<![CDATA[Coming off a 4-12 season that included a seven-game losing streak to close the season, the Los Angeles Rams decided to restock the shelves on its coaching staff.
Now it has to do the same with its roster—a much more difficult task.
General manager Les Snead and new head coach Sean McVay have a lot of holes to fill—especially on offense—and limited resources with which to do it. To get creative, the Rams may rely on a "close friend" to help them jump-start their talent infusion.
The University of Southern California.
“We're confident that we know that market and who, in that market, fits Sean the most,” Snead told the Los Angeles Times. “We’re confident we’re prepared to test that market, and that we’re prepared to test the market in the draft as well.
“We know we want to get better on offense, that includes wide receivers and other positions as well.”
L.A. will have just fewer than $20 million to spend on free agents in 2017. The team lacks a first-round draft choice, and its overall draft value is ranked last in the league.
Among the free-agent names on the Rams list that the Times concocted include a trio of former Trojans who could consider location over top dollar in Minnesota Vikings offensive tackle Matt Kalil, Buffalo Bills wide receiver Robert Woods and Green Bay Packers outside linebacker Nick Perry.
Interestingly, the Rams also have targeted USC wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster, who averaged 71 receptions for 1030.7 yards and 8.3 touchdowns during his three seasons with the Trojans, as turfshowtimes.com reported. Los Angeles is hoping Smith-Schuster still will be on the draft board when the franchise is able to make its first pick in the second round with the No. 37 selection overall.
If the USC connection helps the Rams, they could have even more success in the future with the franchise in better shape.
//pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js
(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});
]]>
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
