Free-Agent Market Too Expensive for Los Angeles Rams?

<![CDATA[If wide receiver Pierre Garcon's signing with the San Francisco 49ers is any indication, maybe the Los Angeles Rams won't be that active in free agency after all.

Garcon reportedly will earn $16 million this coming season alone with the 49ers, according to a tweet from ESPN's Chris Mortensen.

When Pierre Garcon finalizes deal with 49ers, as expected, league sources believe he will make $16 million in first year.

— Chris Mortensen (@mortreport) March 8, 2017

//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

The Rams appeared to have had a genuine interest in signing the former Washington Redskin, according to ESPN’s Alden Gonzales, but when the team has only roughly $20 million to spend in free agency, the price for Garcon simply was too steep:

Rams really liked Pierre Garcon going into free agency, but he’s heading into his age-31 season and they knew there was a certain price point where it wouldn’t make sense. With Niners, ESPN’s Chris Mortensen says Garcon gets a multi-year deal that will pay him $16M in Year 1. Nick Wagoner expects the deal to be front-loaded, but still, that’s steep. Rams have about $20 million left in salary cap space — unless they find a taker for Trumaine Johnson — and this is a bad precedent for the WR market.

What’s worse is that CBSSports.com’s Jason La Canfora doubts the legitimacy of the interest in Johnson, who will be the highest-paid cornerback in the league in 2017.

He is a good, productive player. He is not an All-Pro player. He is not a Pro Bowler. He is not a difference-maker week in and week out. He is not a shut-down guy. And yet he is the highest paid corner in the NFL for 2017.

And I am supposed to believe, at a time when the corner market is full of options in free agency (none of whom require any compensation to sign and several of whom have better resumes than Johnson), teams are calling the Rams dying to take this contract off their hands? Really? Smells like fake news to me.

In other words, Rams fans shouldn’t expect a huge influx of talent this season.]]>