After striking out with Jarvis Jones, who signed with the Arizona Cardinals the Rams are back in the market for a starting linebacker. Enter Philadelphia linebacker Connor Barwin who would be reuniting with Wade Phillips back in 2012 when both were with the Houston Texans.
Barwin has had his fair share of ups and downs in his career and his recent struggles were in large part to essentially having to switch positions once the Eagles decided to run a 4-3 rather than the 3-4 Barwin was accustomed to. Wade is installing a 3-4 style defense this season and a veteran like Barwin will make for a smoother transition.
Since being drafted in 2009 by the Texans Barwin has a total of 276 tackles with 225 of them being solo and has 46 sacks to his name. In addition to that he has 36 pass deflections and six forced fumbles.
Moving to defensive end last season took away his abilities in pass coverage so moving back to linebacker should me a major boon. His best quality might be his durability as he started 96 consecutive games since 2011 and although he’s turning 30 that shouldn’t make the Rams nervous.
Barwin would be a great fit alongside Alec Ogletree, Mark Barron, and newly converted linebacker Robert Quinn. This front seven will be a work in progress all season but they will be a formidable opponent and allow the Rams to gain some solid ground in the NFC West.
Thus far, the Rams have done a great job getting defensive help in free agency but they could still find themselves a safety to replace TJ McDonald who they elected not to resign and some depth at defensive end.
Still, with the additions made on defense they should be able to dedicate their limited draft picks towards rebuilding their offense as that is the top priority.
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