
Los Angeles Rams News and Links for 6/18/23
This former LA Rams player now boasts two consecutive SB rings (ramblinfan)
“While the LA Rams team did not return to compete in a Super Bowl, the same cannot be said for players who competed for the Rams in Super Bowl LVI. If you recall, the Rams divested from a number of players mid-season, in an effort to reduce their payroll expense and give affected players a chance to sign with and perhaps earn roles with new NFL teams
One such player who was unceremoniously shown the door out from the LA Rams football team during the 2022 NFL season was tight end, Kendall Blanton. After competing for and helping the LA Rams to succeed in winning Super Bowl LVI, the Rams released Blanton on November 12, 2022.
One day later, Blanton was claimed by the Washington Commanders. In fact, he was scooped up so quickly due to the fact that the Commanders’ own roster was equally decimated by injuries. But two weeks later, Kendall Blanton was waived once more.
But this time, he signed on with the Kansas City Chiefs on their practice squad. While the role itself may have been less than he had hoped for, the Chiefs were already purring like a true NFL Playoff team with a record of 8-2. And after defeating the LA Rams, rose to a record of 9-2.
Just to be fair, it’s very difficult to earn a spot on the active 53-man roster for a team that finishes the season with a 14-3 record. Just ask Blanton.
But while he did not directly contribute to the Chiefs’ offensive prowess during the 2022 NFL season, he was on the Chiefs’ Super Bowl-winning roster, and as luck would have it, he earned his second consecutive Super Bowl ring.”
Back to back
Congratulations Kendall Blanton #RamsHouse pic.twitter.com/gSqzDRsiE0
— Cam✨SBLVI CHAMPIONS (@RamsWRLD_) June 16, 2023
The ongoing feud LA Rams QB Stetson Bennett is waging that nobody is talking about (ramblinfan)
“Have you ever had to stand hopelessly by in the face of two friends openly and heatedly arguing, and thought to yourself that you hope that neither pal pulls you in to take sides? Whether or not the dispute is indeed valid, you simply have too much love and loyalty to jump in and join a fight that leads to nowhere, gets you nothing, and you really have no reason to weigh in on. That is where the LA Rams and many Rams fans find themselves today.
The reason? LA Rams rookie quarterback Stetson Bennett is none-too-pleased with Reese’s Senior Bowl Executive Director Jim Nagy, a venerable NFL scout. If you hadn’t been following along, Jim Nagy is someone who has helped propel the careers of many NFL hopefuls through their performance and his endorsement from the annual Senior Bowl. And the LA Rams have had success in drafting Senior Bowl prospects who performed well.
The LA Rams love to grab those players who perform well at those equitable collegiate competitions that face off the best draft prospects to duke it out on the field. That includes the annual Hula Bowl, the East-West Shrine Bowl, and the Senior Bowl. Still, participation is optional And the reason so many do choose to participate for college football players is to have one more opportunity to showcase their play to impress NFL scouts and hopefully raise their draft stock
Thanks, but no thanks
But not all players accept invitations. And that could be a problem for the collegiate bowls that depend on voluntary participation.
The challenge is understanding and accepting the reasons why players decline the opportunity. Was it health? Was it a matter of a scheduling conflict? Or was it a matter of hubris, a matter of such self-confidence that it really doesn’t matter to the player whether or not they compete in any collegiate bowl designed to showcase NFL rookies? The confident players often already believe that they have what it takes to succeed in the NFL.”
Year 15 for No. 9. pic.twitter.com/sKq3Mv8PUp
— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) June 17, 2023
Rams Rookie Puka Nacua Will ‘Compete for Role’ in Crowded Receiver Room (fannation/ramsdigest)
“He’s a guy that we’re expecting him to come in, expecting him to be able to contribute and compete,” McVay said on June 6, per therams.com. “Every spot is going to be earned on this team, but I really like what he’s done and I think it’s a credit to everybody around him and his conscientiousness.”
Nacua was a star at Washington and BYU. In his last two seasons combined, he tallied 91 receptions, 1,430 yards and 11 touchdowns, along with five scores on the ground.
“He also displayed smooth route running and reliable hands when he got reps during team drills with quarterback Matthew Stafford leading the offense,” therams.com added.
The biggest question mark with Nacua, though, is how his production will shake out considering the congestion in his position. The wide receiver room features the following:
Cooper Kupp, Van Jefferson, Tutu Atwell, Nacua, Demarcus Robinson, Ben Skowronek, Lance McCutcheon, Tyler Johnson, Austin Trammell, Sam James, Xavier Smith, Braxton Burmeister and Tyler Hudson.
Of the 13 receivers listed, half or more are in serious danger of being axed. What’s more, anyone featured without the last name Kupp could be expendable.”
Celebrating the life of Rams Legend + Hall of Famer, Elroy “Crazy Legs” Hirsch! pic.twitter.com/ZxcQ3mX9nx
— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) June 17, 2023
Does LA Rams’ newfound salary cap space mean imminent FA signing? 3 answers – Too hot, too cold, just right (ramblinfan)
“If you haven’t been following the narrative for the LA Rams 2023 season, or if you have just crawled out from under a rock, you may have missed the fact that the LA Rams’ financial fitness is being put through its paces this offseason. While that is not an alarming strategy per se, it is radically different from the “See player, want player, trade/sign player” mantra of the team’s more recent past. The LA Rams have not been following that playbook this year.
The reason is simply this: The LA Rams have been paying today’s players with tomorrow’s dollars, and that strategy worked well enough to appear in the Super Bowl in two of Rams head coach Sean McVay’s first five seasons. But that all came to a hard halt in 2022, when the Rams roster was devastated by injuries and the front office simply ran out of funds.
And that has been the case of the Rams’ salary cap status for the early stages of the 2023 NFL season. Despite a lightly populated roster before the draft, the team adhered to an almost mendicant budget that was already consumed by over $70 million of dead cap. Until now, that has been the case for this LA Rams team, limiting spending to all by the least expensive and most necessary players.
Breaking the Rams piggy bank
The LA Rams had resisted restructuring contracts because doing so does not create cap space overall, but merely transfers today salary expense into the future. But in the case of push coming to shove, the Rams had to acquiesce and created additional 2023 salary cap savings by converting $13.92 million of base salary of WR Cooper Kupp’s compenasation into a signing bonus. Kupp still gets paid the same amount, but the maneuver allows the Rams to push $10.44 million of today’s cap expense into the future.”
UPDATE: The Tennessee #Titans are hiring Sarah Bailey from the LA #Rams, per @SethWalder of ESPN.
Bailey was Manager of Football Analytics in Los Angeles and had been with the team since 2017.
Great hire by TEN. pic.twitter.com/Tic7xLrrmZ
— MLFootball (@_MLFootball) June 8, 2023