Rams To Sign RB Lance Dunbar
The Rams and running back Lance Dunbar agreed to a one-year deal, a source told Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (on Twitter). The contract could pay him up to $3MM, Caplan adds. It’s presently unclear how much Dunbar gets in guarantees and base pay. 
Dunbar was third on the Cowboys’ depth chart last season behind star Ezekiel Elliott and veteran Alfred Morris. Morris remains under contract in Dallas, so there wasn’t much of an opportunity for Dunbar to get playing time there in 2017. The Cowboys either didn’t make a strong effort to retain Dunbar or, at minimum, any push to keep him didn’t make it to the press.
In 2016, Dunbar had just nine carries and 16 receptions. Now, in sunny Los Angeles, he could be the clear-cut No. 2 running back, depending on what the team does between now and training camp. Todd Gurley will be the starter but the only other tailbacks on the roster are former undrafted free agents Malcolm Brown and Aaron Green. With his pass-catching skill, he could play a role similar to Chris Thompson in Sean McVay‘s former Redskins offense.
Connor Barwin To Visit Rams
Connor Barwin will meet with the Rams on Wednesday, a person with knowledge of the situation tells Gary Klein of the Los Angeles Times (on Twitter). This marks the veteran’s second free agent trip since being released by the Eagles earlier this month. Earlier this week, he met with the Bengals, but he left Cincinnati without a deal. 
The Rams will be running a 3-4 scheme under new defensive coordinator Wade Phillips, and that could be a good fit for Barwin. Days ago, the Rams jettisoned William Hayes to the Dolphins because he was not an ideal fit for their gameplan. Barwin could come in and start opposite of Aaron Donald with Michael Brockers in the middle.
The 30-year-old was in the midst of a six-year, $36MM contract when the Eagles released him last week. Last season, Barwin racked up 34 tackles, five sacks, and one forced fumble. He also appeared in every single regular season game for the sixth consecutive season. Those numbers all sound good, but the advanced metrics aren’t so high on him. Barwin graded out as just the No. 100 edge defender in the NFL last year out of 109 qualified players, per Pro Football Focus. He had respectable overall scores with Philly in 2013 and 2014 (76.2, 78.5), but he has dipped in the last two seasons with scores of 50.8 and 42.1.
Rams Hosting RB Lance Dunbar On Visit
Free agent running back Lance Dunbar is visiting the Rams today, a source tells ESPN.com’s Adam Caplan (on Twitter). This is Dunbar’s first known visit since free agency started six days ago. 
Dunbar was buried on the Cowboys’ depth chart last season and had just nine carries on the year with one score. He added 16 catches for 122 yards. Dunbar was never a starter in his five years for the Cowboys, but that was the least amount of burn he ever received in a healthy season. Even when he played in only nine games in 2013, he still managed to get 30 carries (he averaged 5.0 yards per carry in that limited sample).
The Rams could use some depth behind Todd Gurley. Currently, he has Malcolm Brown and Aaron Green – a pair of former undrafted free agents – as his understudies. Dallas’ level of interest in a reunion is unclear, but if Dunbar were to return, he would be stuck behind Ezekiel Elliott and Alfred Morris.
Rams Sign Andrew East
- The Rams have signed long snapper Andrew East, per Field Yates of ESPN.com. East, 25, went undrafted in 2015 and has since spent time with Oakland, Seattle, and Kansas City. As Yates notes, Los Angeles already has a Pro Bowl long snapper in Jake McQuaide, so East will merely be an emergency option.
Rams Re-Sign K Greg Zuerlein
The Rams have re-signed Greg Zuerlein, according to a team announcement. The kicker gets a three-year deal to remain in L.A. Young GZ will average $2.25MM per year on the new pact, Mike Garafolo of NFL.com (on Twitter).
Zuerlein is entering his sixth season with the Rams. After a rough 2015 in which he made only 66.7% of his attempted field goals, he bounced back in 2016 and converted on 86.4% of his tries, though he only had 22 attempts overall. Zuerlein also converted on all 23 of his extra point opportunities, no small feat given the recently-extended range. In 2015, he missed two of the longer distance XP attempts.
Amongst all kickers with eight or more games played, Zuerlein’s 86.4% field goal percentage was good for ninth-best in the league.
Rams Sign Bills C Ryan Groy To Offer Sheet
The Rams made a move late tonight to potentially add a starting center, signing Bills RFA Ryan Groy to an offer sheet, Mike Rodak and Adam Caplan of ESPN.com report. It’s a two-year offer sheet worth $5MM with $3.5MM guaranteed on March 21st, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. Groy inked the deal, as Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (on Twitter). The ball is now in Buffalo’s court.
The Bills gave Groy and original-round tender and would not be entitled to draft compensation if they elect not to match since Groy was undrafted. Buffalo has five days to match the offer sheet. Groy was drawing interest as an RFA last week from teams who believe he could start at center or guard for them.
Groy would be expected to become the Rams’ starting center, a status he does not presently occupy with the Bills. Currently, the Rams house fourth-year player Demetrius Rhaney as their only pure center.
Eric Wood is the Bills’ starting center, although after a season-ending injury in November, Wood ceded his starting spot to Groy for the Bills’ final seven games last season. He’d previously started just three in his three-year career. Wood, though, is entering a contract year and will turn 31 on Saturday. Groy will turn 27 in September.
The Bills saw an RFA decision last year come back to bite them in allowing Chris Hogan to sign with the Patriots. Groy did grade out better than Wood in the opinion of Pro Football Focus last season, but Wood has started 104 games for the Bills since 2009 and made the Pro Bowl in 2015. So, it will be interesting to see how the Bills proceed here since Groy, too, is entering a contract year.
NFC West Rumors: Lang, Ware, 49ers, Rams
T.J. Lang saw the Lions change his mind at the last minute and possibly changing the fortunes of the team that beat Detroit in the wild-card round. The ninth-year guard was “99 percent” sure he was going to sign with the Seahawks after the sides’ Saturday summit. But the Lions improved their offer and ended up signing the Michigan native to a three-year, $28.5MM deal.
“I didn’t know Detroit was coming back with a counter-offer,” Lang said in an interview with 97.1-FM (via Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press). “When I left Seattle I was about 99 percent sure I was flying back there to sign a contract and Detroit stepped up and things changed pretty quick.”
Lang’s former team did not offer him as much as the Lions did. The Packers proposed a three-year deal worth $21.5MM. While the Lions pact includes $19MM in guarantees, the Packers’ offer housed just $6.5MM guaranteed. Opining on the Packers’ usual free agency-phobic tendencies, Lang said Green Bay’s offer made this decision easier.
“I think just throughout the years they were able to get some guys back in town because they used the whole, we’re good, we’re competitive, we compete for championships every year. Do you want to play with the best quarterback in the NFL-type thing, you’re going to have to take a little less money, and I think it just kind of wore some guys out the last couple years and watching guys leave,” Lang said during the radio interview.
Here’s more from the NFC West.
- DeMarcus Ware‘s Rams visit did include discussions with Wade Phillips and new HC Sean McVay, Alden Gonzalez of ESPN.com reports. But he adds the sides did not get into serious talks about the now-retired pass-rusher joining the Rams.
- UFA tackle Byron Bell visited the 49ers this weekend, ESPN.com’s Field Yates tweets. He did not play during the 2016 after dislocating his ankle on the first day of Titans OTAs last summer. Bell proved versatile for the 2015 Titans, however, starting 16 games but at three different spots — eight at right tackle, seven at left guard and one at left tackle. The 28-year-old Bell has been a career-long starter, serving as the Panthers’ primary left tackle from 2011-14.
- Kyle Juszczyk received an even better offer than the fullback-record deal (four years, $21MM) he signed with the 49ers, Peter King of TheMMQB.com reports. The fifth-year fullback’s agent told King one team would have paid Juszczyk more than what the 49ers offered. The Bills, Browns, Eagles and Jets were also in on this competition.
- The Seahawks‘ Jared Cook visit will create questions regarding Jimmy Graham‘s long-term spot with the team, Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times notes. Graham is already 30, having turned 25 during his rookie year. However, Cook is less than six months younger. Graham will be a UFA in 2018, and the Seahawks have potential third contracts for Earl Thomas and Kam Chancellor to consider. Both have observed other safeties surpass their second Seattle contracts in terms of value in recent years. Pete Carroll said at the Combine there is no reason to doubt Graham’s status on the 2017 Seahawks. He will count $10MM against Seattle’s cap this year.
- Jarvis Jones‘ Rams visit will occur Tuesday, per Gonzalez. The Rams signed their most recent visitor, cornerback Kayvon Webster, on Monday night.
Rams To Sign Kayvon Webster
Well, it looks like Kayvon Webster only needed one visit to find a second NFL employer. The longtime Broncos cornerback will sign with the Rams, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. He’ll earn $8MM over two years and could get up to to $12MM through incentives, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets.
Webster had trips to meet with the Eagles and Dolphins scheduled, but with his Los Angeles summit not yet complete as of tonight, the fifth-year cover man/special-teamer decided on the Rams. The team has eyed Webster for a while, and the Broncos were bracing to lose their 2013 third-round pick due to the 26-year-old’s desire for more playing time. Zach Links had Webster ranked as one of this year’s top 50 free agents.
This will reunite Webster with defensive coordinator Wade Phillips while giving the corner a chance to have a bigger defensive role and possibly put him in position for a bigger contract come 2019, should he prove he has sufficient ability to contribute on defense. The Broncos did not use him much in this capacity, with Webster sitting not only behind corners Chris Harris, Aqib Talib and Bradley Roby but behind rookie safeties Justin Simmons and Will Parks — both of whom played far more than Webster did on defense in 2016.
But Webster was a special teams captain and made multiple impact plays during the 2015 Super Bowl run. He functioned as one of the Broncos’ top specialists in lieu of a steady defensive role. Webster will join a secondary that houses Trumaine Johnson but one that isn’t deep after losing Janoris Jenkins in free agency last year.
Kayvon Webster To Visit Eagles, Dolphins
Kayvon Webster may end up logging as many as three visits during his first time as a free agent. The fifth-year cornerback told Troy Renck of Denver7 (Twitter link) he has visits lined up with both the Eagles and Dolphins. These summits will follow his Rams meeting, which is ongoing, per ESPN.com’s Josina Anderson (on Twitter).
We heard about potential pursuits from Miami and Philadelphia earlier this month. Webster’s Rams visit also went “great,” per Renck (on Twitter). So despite not having much of a defensive role on probably the league’s best cornerback depth chart over the past three seasons, Webster looks to have generated significant interest.
The former third-round pick has also served as a high-end special-teamer for the Broncos, doing so after Aqib Talib and Bradley Roby commandeered cornerback jobs midway through Webster’s Denver tenure. The Broncos seem likely to lose Webster, who is eyeing more playing time.
Webster has a clear connection with the Rams, who just hired Wade Phillips as DC, but Adam Gase was on the Broncos’ offensive staff during the corner’s first two Broncos seasons. Each of the three teams possess greater cornerback needs than do the Broncos, who have Roby, Talib and Chris Harris each signed through 2018. The Eagles lost Nolan Carroll in free agency and moved on from Leodis McKelvin, thinning out their corner corps considerably. Miami has a host of young players on a Byron Maxwell-fronted depth chart.
Webster played on just 60 defensive snaps last season but made several impact plays as a punt gunner during his time with the Broncos. He started two games as a rookie prior to the team adding Talib and Roby.
Jarvis Jones To Visit Rams
After meeting with the Cardinals today, UFA linebacker Jarvis Jones will pay a visit to Los Angeles to meet with the Rams, Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports reports (on Twitter).
The Rams are “very intrigued” by the fifth-year pass-rusher, La Canfora notes. Jones played for four seasons in the Steelers’ 3-4 and would be an obvious fit for a Rams team transitioning to such an alignment under new DC Wade Phillips.
Jones was believed to have a healthy market at free agency’s outset but is now one of the notable edge defenders unsigned as the player-movement period ventures to second-wave performers. A former first-round pick, Jones did not live up to his draft status, and Pittsburgh didn’t pick up his fifth-year option. But the Rams don’t possess a ton of depth behind now-outside linebacker Robert Quinn at that position. The team brought the now-retired DeMarcus Ware in for a visit recently.
The former Georgia edge player registered just six sacks in four seasons. He made a career-high 43 tackles in 2016, starting nine games for a Steelers team loaded with former first-round linebackers. Two of those players could be gone, with Jones trekking to NFC West locales and Lawrence Timmons signing with the Dolphins.