Los Angeles Rams: Greg Robinson trade a bad sign for Les Snead
General manager Les Snead's tenure with the Los Angeles Rams has become more uncertain with the Greg Robinson trade to Detroit.
The Greg Robinson trade could turn out to be beneficial to first-year Los Angeles Rams coach Sean McVay. The same cannot be said for Rams general manager Les Snead.
Snead earned a reprieve in the offseason when then-coach Jeff Fisher lost his job after a 4-12 mark in 2016. The Rams have won just 31 games and failed to reach the playoffs in his first five years. Fisher's contract afforded him final say in personnel matters over Snead, as Yahoo Sports once reported, which could explain his firing and Snead's survival.
Los Angeles sent Robinson to the Detroit Lions for a sixth-round draft on Thursday, NFL.com reported. The Rams selected Robinson with the second overall pick of the 2014 draft, under Snead's watch. Robinson, however, has failed to live up to the lofty status. As left tackle, he led the NFL in penalties in 2015-16 with 31, as ESPN.com reported. The Rams also benched him for two games last season.
Since McVay's arrival, the team refused to pick up the fifth-year option on Robinson's contract. The Rams signed free-agent left tackle Andrew Whitworth and moved Robinson to right tackle. And in OTAs and minicamps, Robinson lost his starting job to Jamon Brown.
The Robinson trade/draft blunder is one of several recent perceived missteps under Snead's watch.
During the 2016 offseason, Snead signed wide receiver Tavon Austin a four-year, $42 million contract. But Austin's best year — 473 receiving yards and 434 rushing yards in 2015 — still fell short of a 1,000-yard season. The Rams lost cornerback Janoris Jenkins in free agency to the New York Giants in 2016, choosing instead to place the franchise tag on fellow corner Trumaine Johnson.
Johnson had just one interception and 11 pass deflections in 2016. He had seven and 17, respectively in 2015. They again placed the tag on Johnson for 2017, at a cost of $16,742 million. He'll be the highest-paid corner in the league.
Those two contracts are a big reason the Rams couldn't pursue another No. 1 wide receiver in the offseason and, so far, have not come to terms with all-world defensive tackle Aaron Donald, whose contract runs out after 2018.
Los Angeles likely will have to sign Johnson to a long-term deal to gain enough cap flexibility to lock up Donald, who is considered one of the best defenders in the league. Even though the Rams are unsure how Johnson will fit in new defensive coordinator Wade Phillips' scheme.
If the Rams don't make significant strides in 2017, Snead won't have his head coach as an excuse. And the Greg Robinson trade will be part of the discussion whether to remove him.
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