Lance Kendricks

5 players the Rams must move on from in 2016

Published Jan. 20, 2016 4:00 p.m. ET

foxsports

Few teams need a fresh start as much as the Los Angeles Rams, who have gone 12 consecutive seasons without posting a winning record. The franchise will have a different look on the surface with the relocation from St. Louis to the West Coast.

Now it's time for the Rams to overhaul the product on the field and address changes to the roster. Here are five players the Rams need to move on from in 2016.

1. Jared Cook

Cook was drafted by Jeff Fisher in 2009 with Tennesee and lured to St. Louis in 2013 with a five-year, $35 million contract as a free agent. The tight end had the least productive of his three seasons with the Rams in 2015, catching 39 passes and failing to get into the end zone for the first time since his rookie year. A dreadful offense and woeful quarterback play had a lot to do with the dwindling numbers of Cook, who has scored in only two of his last 32 games and has a history of costly dropped passes. The team also made a decent investment in former second-rounder Lance Kendricks (2016 cap hit of $4.5 million), whose receptions have dipped in each of the last three seasons. With Cook signed through 2017 and owning a cap hit of $8.3 million for 2016, it would be prudent for Fisher to finally sever ties with the veteran tight end.

2. Chris Long

The most difficult decision facing the Rams is how to handle Long, who started every game in his first six seasons after he was selected with the No. 2-overall pick in the 2008 draft and averaged double-digit sacks from 2010-13. Long, who will turn 31 in March, is entering the final year of his contract and has a cap number of $14.25 million for 2016. That's enough to give the team pause after injuries forced the star defensive end to miss 14 games over the past two seasons. Of course, fellow defensive end Robert Quinn also had his season cut short by injury and backup William Hayes is an unrestricted free agent, so depth at the position is an issue. Long has an exceptional track record of charitable work in the City of St. Louis, but the relocation of the franchise and so many other roster needs could make him expendable.

3. Rodger Saffold

Much like Long, talent is not the issue with Saffold but health is a major concern. After he was re-signed to a five-year contract in March 2014, Saffold injured his left shoulder in his first season but played through it before undergoing surgery in January 2015. The right guard suffered an injury to his right shoulder in Week 5 and was placed on injured reserve in mid-October before undergoing season-ending surgery. Although he's the team's best offensive lineman, Saffold is coming off a pair of shoulder surgeries and has a cap hit of $5.6 million for 2016. Fisher invested heavily in offensive linemen in 2015, drafting four in the first six rounds. Saffold is expected to be 100 percent by February or March so the key date is March 18. If the Rams release Saffold by then, they will pick up $3 million in cap space.

4. Kenny Britt

Part of Tennessee's 2009 draft class with Cook, Britt parlayed a career-high 48 receptions with the Rams in 2014 into a two-year deal worth $9.15 million. Although he averaged a career-best 18.9 yards per catch this in 2015, Britt saw his total dip to 36 receptions for the season, hauling in more than three passes only twice in 16 games. Here's the rub for the Rams -- they are desperate for wide receivers after averaging a league-worst 175.3 yards passing, but Britt has never lived up to his first-round promise. Britt's cap hit for 2016 is $4.85 million, not a bargain considering he has 84 receptions for 1,429 yard and six touchdowns over the past two seasons -- numbers that were topped by five wideouts in 2015 alone.

5. Akeem Ayers

No player was more excited by the Rams' relocation than fifth-year linebacker Ayers, who grew up in Los Angeles and went to UCLA. Another draft choice of Fisher with the Titans, Ayers' career has been marked by inconsistency. He had a career-best six sacks in his second season and added four more in nine games after he was traded from Tennessee to the New England Patriots in 2014. Ayers is not cost-prohibitive, signing a two-year deal worth $6 million in March 2015, but he managed only half a sack and was part of the problem as the team struggled against the run as the season progressed. He's serviceable, but the Rams need more of a playmaker on the outside.

*All salary cap information comes from spotrac.com.