as a Ram. Career practice squad player who sat out 2020 due to Covid-19. Played up and down the line in preseason games.

• DB Antoine Brooks Jr.

Aggressive, hard hitting special teams contributor. Was active for last eight games of regular season and played in 62% of special teams snaps.

• DE Earnest Brown IV

Drafted at #174 of the 5th round. Spent the season on PS. Long armed, developmental project with potential who needs to work on strength and technique.

Photo by Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images

• DB Tyler Hall

Nickelback who has history with Defensive Coordinator Raheem Morris. Played 41 ST snaps in 2021.

• RB Javian Hawkins

True speed guy who a huge playmaker in college. I’m a fan of this guy, would love to see him get some packages designed for his skillset.

• G Jeremiah Kolone

Been waived and re-signed many times since originally joining Rams in 2018. Another versatile piece who has played all five offensive line roles.

• WR J.J. Koski

Fast guy who can also return kicks. Got a chance to win the returner job, but looked shaky and not ready for the big stage.

• TE Kyle Markway

Doesn’t fit the Rams TE profile, known more as a blocker than receiver. Over last season he was signed and released five times.

• DB Kareem Orr

Versatile safety/cornerback who can tackle. Saw 40 defensive snaps in two games, but was mostly a PS player.

• T Max Pircher

The big, Italian kid from the international intern program.

• DE Jonah Williams

A big, athletic guy who has spent a couple seasons on PS. Started 2021 on active roster and played 96 defensive snaps in eight games.

Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images

• T Adrian Ealy

This is Ealy’s second go-round with LA. Added to the roster at the the height of the Rams Covid19 struggles and released a week later. Size, length and motor are strong points.

• C Drake Jackson

Smallish center, under 300 lbs. coming out of college, with nimble feet who might be able to develop in the Rams zone scheme. His size probably limits him to center.

Pros and cons

A reserve/future contact is a one year. non-guaranteed contract usually offered to young players who are not any team’s closing active roster. The future part of these contracts comes into play is that they do not count against the salary cap because they do not become valid until March 16, the official start of the NFL 2022 League year.

Most teams try to re-sign players off their practice squads that they want to continue developing or deem worthy of an invitation to the upcoming training periods. This is where the reserve part of contract comes into effect. Normally, a player on the practice squad can be poached by any opposing team who is willing to sign them to an active roster contract. These contracts lock in the signing player and allow the team a secure group of bodies for training camp.

What does it mean for the Rams roster?

The signings bring the number of players the Rams currently have under contract to 59. According to NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein, LA is projected to have eight draft picks.

• 3rd (1) comp for Brad Holmes
• 4th (1) comp for John Johnson
• 5th (1) their own
• 6th (4) their own and 3 comps for Samson Ebukam, Gerald Everett, and Troy Hill
• 7th (1) from Miami for Aqib Talib

That leaves 23 more players needing to be signed by March 16th and fit under the reported salary cap of $208.2 mil in 2022.

Will the Rams re-sign their own free agents, other team castoffs, or undrafted free agents to fill the last spots on the roster?