Rams not extending Bradford's contract

[soonergirlNeugene]

Is it just me thinking this is a blessing in disguise for Bradford? The Rams have been completely inept in basically all aspects of the game. What are the chances he winds up someplace like Minnesota? I'd sure like to see him and Peterson sharing the backfield.

[olevetonahill]

That was MY thots, Lets just hope they dont get him killed before he can land on a Decent team.

[Piware]

Hope you are right Sooner Girl. Would love to see him somewhere that actually protects the QB. I wondered if the Rams were trying to get him killed.

[Widescreen]

Where are you seeing this? I looked around and can't find any reference to this.

[TheUnnamedSooner]

Here's something.

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2014/02/17/report-rams-dont-intend-to-extend-bradfords-deal/

[olevetonahill]

Saw it earlier, Cant find the Link now tho. What I read is they are "Considering" not renewing.

[olevetonahill]

Think its being hid in that "Insider" crap.

[soonergirlNeugene]

Where are you seeing this? I looked around and can't find any reference to this.

http://www.midwestsportsfans.com/2014/02/sam-bradford-st-louis-rams-intention-extending-quarterback/

Boo. It sounds like they are going to make him wait another year, but at the same time come out w/ crap like this.

[King Barry's Back]

http://www.midwestsportsfans.com/2014/02/sam-bradford-st-louis-rams-intention-extending-quarterback/

Boo. It sounds like they are going to make him wait another year, but at the same time come out w/ crap like this.

Isn't that called "negotiating"?

[Aries]

This is not really news, and it doesn't mean the Rams are looking to part ways with Sam. The Rams say they are not concerned about his cap hit, and speculation that it is too high is exaggerated.

There are also reports that Sam is not interested in extending right now, he would rather wait until he has a more successful year than to negotiate after a season where he missed 9 games to injury. Although I'm not sure if that's based on anything Sam or his agent have said, or just more speculation.

Move along. Nothing to see here. :)

[swardboy]

I think Fisher's quarterback basket is mostly full of Sam's eggs (heh). Least ways the front office continues to say Sam's the man in St. Louis. I will watch with GREAT interest what they do in the draft though. From what I hear next year's draft will be QB rich, so will they stay with Clemens (and I see Austin Davis is still on the roster) and wait until next year to draft an heir to Sam, or will they go early this year to pick one up.

This year is critical for Bradford...whether he stays in St. Louis or moves to a new situation. I'm praying it's his breakout year. Upgrade that o-line get a top shelf #1 receiver Rams, please. I think they've found their runner in Stacy.

[Aries]

I would agree with all of that swardboy, although I think they may look for depth at RB. Taking one in round 2 or 3 wouldn't stun me, but maybe they'll hope to strike a bargain with an undrafted FA.

Austin Davis was re-signed when Bradford went on IR, mostly because he was available and knew the offense. Local reporters speculate that they'll take a "developmental" QB somewhere in rounds 2 through 4. If they pull a shocker and take one in the first round, all bets regarding Bradford are off. But for now, I think Bradford has another year.

They say they don't need or want a vet or high draft pick WR, but I suspect that is pre-draft smokescreen. Can't remember if it was Torry Hold or Isaac Bruce, but one of them said he thinks they have their eventual #1 receiver in Stedman Bailey. He did seem to be coming on strong at the end of 2013.

I predict Fisher breaks his tradition and takes an OT in the first round. :)

[badger]

I was worried when I saw this on ESPN's bottom ticker last night, cuz they were talking about all his guaranteed money already being paid out, etc etc., but all it basically means is that he has 2 years left on his rookie deal and they're not looking beyond that yet.

I initially interpreted it as they're looking younger and cheaper, but at the rate that quarterback contracts have skyrocketed recently, Sam is no longer "expensive" in quarterback terms.

That must drive players at other positions crazy. Think the NFL or the NFLPA is gonna do something to stop the outta control quarterback-then-everyone-else salary division lately?

[Aries]

No, just another case of a columnist outside of St. Louis, who really isn't familiar with the whole context, taking a statement and going down a rabbit hole with it. This was Howard Balzer's (local reporter) comment in response to the article. Read this with a healthy dose of snark....

"Jason LaCanfora is really up on things. Glad he cleared this up; we were all wondering."
~Howard Balzer

[PrideMom]

Bradford still has two more years. Let's hope the Rams will finally get him some receivers. They finally have a decent defense, and a good running back, now put the money in the offense to help the premium QB they have! The reason Fisher came to coach the Rams was because of Bradford.

[stoops the eternal pimp]

It didn't help Bradford's case that the offense moved the ball better under Clemens than him..Now, that was when Zac Stacy emerged along with some other things that happened.. Lots of fault to be spread around on why things haven't been great in his career..to everyone.

[Widescreen]

It didn't help Bradford's case that the offense moved the ball better under Clemens than him..Now, that was when Zac Stacy emerged along with some other things that happened.. Lots of fault to be spread around on why things haven't been great in his career..to everyone.

I wasn't under the impression that it was because Clemens was slinging the ball all over the place.

[stoops the eternal pimp]

I wasn't under the impression that it was because Clemens was slinging the ball all over the place.

No one I know is saying Clemens was slinging the ball all over the case..They are saying he handled the pressure a little better and looked to get the ball down field more.

[swardboy]

Seems like when the Rams committed to the run with Stacy that Bradford had three games in that scenario and was having his "breakout" year. Hopefully that's a trend that restarts with the first game of 2014.

FINALLY Stedman Bailey got some significant exposure late in the year. I feel he will be a great "go to" receiver. Now if only Jared Cook would get some consistent hands and Givens returns to 2012 form, and Brian Quick brings a game consistent to his size and speed...

If I were the Rams management I would be trying like heck to rework Sam's contract NOW, because IF he has the year we all know he's capable of with potent weapons, and IF he's healthy for 16 games, he'll be commanding top dollar this time next year. Gee that's a big two letter word: IF.

[Aries]

I think there are several reasons besides Clemens that the Rams had as much success as they did after Bradford's injury....

The defense got MUCH better the second half of the season.

Bailey, and to a lesser degree Austin improved as the season went on.

The running game, which was non-existent with Pead and Richardson was more than adequate with Stacy.

But I haven't heard ANY writer, staff, or anyone with inside access to the Rams say anyone thought Clemens did anything better. You more often hear comments like "If Bradford had been playing against the Seahawks (first time) we probably win that game."

Clemens acquitted himself very well under the circumstances, but he is absolutely no threat to Bradford's career or contract. He's a very serviceable backup, that's pretty much it.

[jkm, the stolen pifwafwi]

It didn't help Bradford's case that the offense moved the ball better under Clemens than him..Now, that was when Zac Stacy emerged along with some other things that happened.. Lots of fault to be spread around on why things haven't been great in his career..to everyone.

The problem in a nutshell is that the team hadn't been built for Sam's strengths. QBs fall into 3 categories -> vertical, sidelines, or entire field (ie ELITE). Sam is a vertical QB - his outlet is the TE not running backs. He tends to throw the post and slant much more accurately than he does anything on the edge. Those throws require a good running game, a good TE, and WRs willing to go over the middle. Those pieces have been in short supply since he has been with the Rams.

[stoops the eternal pimp]

I agree.. Before the injury, I heard a gm say that part of the reason for Tavon Austin's ineffectiveness/drops was due to Bradford's accuracy problems in throwing to the RB..Some of the screen passes were just bad..And I've got a host of numbers to back you up.. His short game statistics are at average or below in several catergories but he threw more of those than anything else.. Largely due to Schottenheimer's design.

In games were he could go vertical, he had some success, ie the jaguars.. Also, Bradford is very good rolling out of the pocket, but he had few opportunities for that also..

But again, the knock has been that when the pressure did come, Clemens did a lot better making something good happen..And again, Zac Stacy establishing himself had a lot to do with it.

[olevetonahill]

Yea But I dont give a Rats *** about the Rams or Clemens or anyone else on that Team. Im a Sam Fan.

[jkm, the stolen pifwafwi]

I agree.. Before the injury, I heard a gm say that part of the reason for Tavon Austin's ineffectiveness/drops was due to Bradford's accuracy problems in throwing to the RB..Some of the screen passes were just bad..And I've got a host of numbers to back you up.. His short game statistics are at average or below in several catergories but he threw more of those than anything else.. Largely due to Schottenheimer's design.

In games were he could go vertical, he had some success, ie the jaguars.. Also, Bradford is very good rolling out of the pocket, but he had few opportunities for that also..

But again, the knock has been that when the pressure did come, Clemens did a lot better making something good happen..And again, Zac Stacy establishing himself had a lot to do with it.

Sam took 15 sacks on the season. 11 of those were in the 2 games before they started playing Stacy. In the 3 games he played with Stacy he had 2 (JAC), 0 (@HOU), 2 (@CAR). Clemmons had 21 sacks in the remaining 10 games WITH Stacy and it was a consistent 2 per game.

[Eielson]

I think you guys pretty well figured it out on here, but the report was bogus. The story is the same today as it has been for months. Sam is going to be the Rams' quarterback next year. The years following that? Maybe not. It all depends on how next season goes. If we keep Sam, we pay him about $17M. If we cut Sam, and then add his dead money with the expected rookie salary of the #2 pick, we'll pay $11M for some scrub rookie who doesn't belong in the first round. We also lose the #2 overall pick. I don't even know if the Rams would do this if Luck/RGIII were available, so I highly doubt it's ever even been on the radar with this crop.

[Eielson]

It didn't help Bradford's case that the offense moved the ball better under Clemens than him..Now, that was when Zac Stacy emerged along with some other things that happened.. Lots of fault to be spread around on why things haven't been great in his career..to everyone.

A lot of the change came from switching from a pass-first team to a run-first team in week 5. The team was looking a lot different even before Sam got hurt. Clemen's success came from doing just enough, and usually not blowing things when the rest of the team put in a great effort. There are exceptions to even that, though, as week 8 was a masterpiece against Seattle with the exception of our passing game. I'd say this team would have gone at least 9-7 and competed for a playoff spot with Sam at QB all year.

That begs the question, though...why pay a QB $17M a year to play on a run-first team? You're absolutely right about this. Clemens' "success" didn't help Sam, and there's blame to go around everywhere. I've seen this team lose based off of a pick-6 Sam threw, and then the people on this board blame the Rams' management. Sam's got some talent around him now, so he can't blame anybody but himself going forward.

[jkm, the stolen pifwafwi]

That begs the question, though...why pay a QB $17M a year to play on a run-first team? You're absolutely right about this. Clemens' "success" didn't help Sam, and there's blame to go around everywhere. I've seen this team lose based off of a pick-6 Sam threw, and then the people on this board blame the Rams' management. Sam's got some talent around him now, so he can't blame anybody but himself going forward.

This is going to be the thinking more and more with the new CBA. Remember that Sam is the last of the rookie golden handcuff contracts. Had they not given rookies a salary cap, it was going to get to the point to where finishing last would kill your team.

[EatLeadCommie]

Sam was a lot better than Clemens this year. Not even close.

[Eielson]

This is going to be the thinking more and more with the new CBA. Remember that Sam is the last of the rookie golden handcuff contracts. Had they not given rookies a salary cap, it was going to get to the point to where finishing last would kill your team.

I'd venture to say it did get to that point. We had top 2 picks three years in a row, it was AWFUL! If you think Chris Long has a bad contract now, you should have seen it his first year or two when he was only getting 4 or 5 sacks a year. Add that to Sam's contract and paying Jason Smith $10M a year to do nothing, and you have the reason why the Rams sucked/couldn't get any help for Sam for so long.

[stoops the eternal pimp]

Les Snead does not agree with the "give Bradford weapons" narrative.. Quick, Tavon, Cook, Bailey, Givens..that's what he said yesterday.. Said contract talks are on going

[jkm, the stolen pifwafwi]

Les Snead does not agree with the "give Bradford weapons" narrative.. Quick, Tavon, Cook, Bailey, Givens..that's what he said yesterday.. Said contract talks are on going

I was afraid they would go with that approach, though I'm not surprised. Almost all of those guys are better on the edge than they are in the middle (since he didn't mention Pettis who is the one receiver they have that will go over the middle). My guess is that he'll show flashes by hitting Bailey on long post routes but will be disappointing to most fans because of his mediocre sideline game (where the 60%+ of the passes will be thrown). He'll also target cook quite a bit and get frustrated from Cooks game to game inconsistency and then start pressing.

[Eielson]

Les Snead does not agree with the "give Bradford weapons" narrative.. Quick, Tavon, Cook, Bailey, Givens..that's what he said yesterday.. Said contract talks are on going

I think a lot of the Rams' WR situation has to do with Quick. If he really is developing into the next Vincent Jackson (which is the comparison Snead likes to make), then the Rams are set. If not, then they have everything they could want except a #1...which is pretty important of course.

I'm really not sure what approach this team will take for the draft if they don't trade it. Fisher doesn't believe in drafting OTs that early (Matthews, Robinson), Snead says they don't need to give Sam more weapons (Watkins, Evans), and Sam is "their guys" (Bortles, Bridgewater, Manziel). In all honesty, if they stay at 2 (which I hope they don't), I'm starting to think Clowney is about as likely as anybody despite having Quinn, Long, and Hayes already.