LA Rams 2023 Free Agents: Who Stays? Who Goes?
The new league year is right around the corner (March 15) and the Los Angeles Rams have plenty of decisions to make.
Today I’m making my predictions on those moves. I did cover this in the latest episode of Rams Showcase so if you’d like to hear me talk about these picks, check out that episode on the main page of RamsShowcase.com or wherever you listen to podcasts.
This is nothing more than a prediction and is almost guaranteed to be completely wrong. I’ve always hovered around 50% when predicting Rams free agent re-signings so with that being said, let’s begin.
Quarterback:
Baker Mayfield - Mayfield appears to be the Rams best choice to back up Matthew Stafford pre-free agency and NFL Draft. My comfort level as a fan with Mayfield on the bench instead of Wolford or Perkins is dramatically higher.
Verdict: Stays
John Wolford - As I just said, I think the Rams have better choices here. Wolford’s tenure with the Rams does help his cause here quite a bit and could really be seen as an overall offensive mentor for some of the younger guys because of his time with this offensive scheme. For that reason, The Wolf (awoo) definitely has some value on this roster and ultimately I’m torn, but I think McVay is a really big fan of Wolford.
Verdict: Stays
Bryce Perkins - Perk has a lot of upside and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him get a QB2 job in the league somewhere while he continues to develop. I think a place like Philadelphia or Kansas City would be great for him. I also would just like him to stick around in LA though. Whether I like Perk-ules or not, looking at how everything went last year and the conversations involving Baker, I’m just not sure he fits into the roster.
Verdict: Goes
Running Back:
Malcolm Brown - With his impact forever etched in stone as the first touchdown in SoFi Stadium history, Malcolm Brown returned to the Rams this year and was both underutilized and counterintuitively underwhelming. Brown has been better than he was last season which is what was frustrating to watch. What happened to the Malcolm Brown who tight roped into the endzone in New Orleans?
Verdict: Goes
Offensive Line:
Ty Nsekhe - I’m not sure if we are expecting Nsekhe to retire this offseason or not, but he is definitely reaching that age where it will be a constant conversation. Nsekhe did an awesome job at LT this year with all things considered. He held it down not just as a solid back up, but looked like he deserved the job from the start. If the Rams could get another year of Nsekhe as a starter at LT, I don’t think I’d be that mad about it although I would assume the Rams will look elsewhere.
Verdict: Goes
Oday Aboushi - Aboushi is not quite over the hill by any means, but the Rams do have many younger options if that is the route they choose to take. I will say that I believe a good mix of developing youth NEEDS to have really strong veteran leadership. Aboushi can be that, but we also saw strides in the leadership role from Havenstein as the season went along.
Verdict: Goes
David Edwards - I have been a fan of Edwards for the last few years. I was surprised to see his struggles up front this last season and then he had some pretty scary medical issues. Edwards landed on IR for concussions and that’s not something that you see every week. I myself have no updates on his health in any capacity, but with he reporting he was dizzy and then landing on IR is something that raised my eyebrows. It would be cool to see Edwards return with a bigger fire than he had last season, but if health is a concern at all, I’d like to see him make whatever choice is best for his future outside of football. (not saying that’s an option or what he’s considering, but the health concern is real)
Verict: Stays
Matt Skura - Skura ended up being somewhat of an emergency LG for the Rams to wrap up the season. I’m not sure what it says that the left side line up Nsekhe-Skura was a lot more productive than the Noteboom-Edwards combination, but it is definitely true. Again, without knowing exactly what this front office is up to, I myself would like to see Skura stick around. At just 30 years old, he’s still got plenty of time in this league and is versatile up front.
Verdict: Stays
Defensive Line:
Greg Gaines - Obviously when you have the fastest player in the NFL, you’d like to keep him around. Gaines continues getting better not just season to season, but over the course of the year you can watch him improve at the position. Gaines has carved a nice little role in the Rams defense and with his progression trajectory, I think it benefits the Rams a lot to keep him around.
Verdict: Stays
Marquise Copeland - The Rams depth at DL is pretty sick actually and Copeland is proof of that. He takes full advantage of his reps when he’s on the field. Another player that I’d really like to see return, but it’s at a position the Rams are pretty solid at. That makes my prediction difficult, but there’s also part of me that realizes he may be able to have a big impact on a different team if he were to leave. Selfishly, I’d like him to remain a depth guy in Los Angeles, but for his sake I almost hope he leaves. Almost.
Verdict: Goes
Michael Hoecht - Hoecht really came on late in the season. His progression is more abrupt. He seems to stay at a level for a bit and then have a breakthrough and we saw one in the last portion of the season this last year. For me, that’s enough to really want him back. If the Rams can get some health, Hoecht can be an awesome complimentary piece on the defense.
Verdict: Stays
A’Shawn Robinson - While I did think that Robinson and AD were gonna have an AD-Brock feel, it didn’t quite get to that level of sickness. I’m not sure if the Rams have a burning need to bring Robinson back with the depth that the team can have at the position (see above).
Verdict: Goes
Linebacker:
Travin Howard - I’m not sure if I’m alone here or not, but I feel like Travin Howard is underappreciated. I like Howard’s play style and like that he continues getting better what feels like weekly.
Verdict: Stays
Secondary:
Taylor Rapp - We haven’t heard anything about Rapp yet from the team and I think that is telling us something. I felt like I was overly critical of Rapp, and then I got onto Twitter more often and turns out Rams fans are really critical of him on average. So I wasn’t alone, I was just a little early. I know the teams value of Rapp differs from media outlets and a percentage of the fanbase and that makes this prediction tough, but I think that if the team has high value of him, other teams will too and he may have a chance to get a bigger paycheck elsewhere.
Verdict: Goes
Jake Gervase - Gervase has carved a nice little role on the Rams special teams, but with a new coordinator coming in, I will guess that we will see some more changes than we may be expecting there. His position on the depth chart at safety would lead me to believe he’d be better off on a different roster.
Verdict: Goes
Nick Scott - I think I speak for the large majority of Rams fans when I say that Nick Scott is awesome. From just being one of the coolest down to earth players on the team, to crushing Deebo Samuel’s soul, Nick Scott is a fan favorite and brings a ton of value to the team. The only thing I could see here is if he has priced himself out of the Rams by just being way too dope. Not bad for a guy who was literally drafted to be a special teams player.
Verdict: Stays
Troy Hill - So I realize that me just being a fan of Troy Hill in no way gives me clearance to be overly critical of him, but I would be lying if I said that I wasn’t a little disappointed with his play this last season. I don’t want to pick on Hill specifically when it comes to the team record, but I was sad to see him leave originally and he just didn’t seem like the same player that was here before. I by no means think that he’s “old”, but he’s definitely at that age where these 23 year old wide receivers can make someone look old.
Verdict: Goes
David Long Jr - I don’t not want David Long Jr back, but I don’t know how high I would put this move on the priority list. With all possible respect to Long, because I do like him, but these second year guys might be pushing others off the roster and Long could be one of those casualties.
Verdict: Goes
Grant Haley - Everytime I watch Haley play, I see a lot of promise. I think he’s got the makings to be super sick in this league he’s just still raw. I’m not sure he would draw a lot of interest outside of the Rams, but I’d really like to see him stick around and continue to progress.
Verdict: Stays
Shaun Jolly - I don’t dislike Jolly at all, I just don’t know exactly where he fits in. I don’t hope he leaves though so maybe he could be a depth/practice squad guy.
Verdict: Stays
Special Teams:
Matt Gay - So one thing I didn’t mention at all in the podcast was the change in Special Teams coaching. For this reason, the Rams could just start from ground zero on special teams and all these guys could be out. Matt Gay however solved a problem the Rams had after losing Greg Zuerlein. The string of guys between GZ and Gay were rough. Gay has quite the cannon attached to his hip and I really just don’t see a reason to try to find a replacement.
Verdict: Stays
Riley Dixon - Riley Dixon is a fine punter. He’s not the top guy in the league, but he’s also not just absolutely butchering field position for you. The reason I’d like to see him stick around is because he holds for Gay and has been crushing that job. A major mechanism of the field goal machine is the hold and Dixon deserves plenty of credit for the units ability to consistently get three points out of that play. Hard to predict if the team wants Dixon back, however.
Verdict: Stays
Matthew Orzech - We did not hear Orzech’s name last year and that’s exactly what you want from your long snapper. The silent hero of your special teams unit that most people don’t even know until they screw up and one mistake can somehow nullify HUNDREDS of perfect snaps. Law of averages, people! Orzech took over for a Rams long snapping legend Jake McQuaide and didn’t skip a beat. No reason to try to find someone who can do it just like the guy we have here.
Verdict: Stays
Brandon Powell - Pow brings an excitement to returns. The Rams seem to consistently have exciting returners, but I also feel like that’s just what that position requires. My image of Pow will always be him front flipping into the endzone in Minnesota. That play was sick, but also it was in the Rams sickest uniform combination!
Verdict: Stays
- Sheriff Joe Bags
Thanks for reading! Do you agree? Let me know! @RamsShowcase & @SheriffJoeBags
