The Los Angeles Rams traded starting defensive end William Hayes to the Miami Dolphins and released two other starters late Wednesday night.
According to ESPN.com, the Rams also released starting center Tim Barnes, starting tight end Lance Kendricks and reserve defensive end Eugene Sims. The deal with the Dolphins also sent a seventh-round pick to South Beach for a sixth-round selection back to L.A.
That move saved the Rams $5.5 million alone, and the four-player purge resulted in $15.6 million in savings.
Los Angeles signed Cincinnati Bengals free-agent left tackle Andrew Whitworth to a three-year deal with $36 million with $15 million guaranteed. It also inked Buffalo Bills free-agent wide receiver Robert Woods to a five-year contract worth up to $39 million and signed journeyman quarterback and former Todd Gurley Georgia Bulldogs teammate Aaron Murray, also reported by ESPN.com’s Alden Gonzalez.
The moves leave the Rams without a starting center. It could also signal moving Greg Robinson, their struggling left tackle in 2015-2016, to right guard. Defensive end Robert Quinn, originally projected to move to outside linebacker in new defensive coordinator Wade Phillips’ 3-4 scheme, now looks to be staying on the line.
The changes represent an unspectacular but necessary course during free agency for the franchise. Even at age 35, Whitworth is considered one of the elite left tackles in the league. That should assist tremendously with the development of quarterback Jared Goff. And with Whitworth and Woods aboard, the team’s run-blocking should improve, allowing Gurley to take some pressure off Goff to try to spark the offense single-handedly.
The Rams also upped the value of their 2017 draft by exchanging a seventh-round selection with a sixth-rounder.
For fans hoping for the team to make a splash this offseason, remember that splash already took place in April of 2016 when the Rams traded this year’s No. 1 selection to grab Goff. The team now has to make sensible moves to help Goff get better.
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