But that was before Miller, his pass-rush partner, walked away. Rams executives have sounded confident Donald will keep playing. General Manager Les Snead said earlier this month the Rams were “in discussions with Aaron” about a new contract, a top off-season priority along with the extension for Stafford. If the Rams are lucky, that’s the biggest issue raised by Miller leaving.Īaron Donald, the three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year, hinted before the Super Bowl that he could retire if the Rams won it, and indicated the following week that he wanted to see the team bring back Miller and Beckham. With backup Ogbo Okoronkwo gone to the Houston Texans, Miller’s replacement won’t come from within the Rams’ ranks unless Justin Hollins earns a lot more snaps or 2021 seventh-round pick Chris Garrett earns a chance after a COVID-19-ravaged rookie year. There’s a hole again at outside linebacker after Von Miller, who will be 33 on March 26, signed with the Buffalo Bills for a whopping $120 million over an even more whopping six years. Kendall Blanton and Brycen Hopkins had big moments in the playoffs and Super Bowl.įree-agent week left bigger questions to answer on defense.
Nfl transactions 2021 free#
2 tight end behind Tyler Higbee after the Minnesota Vikings signed Rams free agent Johnny Mundt. Whether Shelton should be penciled in at right guard after starter Austin Corbett signed with the Carolina Panthers is another question for the offense going into the second wave of free-agent signings and the NFL draft April 28-30.Īnother question on offense is who should step in as the No. They moved to prevent a mass exodus from the offensive line by re-signing starting center Brian Allen as well as new left tackle Joe Noteboom and guard/center Coleman Shelton. Now that they don’t have a glut of starting-caliber wide receivers, the Rams’ next task at the position is to re-sign Beckham, a free agent who is likely to miss the first half of the season after tearing an ACL in the Super Bowl victory.īeckham was the Rams’ top remaining free agent after five days of NFL transactions this week saw the departures of six free agents as well as the retirement of left tackle Andrew Whitworth, the release of punter Johnny Hekker and the non-tendering of inside linebacker Troy Reeder.