The Los Angeles Rams made a big splash last offseason when they acquired defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh. However, after an uneven season, LA might be better off cutting bait and moving on.
In 2018, defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh was the big fish in the NFL free agency pond. One year later, the Los Angeles Rams would be smart to cut bait on the one season experiment and look elsewhere.
Suh, a nine-year veteran from the University of Nebraska, looked to be the icing on the cake in Los Angeles after an impressive free agency period last spring. The Rams went out and signed a big name, big ticket types who for the most part returned only a mixed bag of results.
Suh, the biggest of those names, did show up in the postseason. In games against the Dallas Cowboys and New Orleans Saints, fans got a taste of what could have been. Unfortunately, the end result of a 13-3 regular season record was less about his impact, and more about an offense compensating for a lackluster defense.
The Rams have already shown they aren’t at all afraid to shuffle the board. With some questions as to how they may reload for 2019, options look to be their strongest asset.
Los Angeles head coach Sean McVay has already established that the Rams after Jeff Fisher are not defensive centric. While their best player is a defensive lineman, LA is now identified by what they do on offense, and given the firepower, they will take with them into next season, it’s impossible to imagine that blueprint changing.
As for Suh, he might make it interesting by taking significantly less money to stay with a team who will contend for a Super Bowl. However, the Rams may simply look to improve by changing the name on the back of the jersey.
And it may not be just him. The landscape may dictate that the Rams make other changes beyond or instead of Suh. Some have already written about dumping running back Todd Gurley and his massive contract, as well as moving on from Marcus Peters.
Who would have ever thought that just a few short weeks ago?
Defensively, Peters and Suh had their moments, but not on par with the expectations heading into last season. LA was, at best, garden variety on defense. They didn’t distinguish themselves as a team capable of stopping the run or the pass for good chunks of the season and had Jared Goff and the offense not been scoring points by the bunches, that 13-3 record could have looked much different.
Suh just isn’t that critical to what the Rams do as a whole. So long as Aaron Donald is the anchor on defense, Los Angeles will have the luxury of rotating anyone in that may be a better fit, knowing that if 2018 did anything, it showed big names don’t always provide the big results.
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