Rams Pick Up Options For Ogletree, Austin
The Rams have exercised their 2017 options for a pair of former first-round picks, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com, who tweets that both linebacker Alec Ogletree and wide receiver Tavon Austin had their fifth-year options picked up.
[RELATED: Fifth-Year Option Decision Tracker]
There was never much doubt that the Rams would exercise their 2017 option on Ogeltree, which is worth $8.369MM. Despite the fact that ankle issues cost him most of the 2015 season, the 24-year-old remains one of the more talented players on Los Angeles’ defense, particularly among non-defensive linemen. In his last full season, Ogletree recorded 111 tackles, two interceptions, 12 passes defended, and four forced fumbles in 2014.
As for Austin, that decision wasn’t quite as simple. The 25-year-old enjoyed his best season in 2015, establishing new career-highs in receptions (52), receiving yards (473), rushing yards (434), and touchdowns (nine). However, as a top-10 pick, Austin will be owed a $12.268MM salary for 2017 now that his option has been exercised. That’s a significant price for a non-traditional wideout who had never topped 500 receiving yards.
We heard back in February that the Rams are interested in getting extensions done with both Ogletree and Austin, so it’s possible that neither player will actually play out the 2017 season on the terms of his current contract. Working out agreements that extend Ogletree’s and Austin’s stays in Los Angeles beyond 2017 could allow the Rams to reduce both players’ cap numbers for ’17.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Rams' Tyler Higbee A Risk?
- On the other hand, another scout called new Rams tight end Tyler Higbee — who was charged with second-degree assault before the draft — one of the riskier picks in the draft. “He is a major partier,” said the scout, per Freeman. “That was his big problem, despite the arrests. He has a lot of maturing to do, and I’m not sure he can mature fast enough.”
[SOURCE LINK]
West Notes: Rams, Austin, Broncos, Seahawks
The Rams are expected to pick up their 2017 fifth-year option for wide receiver Tavon Austin, but Los Angeles hopes to sign Austin to a long-term extension before the ’17 season rolls around, per Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com (Twitter link). We heard in February that the Rams are intent on extending both Austin and linebacker Alec Ogletree. Bookmark our 2017 Fifth-Year Option tracker.
The draft is still dominating today’s coverage, but life goes on the NFL world. Let’s dive into some more notes from the NFL’s two West divisions…
- Like the Rams, the Broncos must decide on a fifth-year option — in Denver’s case, it’s for defensive tackle Sylvester Williams, who would command a $6.757MM salary in 2017. Broncos GM John Elway said he’ll make a decision on Williams on Monday, but called the $6MM+ figure a “pretty big number” (links via Troy Renck of the Denver Post and Jeff Legwold of ESPN.com).
- Though the Broncos‘ next offseason focus will obviously be coming to terms on a long-term deal with Von Miller, Elway says the club also wants to work something out with receiver Emmanuel Sanders and linebacker Brandon Marshall, tweets Renck. Both Sanders and Marshall are both entering the final years of their respective contracts, and Sanders, for his part, recently expressed a desire to stay with Denver.
- Former Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch still hasn’t filed his retirement papers, but Pete Carroll thinks Lynch is committed to remaining retired, according to Sheil Kapadia of ESPN.com (Twitter link). “Your guess is as good as mine,” said GM John Schneider when asked about Lynch’s plans (Twitter link via Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times).
- Both Carroll and Schneider said the Seahawks are working on finding another quarterback, and are still speaking with free agent Tarvaris Jackson, tweets Condotta. For what it’s worth, the Seattle duo made those comments before reportedly agreeing to terms with former TCU QB Trevone Boykin.
Bears Acquire 113th Pick From Rams
The Bears have acquired the 113th pick from the Rams, tweets ESPN’s Nick Wagoner. In return, the Rams will receive picks No. 117 and 206, according to NFL Network. The Bears will use the pick to select WVU linebacker Nick Kwiatkoski.
Kwiatkoski finished last season with 11.5 tackles for a loss and four sacks. The 6-2, 235-pound defender is also listed as a defensive back, explaining his three interceptions and five passes defended. NFL.com ranked the senior defender as a fifth- or sixth-round value.
The pick has already switched hands twice this offseason. It was originally sent to the Titans in the DeMarco Murray trade. Tennessee later sent that pick to the Rams when they traded the first-overall pick (which ultimately turned into Jared Goff).
Draft Rumors: Browns, Pats, Rams, Bears
With the draft set to kick off in less than 3o minutes, let’s take a quick look at some draft rumors from around the NFL…
- ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweets that multiple teams are talking with the Browns about acquiring the first pick of the fourth round. Schefter believes these inquiring teams are targeting a quarterback with the pick.
- Entering the day with five sixth-round picks, Ben Volin of the Boston Globe says it’s “likely to quite likely” that the Patriots move up to the fourth or fifth round (Twitter link).
- With only five picks in this year’s draft, the Rams have been focusing in on potential undrafted free agents, tweets ESPN’s Nick Wagoner.
- Chargers general manager Tom Telesco is expected to use his fourth-round pick for the first time, tweets Michael Gehlken of the San Diego Union-Tribune. The team’s last fourth-round pick was Ladarius Green in 2012.
- The Bears will have seven selections on Saturday, and Rich Campbell of the Chicago Tribune writes that the organization is optimistic about their gameplan. “There’s a lot of good players in the draft tomorrow,” said general manager Ryan Pace. “And now we’ve got a lot of swings at those players.”
Rams Select Jared Goff With No. 1 Pick
The Rams officially have a new face of the franchise. After sending a boatload of picks to Tennessee in exchange for the right to move up from No. 15 to No. 1, the Rams used that first overall pick to select California quarterback Jared Goff, who the franchise views as its long-term answer at quarterback as it makes the move to Los Angeles.
Goff, considered the most polished quarterback prospect in this year’s class by many analysts and observers, threw for nearly 8,700 combined yards and 78 touchdowns during his final two years in college. In 2015, he established new personal bests by completing 64.5% of his passes and throwing for 4,714 yards and 43 TDs.
While some experts prefer Carson Wentz‘s upside to Goff’s, our Rob DiRe ranked the Cal product as his No. 1 prospect at quarterback, writing that Goff’s “ability to work in a crowded pocket and deliver the football from unorthodox angles” is part of what makes him special.
After drafting a potential franchise running back last year in Todd Gurley, the Rams have now added another possible franchise player to their backfield in an attempt to fortify an offense that has frequently let down a talented defense in recent years. Having traded up to land Goff, Los Angeles now won’t make another pick until Saturday, when the fourth round gets underway, barring any additional trades.
Along with the No. 1 overall selection, the Rams received a 2016 fourth-round pick (No. 113), and a 2016 sixth-rounder (No. 177) in their deal with the Titans. However, the cost to acquire those three picks was steep — Tennessee got the Rams’ first-rounder this year (No. 15), two 2016 second-round picks (Nos. 43 and 45), a 2016 third-round pick (No. 76), and first- and third-round picks for 2017.
With Goff now in the mix, the Rams will have some decisions to make at the quarterback position, which is getting crowded. The team appears likely to keep Case Keenum, who received and signed a first-round RFA tender, and 2015 third-rounder Sean Mannion, which would make veteran QB Nick Foles the odd man out. Foles has reportedly drawn trade interest from “four or five” teams.
Nick Foles Drawing Trade Interest
APRIL 28, 5:04pm: As expected, Foles will likely be the odd man out after the Rams draft a quarterback tonight, says Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com (Twitter links). The club is hoping to trade him rather than release him — a source tells Wagoner that “four or five” teams have reached out about Foles, but some of those clubs may want to see how the draft plays out before making any decisions.
APRIL 25, 2:44pm: While one of the two quarterbacks involved in 2015’s Rams/Eagles trade asks out of Philadelphia, trade rumors are also beginning to swirl around the other signal-caller who was a part of that deal. According to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (via Twitter), Nick Foles of the Rams has drawn interest from several teams, and will be worth keeping an eye on this week.
As is the case in Philadelphia, where Sam Bradford isn’t thrilled with the idea of sharing the quarterback room with both Chase Daniel and the No. 2 overall pick in the draft (likely Carson Wentz), the Rams may have one too many QBs on their roster if they don’t make a move. Los Angeles currently holds the No. 1 pick in the draft, and is expected to use it on Jared Goff, who would join Foles, Case Keenum, and 2015 third-rounder Sean Mannion on the team’s QB depth chart.
While it’s possible that Keenum or Mannion could become the expendable quarterback in Los Angeles, it makes more sense that the team would move on from Foles. GM Les Snead and head coach Jeff Fisher have talked up Keenum all offseason, and the fact that the club placed a first-round tender on him shows that he’s valued in L.A. Meanwhile, Mannion is more of a developmental signal-caller at this point in his career, and likely wouldn’t be able to step into a situation where he’d be counted on to play at all in 2016.
Foles, on the other hand, has plenty of starting experience, and could be a good fit as a backup elsewhere. Because the Rams have already paid his guaranteed $6MM roster bonus for the 2016 season, Foles would also come at a very affordable rate for any team interested in acquiring him — only his $1.75MM base salary for ’16 would count against a new team’s cap. Of course, his new team would also take on the rest of his contract, including a non-guaranteed $10.75MM base salary for 2017.
With a number of teams – including perhaps the Cowboys, Bears, and Steelers – in the market for a veteran backup under center, the Rams could land a day-three pick for Foles if they’re willing to move forward with Keenum, Mannion, and their first overall pick. Given how many selections the Rams surrendered to move up from No. 15 to No. 1, getting back a pick, even a late-rounder, would make sense for the club.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Rams Interested In Alex Hansen
- Air Force defensive end/outside linebacker Alex Hansen is drawing late interest from the Chargers, Eagles, Ravens, Texans, Broncos, Rams, and Lions, Wilson tweets.
Rams Saving Reveal Of No. 1 Pick For Thursday Night
The Rams know who they’ll be selecting to kick off the 2016 NFL draft on Thursday night, but they won’t let that player know until it’s time to submit the card at No. 1, as Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk writes.
“We’ll get in touch with the player just before putting the card in,” said Rams head coach Jeff Fisher, whose team will pick either Cal quarterback Jared Goff or North Dakota State signal-caller Carson Wentz. “There’s only a few things better in life than this phone call, these phone calls that are going to take place Thursday, Friday and Saturday. It’s a great opportunity and we don’t want to deny our pick the opportunity to experience that.”
Greg Zuerlein Contract Details
- Greg Zuerlein, K (Rams): One year, $1.25MM. $850K base salary ($250K guaranted). $400K signing bonus. Up to $2.05MM in incentives for field goal percentage, 50-yard field goals (Twitter link).