Long, Wells, Dunbar among those who could become Rams cap casualties
ST. LOUIS -- The NFL's free agency period starts in a week, and the Rams are going to need more money.
They have some quality players of their own worth re-signing, notably wide receiver Kenny Britt, offensive tackle Joe Barksdale and tight end Lance Kendricks. But St. Louis should also be shopping for a new offensive lineman or two, and depending on how they feel about the options relative to this year's weak draft class, a reliable backup for quarterback Sam Bradford.
Defensive Rookie of the Year Aaron Donald's stellar season allowed the Rams to release defensive tackle Kendall Langford from the final year of his contract and free up $6 million in cap space. That put St. Louis $1.7 million under the cap for 2015, according to overthecap.com, so general manager Les Snead and coach Jeff Fisher still have work to do.
Only one other player who wasn't a key contributor in 2014 could save them the kind of money they got from releasing Langford, and it's possible some contracts could be restructured. The Rams should be working hard to persuade Bradford to take less than the $13 million they owe him in 2015, and here's a look at some other players they could release.
Jake Long, OT. Potential cap savings: $8 million
Two of five starters can be penciled in on the offensive line for St. Louis in 2015. Long isn't one of them.
Fisher made it explicitly clear Greg Robinson will play left tackle going forward, and Rodger Saffold figures to return at left guard after signing a five-year deal during free agency last March. The other three positions for a group that struggled most of last season appear to be in flux.
Even before his second straight ACL tear last season, Long didn't look like a former Pro Bowler in seven games. Mixed messages from Fisher this offseason have indicated just about anything is possible, from the end of Long's career (at least in St. Louis) to the 29-year-old moving somewhere else along the line, such as right tackle or a guard spot.
The Rams can't afford to take a $10.5 million cap hit for Long next season, and it's a little surprising he's still on the roster at this point. Perhaps that means his deal will be restructured, or maybe they're just trying to answer questions related to his health.
Scott Wells, C. Potential cap savings: $3.75 million
This feels like a little too much to pay Wells after a fairly mediocre season, and he's not getting any younger.
But before the Rams dump the 34-year-old, they'll want to consider other options. Assuming they don't want to shell out $6 million or more for Kansas City's Rodney Hudson, they'll have a hard time finding another quality center in free agency.
Some alternatives exist in the draft, including Florida State's Cameron Erving, Oregon's Hroniss Grasu and Auburn's Reese Dismukes, but they all would come with some risk. As evidence, St. Louis can look at former Alabama center Barrett Jones, the team's fourth-round pick in 2013 who has battled injuries and failed to live up to expectations.
Reliability counts for a lot on the offensive line, and Wells started 28 of 32 games the last two seasons, including all 16 in 2014. He also deserves some credit for restructuring his contract last offseason to take a significant pay cut.
If the Rams can't find an obviously better option, keeping Wells around looks like their best bet.
Jo-Lonn Dunbar, LB. Potential cap savings: $1.3 million
An outstanding second half of the season got plenty of people around Rams Park buzzing about the bright future for this defense.
Veteran linebacker Jo-Lonn Dunbar played hardly any role in that improvement, and he may not be part of the future. Mark Barron's arrival from Tampa Bay as a safety/linebacker hybrid left little room for Dunbar on the field, and he's clearly the third linebacker on the roster behind captain James Laurinaitis and rising young star Alec Ogletree.
Dunbar's base salary of $1 million and salary cap hit of $1.3 million sound a little too high for a reserve, making it time to part ways with the 29-year-old who originally signed with St. Louis in 2012. Third-year linebacker Daren Bates should be able to step into Dunbar's reduced role just fine for far less money.
Isaiah Pead, RB. Potential cap savings: $940,000
A torn ACL should be the unfortunate end of a disappointing St. Louis career for Isaiah Pead.
Even if he had entered the season healthy, it's unlikely the 2012 second-round pick would have gotten many carries behind Zac Stacy, Benny Cunningham and Tre Mason. All three of them are set to come back in 2015, and second-year tailback Trey Watts could provide more depth if necessary.
Pead amassed 75 yards on 17 carries over his first two seasons but never developed into the player the Rams thought he might be after an impressive college career at Cincinnati. Perhaps a more desperate team will take the risk, but his days in St. Louis should be nearing their end.
You can follow Luke Thompson on Twitter at @FS_LukeT or email him at lukegthompson87@gmail.com.
