The Rams’ 6 most important free agent decisions this offseason
The Rams take some momentum out of a playoff appearance, but next up are some key decisions about free agents on the roster
It’s been more than a week since the Rams’ season ended in the first round of the NFL playoffs, and the team’s brain trust is still taking some time to decompress and put some distance between itself and the 10-7 season that left the franchise reinvigorated.
When the Rams’ leaders do sit down after the Super Bowl to evaluate the state of the team and the options ahead of them, there will be several key decisions to be made. First up on the calendar will be NFL free agency, which begins the second week of March.
Here’s a look at six pivotal free-agent decisions the Rams have to make ahead of the 2024 season.
The Rams acquired Dotson, 26, from the Pittsburgh Steelers at the end of August in exchange for a swap of Day 3 draft capital. The move turned out to be a bargain for the Rams, as Dotson started at right guard in Week 4 and never surrendered the job. According to Pro Football Focus, Dotson was the second-highest graded guard in the NFL this season, allowing just 24 pressures on 561 pass-blocking snaps while adding physicality to the Rams’ running game.
The other side of the sword for the Rams is that Dotson is now an unrestricted free agent and has greatly increased his value. Speaking with reporters last week, Rams general manager Les Snead made it clear that the Rams want Dotson back but was unsure what the open market would pay him.
Dotson’s Rams teammates want him, back, too.
“I thought Kevin did a great job coming in here,” right tackle Rob Havenstein said. “He’s a big, strong, physical guy. He’s a great presence in the meeting room. He’s funny as all heck. Just a great guy to be around. And however it shakes out, I’m just a Kevin Dotson fan from here on out. But obviously having continuity on the O-line is important.”
One thing that Snead spoke about regarding Dotson and the offensive line is that continuity “is definitely the vision.” Does that apply to starting left tackle Alaric Jackson, 25, who is a restricted free agent?
Jackson won the Rams’ left tackle job in training camp and did a serviceable job, but also allowed 41 pressures, the most of any Rams offensive lineman this season. Do the Rams think they can improve at the position either in free agency or with their first-round pick? If enough receivers and quarterbacks are taken high in the draft, it could push a talented tackle to the Rams at No. 19.
As a former undrafted free agent, Jackson won’t net the Rams any compensatory picks if he signs with another team assuming he is designated with a right-of-first-refusal tag.
uller was second on the team in tackles and had three interceptions and eight pass breakups this season. Beyond that, he was an important leader in the locker room, serving as captain and wearing the green dot on defense when linebacker Ernest Jones IV missed the game against the Green Bay Packers.
As important as he was to the Rams’ defense this season, Snead appeared resigned to losing Fuller in free agency in his press conference last week. Asked directly how Fuller’s leadership plays into his decision-making, Snead spoke about replacing that leadership rather than retaining it.
“Anytime a leader goes out, it’s probably hard to replace that exact leader,” Snead said. “That’s the tough part about this business is there’s times where you actually lose useful skills when players move on, but the very, very hard part is to lose that leadership quality that definitely is an important part of blending the energy that you have for that particular team and that moment.”
