Los Angeles Rams: What the Eric Weddle means for the 2019 NFL Draft
By Jason Reed
The Los Angeles Rams were quick to sign Eric Weddle after he was released by the Baltimore Ravens in a move that will affect the rest of the offseason.
The Los Angeles Rams kept the offseason splashes coming after signing safety Eric Weddle to a two-year, $10.5 million contract on Friday. The Rams are already following up on a busy offseason last year that saw several kinds of these moves.
This was such a good signing for the Los Angeles Rams. It is no secret that Weddle is getting older and his best football is behind him but he can still be very valuable to an NFL defense. A two-year contract worth just over $5 million per year feels like a steal for a player of Weddle’s caliber.
Weddle is obviously coming in to replace Lamarcus Joyner, who the team franchise tagged last year and was hitting the free agent market. It was pretty well known that Joyner would not be a Ram in 2019.
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As for the Weddle signing, though, it will be the first domino of many to fall for the Los Angeles Rams and will be telling of what the team does in the 2019 NFL Draft.
First, this signing could indicate that the Rams are not going to spend on a linebacker. The team just released Mark Barron for cap space that was instantly used on Weddle. It is very hard to see the Rams signing a linebacker when they just freed up linebacker money for Weddle.
This also could mean that the Rams are going to re-sign Ndamukong Suh. Signing Weddle to a low market-value deal keeps the door open to signing Suh to another short-term contract. It is not surefire, but defensive tackle is not as big of a need with Aaron Donald on the inside.
You can pretty much throw any notion that the Rams will draft anything but a linebacker in the first round out of the window. Safety, offensive lineman, defensive lineman, it does not matter. The Los Angeles Rams are telling us loud and clear right now that this is the plan.
And it is not a bad plan. The secondary is pretty old already and Weddle serves as a great short-term option that can be turned over with the rest of the secondary. Linebacker is already a position that is turning over and desperately needs a touch up this offseason.
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The moves the Los Angeles Rams made last offseason helped the team represent the NFC in the Super Bowl. This could be the start of a similar string of moves for the Rams this offseason as well.