Rams To Sign K Sam Ficken
The Rams are expected to sign kicker Sam Ficken to fill in for Greg Zuerlein, who injured his groin during warmups on Sunday, tweets Mike Garafolo of NFL.com (Twitter link).
Ficken, 25, is quite familiar with Los Angeles, as he took over for an injured Zuerlein at the tail end of the 2017 regular season and into the playoffs. He converted two-of-three field goals and four-of-five extra points during in two regular season contests before making both field goal attempts during the Rams’ postseason loss. Ficken was with the Rams during the summer but was waived during final cutdowns.
Zuerlein, of course, is one of the NFL’s best kickers, and earned both first-team All-Pro and Pro Bowl honors in 2017. He ranked third last season with a 95% field goal conversion rate, and made six-of-seven attempts from 50+ yards. Per Garafolo, it’s currently unclear how long Zuerlein will be sidelined, but the Rams don’t intend to place him on injured reserve, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com.
Barron Out For Week 2
- The Rams will be without starting linebacker Mark Barron for a second straight week per ProFootballTalk (Twitter link). It’s bad news for Los Angeles as their linebackers were shredded over the middle last week by tight end Jared Cook for 180 yards.
Rams’ Mark Barron, Matt Longacre Accept Pay Cuts
Two Rams defenders — linebacker Mark Barron and edge rusher Matt Longacre accepted pay cuts prior to the beginning of the regular season, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL.com (Twitter link). In total, the dual moves saved Los Angeles more than $2MM on its salary cap.
Barron, 28, didn’t sacrifice all that much money, as he took a pay reduction of just $500,001, per Pelissero. His base salary should now come in around $6.5MM, and that total is now fully guaranteed (just $2MM had previously been guaranteed). Barron, who underwent shoulder surgery during the offseason, didn’t play in Week 1 while recovering from an ankle issue. The safety-turned-linebacker is signed through the 2020 campaign, but doesn’t have any guaranteed money left on his deal after this current year.
It’s unclear how much Longacre gave up financially, but he had been scheduled to earn a base salary of $1.907MM after signing an original round restricted free agent tender in April. In 2017, Longacre played more defensive snaps than he had in the previous two seasons combined, and came through with 5.5 sacks and 15.5 pressures.
Prior to reworking Barron and Longacre’s contracts, the Rams were dead last with just $535K in available funds, per Over the Cap. They’ll still be in the bottom-three even after picking up an extra $2MM, but the club now has a bit more financial breathing room.
Rams Place WR Pharoh Cooper On IR
Sean McVay said All-Pro return man Pharoh Cooper would be out for “some time” after a Week 1 injury, and that absence will extend into at least Novemeber.
The Rams are placing Cooper on IR, per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). He won’t be able to return to game action for eight weeks. An ankle injury’s resulted in this transaction, and wideout JoJo Natson will take Cooper’s place on Los Angeles’ 53-man roster, per Rapoport (via Twitter).
Considering how valuable Cooper was to the Rams’ resurgence last season, he would make sense as an IR-return candidate. However, the star-studded team’s first-half health situation will help determine if Cooper comes back this season. He could return by Week 10.
Natson now stands as a return option, perhaps the frontrunner, for the Rams, per Lindsey Thiry of ESPN.com. Given his 5-foot-7, 153-pound stature, it doesn’t seem he’s much of a threat to contribute on offense. Natson came to camp with the Rams this summer and worked as a returner throughout camp but was not retained on L.A.’s active roster or practice squad at the preseason’s conclusion.
An Akron product, Natson served as the Jets’ kick returner and punt returner in seven games last season. Returning a kickoff and punt for a touchdown, Cooper glided to a Pro Bowl berth.
Rams' Pharoh Cooper Out A While
- The Rams are going to need a new return man. Pharoh Cooper suffered an ankle injury and will be out for “some time,” Lindsey Thiry of ESPN.com notes. Backup return man Michael Thomas is out for a few weeks, Sean McVay said, to prompt Los Angeles to seek alternative options. Cooper served as the Rams’ kick- and punt-return man last season, soaring to All-Pro honors.
NFL Workout Updates: 9/11/18
Today’s workout updates, with all links going to veteran NFL reporter Howard Balzer’s Twitter account unless otherwise noted:
Buffalo Bills
- DT Du’Vonta Lumpkin (link)
Carolina Panthers
- WRs Donteea Dye, Brandon Reilly (link)
Cleveland Browns
- RB Mark Thompson (per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com); TE Vince Mayle; G Spencer Drango; C Anthony Fabiano; LBs Richie Brown, Tegray Scales (per Caplan)
Green Bay Packers
- TEs Troy Mangen, Ethan Wolf; CBs Trevon Mathis, Linden Stephens (link)
Houston Texans
- OTs Christian DiLauro, Rees Odhiambo, David Sharpe; G Will Holden; DT Josh Banks; Ks Jon Brown, Sam Ficken, Kai Forbath; Ps Brad Nortman, Colton Schmidt, Justin Vogel; LS Zach Triner (link)
Jacksonville Jaguars
- FB Jalston Fowler; LBs Kennan Gilchrist, Nigel Harris, Jacob Pugh, Antwione Williams; DE Charles Tapper (link)
Los Angeles Rams
Miami Dolphins
- G Spencer Drango; C Anthony Fabiano; LBs Richie Brown, Tegray Scales; CB Herb Waters (link)
New York Jets
- LB Harvey Langi (link)
Seattle Seahawks
- LBs Tre’von Johnson, Emmanuel Smith (per Caplan)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- QBs Brogan Roback, Josh Woodrum; RBs Matthew Dayes, Akrum Wadley; WR Isaac Whitney; CBs Jeremy Boykins (link)
Washington Redskins
- QB Kyle Allen (per Wilson); WRs Jehu Chesson, Amba Etta-Tawo, Jordan Leslie, Devin Lucien, Ka’Raun White; LB Kennan Gilchrist (per Balzer)
Rams Would Have Traded Khalil Mack
We previously heard that the Rams had made a bid on Khalil Mack, but the Raiders rejected the offer because the picks were going to be too low. Tonight, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported (via Twitter) that Los Angeles ultimately offered Oakland a first- and third-round pick.
However, the Rams didn’t see much of a future with Mack, especially after handing Aaron Donald a lucrative $135MM extension. Schefter notes that the team would have turned around and traded the impending free agent (presumably after he inked his franchise tag) this offseason. The team was trying to go “all in” on the upcoming campaign, with the hope that they could pair Mack with Donald, Ndamukong Suh and Michael Brockers.
Minor NFL Transactions: 9/10/18
Here are today’s minor moves:
Atlanta Falcons
- Signed: S Keith Tandy
- Waived: LS Jeff Overbaugh, CB Deante Burton
Denver Broncos
- Waived: WR Isaiah McKenzie
Green Bay Packers
- Released from IR: CB Quinten Rollins, RB Devante Mays
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Signed: TE Jace Amaro
Los Angeles Rams
- Waived: OL Jamil Demby
Miami Dolphins
- Waived: TE Gavin Escobar
Minnesota Vikings
- Signed: OG Bryan Witzmann
- Placed on IR: OT Aviante Collins
New England Patriots
- Waived: WR Riley McCarron, WR Chad Hansen
- Placed on IR: RB Jeremy Hill (full story)
Rams Tried Trading For Khalil Mack
The Rams tried trading for Khalil Mack before he was ultimately dealt to the Bears, according to Gary Klein of the Los Angeles Times.
Rams COO Kevin Demoff said the team “offered a pretty aggressive package” but that the Raiders ultimately turned it down because they thought the Rams were “going to pick too low.” Jon Gruden made clear earlier this week that one of the primary concerns when trading Mack was getting picks from teams they thought would be drafting in the top half of the draft.
Acquiring Mack would’ve probably made the Rams the favorite to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl, and would’ve meant very low draft picks going back to Oakland. Still, it’s fun to envision a defense with Mack and Aaron Donald lining up next to each other.
With all the recent extensions the Rams have doled out, it’s unclear how they would’ve been able to make a Mack mega-deal fit into their salary cap, but apparently the team felt confident they’d be able to do it. The Rams under GM Les Snead’s leadership have been aggressive in free agency and in trades, and have seemingly been in on every big name player.
A Mack trade to the Rams would’ve made things especially interesting as the Rams play the Raiders in Week 1, on Monday Night Football.
Minor NFL Transactions: 9/5/18
Today’s minor moves:
Los Angeles Rams
- Waived: S Isaiah Johnson
New Orleans Saints
- Re-signed: OL Michael Ola
- Waived: RB Boston Scott
New York Giants
- Waived: RB Robert Martin
Washington Redskins
- Signed: LB Josh Keyes
- Placed on injured reserve: RB Byron Marshall