FRIDAY, 4:32pm: The Rams’ signing of Coples is official, as Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch tweets.
WEDNESDAY, 1:51pm: It will be a two-year contract with a base value of $6.5MM for Coples, according to Rand Getlin of the NFL Network (Twitter link), who adds that the deal can max out at $9.75MM.
1:37pm: The Rams are signing defensive end Quinton Coples, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com, who reports (via Twitter) that the two sides have agreed to terms on a two-year contract. Coples paid a visit to the Rams earlier this week, having previously met with the Panthers.
Coples, selected 16th overall in the 2012 draft, was cut by the Dolphins last month before his fifth-year option for the 2016 season became fully guaranteed. The veteran edge defender had previously spent most of his career with the Jets, before being claimed off waivers by Miami last fall.
Coples had his best year as a pro in 2014, but even that amounted to just 35 tackles and 6.5 sacks, modest totals for a first-round pass rusher. When Todd Bowles took over as the Jets’ head coach a year ago, Coples was further marginalized in New York. Due to his poor fit in Bowles’ defense – and perhaps an alleged incident on a team flight, though Bowles denied that – the 25-year-old was waived by the club in November.
A fresh start should benefit Coples, and the Rams look like a good fit for him. With Robert Quinn, William Hayes, Aaron Donald, and Michael Brockers penciled in as the starters up front, Los Angeles should have a formidable defensive line even if Coples doesn’t contribute much. The former first-round pick will likely be a better fit in the Rams’ 4-3 system than he was as a 3-4 outside linebacker, so we’ll see if he can muster a bounce-back season in 2016.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
I’m still bullish (perhaps unreasonably so) on his upside, and I like it from the Rams’ perspective, as they get a player who is at least comparable to Chris Long at this point in Long’s career for a fraction of what LA would have had to pay Long.