Rams Re-Sign LB Troy Reeder
Troy Reeder will remain with the Rams for another season. The veteran linebacker was re-signed on Thursday, per a team announcement. 
Reeder has spent five of his six seasons with the Rams; the lone exception came in 2022 when he played for the Chargers. The 30-year-old has played on one-year-deals since 2022. To no surprise, that will be the case once again this time around.
The former UDFA played a notable role as a rookie, logging eight starts across his 16 appearances. He remained a regular on defense over the next two seasons, reaching a career high in tackles (91) during his final campaign before joining Los Angeles’ other franchise. During his one-and-done Chargers stint, though, Reeder primarily worked on special teams. That largely remained the case during his first campaign back with the Rams.
Things changed in 2024, with the Delaware product starting all six of his appearances and logging by far the highest defensive snap share of his career (94%). A hamstring injury cost him the remainder of the campaign, however, something which also hurt his market value. Reeder’s previous Rams pact was worth $1.13MM, and given his missed time this latest one will likely check in at a similar value.
The Rams – who entered Thursday with $17.7MM in cap space – still have plenty of room to make any further moves at the linebacker spot before the upcoming draft. Reeder will re-join a group which also includes low-cost returnees Omar Speights, Tony Fields and Eli Neal in addition to free agent signing Nathan Landman. Even if a rookie is added in the near future, Reeder will be in position to compete for a starting gig during training camp.
Rams Designate Troy Reeder, Larrell Murchison For Return
The Rams designated linebacker Troy Reeder and defensive end Larrell Murchison to return from injured reserve, per a team announcement.
Reeder started the Rams’ first six games of the season before a hamstring injury forced him on injured reserve. Christian Rozeboom and Omar Speights stepped up and stayed healthy in his place, but neither has been a high-impact defender. Los Angeles has relied more on a young, explosive pass rush to make up for their deficiencies in coverage.
Murchison has dealt with multiple injuries this season. He landed on injured reserve during final roster cuts with an arm injury, but was designated to return via the NFL’s new IR rules. He returned to practice in October, but broke his foot that same week, sidelining him for the rest of the regular season. Each being activated would leave the Rams with no more activations. Teams received two more activations in the playoffs this year; the Rams had used all their regular-season IR-return moves.
Both players will practice with their teammates and work towards playing in the divisional round this weekend, but the Rams defense has been excellent without them as of late. Other than a 30-point outburst by the Seahawks in Week 18, the Rams’ last four opponents have averaged just 8.25 points, and none broke into double-digit territory.
With a full 53-man roster, Los Angeles will have to decide how much Reeder and Murchison will add compared to the players they’d replace. Activating Reeder would make sense; he played 94% of the team’s defensive snaps when he was healthy, and the Rams only have three active inside linebackers. However, Murchison’s practice period will be crucial to see if he can immediately play in the playoffs after a year away from the field.
Rams Re-Sign LB Troy Reeder
Troy Reeder‘s run in Los Angeles will continue. After leaving the Rams for the Chargers in 2022, the veteran linebacker returned to the NFC’s L.A. franchise last year. The Rams still have Reeder in their plans.
The Rams re-signed Reeder on Thursday, per a team announcement. The former UDFA started six games for the 2023 Rams edition and has made 31 starts for the team since arriving in the NFL in 2019. Also lining up as a Super Bowl LVI contributor, Reeder is readying for a fifth season with the team.
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Reeder’s only NFL stretch outside L.A. came when he signed a one-year deal with the Vikings last year. Minnesota did not carry Reeder onto its initial 53-man roster, leading to a return to the Rams via the practice squad. The Rams quickly called up the veteran defender and used him in all 17 regular-season games. Reeder, 29, logged 192 snaps on defense and was on the field for 59% of the Rams’ special teams plays. The Delaware native will be back as a key depth piece.
Sean McVay‘s team has turned to Reeder regularly, and he has offered a low-cost solution for a Rams team that has continually kept LB costs low — save for its 2022 Bobby Wagner contract — since releasing Mark Barron. Reeder was not teammates with Wagner, playing with the Chargers in 2022. The Bolts used Reeder strictly as a backup, doing so despite the ex-Blue Hen notching 91 tackles and two sacks for the Rams’ Super Bowl-winning iteration in 2021.
Pro Football Focus offered Reeder a much better assessment in 2020 compared to 2021, when he dropped from 27th to 72nd in LB rankings on the advanced metrics site. Reeder recorded three sacks and 81 tackles in 2020, making seven starts. He made 10 in 2021 and was in the starting lineup for three Los Angeles playoff games. Reeder played 21 snaps in Super Bowl LVI, which came after he was out there on 96% of the Rams’ defensive plays in the NFC championship game — an eight-tackle performance.
The Rams still have Ernest Jones as their LB centerpiece, though extension talks are not on tap ahead of the season. PFF ranked L.A.’s other off-ball LB regular — Christian Rozeboom — as a bottom-five player at the position in 2023. The Rams have not made any outside additions at this spot this offseason, but with Jones going into a contract year and the team regularly opting to save money at this position, it would be surprising if help was not coming via the draft.
Minor NFL Transactions: 9/9/23
We have our first flood of pregame transactions of the season today as teams across the league with games tomorrow utilize their two permitted practice squad elevations:
Arizona Cardinals
- Promoted from practice squad: T Jackson Barton, S Andre Chachere
Atlanta Falcons
- Signed to active roster: RB Godwin Igwebuike
- Promoted from practice squad: CB Natrone Brooks, TE Parker Hesse
- Waived: DL Joe Gaziano
Baltimore Ravens
- Promoted from practice squad: C Sam Mustipher, CB Daryl Worley
Chicago Bears
- Promoted from practice squad: TE Stephen Carlson, OLB DeMarquis Gates
- Released: LB Dylan Cole
Dallas Cowboys
- Promoted from practice squad: CB C.J. Goodwin, C Brock Hoffman
Denver Broncos
- Promoted from practice squad: WR Phillip Dorsett, WR Lil’Jordan Humphrey
Green Bay Packers
- Promoted from practice squad: S Innis Gaines, RB Patrick Taylor
Houston Texans
- Promoted from practice squad: G Michael Deiter, P Ty Zentner
Indianapolis Colts
- Promoted from practice squad: RB Jake Funk, WR Juwann Winfree
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Promoted from practice squad: DT Ross Blacklock
Las Vegas Raiders
- Promoted from practice squad: DE Isaac Rochell
Los Angeles Chargers
- Promoted from practice squad: LB Brevin Allen
Los Angeles Rams
- Signed to active roster: LB Troy Reeder
- Promoted from practice squad: K Brett Maher, QB Brett Rypien
- Placed on IR: TE Hunter Long
- Waived from IR with injury settlement: S DeAndre Square
Miami Dolphins
- Promoted from practice squad: LB Cameron Goode
Minnesota Vikings
- Promoted from practice squad: RB Myles Gaskin, OLB Benton Whitley
New Orleans Saints
- Promoted from practice squad: LB Ryan Connelly, RB Tony Jones Jr.
- Placed on IR: WR Tre’Quan Smith
New York Giants
- Promoted from practice squad: RB Taiwan Jones
Philadelphia Eagles
- Promoted from practice squad: WR Britain Covey, P Arryn Siposs
San Francisco 49ers
- Promoted from practice squad: DE Austin Bryant, LB Curtis Robinson
Seattle Seahawks
- Promoted from practice squad: CB Artie Burns, LB Jon Rhattigan
- Placed on IR: RB Kenny McIntosh
Tennessee Titans
- Promoted from practice squad: T Justin Murray, DT Kyle Peko
Washington Commanders
- Promoted from practice squad: WR Jamison Crowder
Wednesday NFL Transactions: NFC West
Following the 53-man roster cutdown deadline Tuesday, many teams will make slight tweaks to their rosters. In addition to waiver claims, teams can begin constructing their 16-man practice squads today. These 49ers, Cardinals, Rams and Seahawks moves are noted below.
Arizona Cardinals
Claimed:
- C Trystan Colon, TE Elijah Higgins, C Keith Ishmael, T Ilm Manning, DB Starling Thomas, DB K’Von Wallace
Waived:
- WR Daniel Arias, G Marquis Hayes, S Javonte Moffatt, DL Ben Stille, TE Blake Whiteheart
Signed to practice squad:
- QB Jeff Driskel
Los Angeles Rams
Claimed:
Waived:
Signed to practice squad:
- OL A.J. Arcuri, OL Logan Bruss, DT Marquise Copeland, RB Royce Freeman, DB Tanner Ingle, WR Tyler Johnson, TE Nikola Kalinic, OL Mike McAllister, DB Cameron McCutcheon, OL Grant Miller, LB Troy Reeder, QB Brett Rypien, WR Xavier Smith, OLB Keir Thomas II, WR Austin Trammell
San Francisco 49ers
Placed on IR:
- DL Robert Beal, WR Danny Gray
Signed:
- DL Austin Bryant, DL Kerry Hyder
Claimed:
Waived:
Signed to practice squad:
- DT Alex Barrett, FB Jack Colletto, WR Chris Conley, DL Marlon Davidson, TE Troy Fumagalli, OL Alfredo Gutierrez (via International Player Pathway), RB Brian Hill, CB Qwuantrezz Knight, OL Corey Luciano, WR Tay Martin, DL T.Y. McGill, LB Curtis Robinson, WR Willie Snead, CB Tre Swilling, OL Leroy Watson, WR Isaiah Winstead
Seattle Seahawks
Claimed:
- CB Kyu Blu Kelly, LB Drake Thomas
Waived:
Signed to practice squad:
- QB Holton Ahlers, OLB Levi Bell, CB Lance Boykin, CB Artie Burns, T Greg Eiland, DT Matthew Gotel, C Joey Hunt, WR Cade Johnson, RB Bryant Koback, WR Matt Landers, TE Tyler Mabry, LB Patrick O’Connell, S Ty Okada, RB SaRodorick Thompson, WR Easop Winston Jr.
Vikings Make Cuts To Reach 53-Man Roster
Most of the Vikings’ roster moves were done ahead of the deadline, but today they did the rest of the work to get down to the 53-man roster. Here are the moves made today to reach the deadline:
Waived:
- OL Alan Adi
- WR Jacob Copeland
- RB Aaron Dykes
- WR Lucky Jackson
- WR Trishton Jackson
- RB DeWayne McBride
- DL Esezi Otomewo
- WR Blake Proehl
- TE Ben Sims
- DL T.J. Smith
- OL Jack Snyder
- WR Thayer Thomas
- OLB Luiji Vilain
- OLB Benton Whitley
- CB Jaylin Williams
Waived/injured:
- LB Abraham Beauplan
Released:
- LB Troy Reeder
- CB Joejuan Williams
A strong preseason performance by backup running back Ty Chandler and the returning prowess of Kene Nwangwu led to the disappointing cut of the seventh-round pick McBride. Besides that, there weren’t many surprises on the offensive side of the ball as the Vikings continually value consistency on the offensive line.
Minnesota needed to work out how to replace the production lost in the departure of pass rusher Za’Darius Smith. The opportunity led to a nice surprise as undrafted rookie Andre Carter II makes the initial 53. Carter is joined on the defensive side by undrafted linebacker Ivan Pace, who got plenty of run in camp as Brian Asamoah recovered from injury. Safety NaJee Thompson is the last undrafted rookie to find his way onto the roster thanks to his contributions on special teams.
Contract Details: Hurts, Robinson, Ward, Perryman, Anderson
Here are some details on deals signed recently around the NFL:
- Jalen Hurts, QB (Eagles): Five years, $255MM. We had received some broad numbers from the deal, and some details still elude us, but ESPN’s Adam Schefter provided some cap numbers recently. Hurts will represent a $6.15MM cap hit in 2023, $13.56MM in 2024, $21.77MM in 2025, and $31.77MM in 2026.
- Allen Robinson, WR (Steelers): Three years, $46.5MM. We covered some details, like how the Rams will pay most of Robinson’s 2023 salary in a nearly two-to-one split. According to Jason Fitzgerald of OverTheCap.com, the Rams will additionally take on $21.45MM of dead money for Robinson moving forward, pushing them up to about $74MM of dead cap in 2023.
- Jimmie Ward, S (Texans): Two years, $13MM. The deal, according to Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2, has a guaranteed amount of $8.5MM consisting of a $4MM signing bonus, Ward’s 2023 base salary of $2.5MM, and $2MM of his 2024 base salary (worth $5.5MM total). Ward will receive a per game active roster bonus of $29,411 for a potential season total of $500,000. The contract also includes an annual playing time incentive. If Ward plays 60% of the team’s defensive snaps, he’ll receive an additional $250,000. He’ll get two more $250,000 bonuses for reaching both the 70% and 80% snap share totals, as well.
- Denzel Perryman, LB (Texans): One year, $2.6MM. We were aware that Perryman could push the value of his deal to $3.5MM with incentives, but thanks to Wilson, we now know how he can do that. The additional $900,000 is based on playing time. Perryman can earn $300,000 bonuses for reaching each of the 60%, 70% and 80% thresholds of defensive snap shares for the Texans.
- Eric Rowe, S (Panthers): One year, $1.32MM. The deal, according to Wilson, has a guaranteed amount of $852,500 consisting of a $152,500 signing bonus and $700,000 of Rowe’s base salary (worth a total of $1.17MM).
- Kris Boyd, CB (Cardinals): One year, $1.23MM. The contract, according to Wilson, has a signing bonus of $152,500 and a base salary of $1.08MM.
- Dante Pettis, WR (Bears): One year, $1.23MM. The deal, according to Wilson, includes a signing bonus of $152,500 and a base salary of $1.08MM.
- Troy Reeder, LB (Vikings): One year, $1.23MM. The contract, according to Wilson, has a guaranteed amount of $100,000 consisting partially of a $25,000 signing bonus. Reeder’s base salary will be $1.08MM, and he can receive an additional workout bonus $25,000 and a roster bonus of $102,500 if he’s active Week 1. The deal includes a per game active roster bonus of $6,029 for a potential season total of $102,500.
- Drew Sample, TE (Bengals): One year, $1.23MM. The contract, according to Wilson, has a signing bonus of $52,500 and a base salary of $1.08MM. Sample will also receive a roster bonus of $75,000 and a workout bonus of $25,000.
- Armon Watts, DT (Steelers): One year, $1.23MM. The contract, according to Wilson, has a signing bonus of $152,500 and a base salary of $1.08MM.
- Elijah Wilkinson, OL (Cardinals): One year, $1.23MM. The deal, according to Wilson, has a guaranteed amount of $1.09MM consisting of a $152,500 signing bonus and $940,000 of Wilkinson’s base salary (worth a total of $1.08MM).
- Khadarel Hodge, WR (Falcons): One year, $1.2MM. The contract, according to Wilson, has a base salary of $1.08 and a roster bonus of $120,000 if he is active for Atlanta’s first game of the season. The deal also includes a per game active roster bonus of $7,500 for a potential season total of $127,500.
- Chosen Anderson, WR (Dolphins): One year, $1.17MM. The deal, according to Wilson, includes a signing bonus of $152,500.
- John Penisini, DL (Panthers): One year, $940,000, according to Wilson.
- Kevin Jarvis, OL (Bills): One year, $750,000, according to Wilson.
Minor NFL Transactions: 3/22/23
Here are today’s minor moves from around the NFL:
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Signed: DE Michael Dogbe, DT Henry Mondeaux
Los Angeles Chargers
- Re-signed: CB Kemon Hall, K Cameron Dicker
Los Angeles Rams
- Re-signed: DT Michael Hoecht
Minnesota Vikings
- Signed: LB Troy Reeder
- Re-signed: FB C.J. Ham
San Francisco 49ers
- Signed: DE Austin Bryant
Chargers To Sign LB Troy Reeder
Troy Reeder is changing teams, but not locations. Pro Football Network’s Mike Kaye reports that the linebacker is signing a one-year deal with the Chargers.
Reeder, 27, joined the Rams as a UDFA in 2019. In three seasons there, he started 25 of 49 games, taking on a greater role with each passing year. The 2021 campaign saw him make a career-high 91 tackles and add two sacks, as well as a pair of interceptions. He was not tendered as an RFA, though, leaving him open to sign elsewhere.
That became a much greater possibility, of course, when the Rams signed Bobby Wagner. The longtime Seahawk represents a sizeable addition to what was seen as one of the few weak spots on the reigning champions’ roster. Now, Reeder will join a revamped Chargers defense looking to improve on its 30th overall ranking against the run last season.
To that end, the Chargers have already signed former Ram Sebastian Joseph-Day. Reeder now represents another face which will be familiar to head coach Brandon Staley, who was previously the Rams’ defensive coordinator. He will join a linebacking corps which also includes 2020 first rounder Kenneth Murray, another player known for his size and aggression.
Reeder should see significant playing time, either as a starter or key backup in the middle of the Chargers’ defense. If the team’s other additions on that side of the ball (most notably Khalil Mack and J.C. Jackson) play to their potential, he could find himself playing in a second straight Super Bowl.
RFA/ERFA Tender Decisions: 3/10/22
The deadline for teams to extend tender offers to their restricted free agents and exclusive rights free agents looms next week. We’ll keep tabs on the latest here:
RFAs
Non-tendered:
- Commandeers: QB Kyle Allen
- Cowboys: LB Francis Bernard, OL Mitch Hyatt
- Raiders: FB Alec Ingold
- Rams: LB Troy Reeder
- Ravens: CB Khalil Dorsey