Free agency preview: wrap-up

From ESPN Radio reports this morning, it appears that we'll get an NFL labor agreement this week, teams will have a three-day window to sign their own free agents starting Friday, then on Monday the 25th, the Great Free Agent Rush of 2011 will begin.

Recapping all the other free agent nonsense I've been posting, here's what I think the Rams will do starting Friday, along with the moves I'd try if I were GM:

Mark Clayton
RamView: re-sign, assuming knee checks out by now. Too productive in short burst last year to let go.
Rams prediction: re-sign.

Daniel Fells
RamView: let 'im go. The Rams are re-modeling the position into a receiving threat again. Fells isn't that, and he doesn't seem to be a great blocker. If he does stick, blocking would be why.
Rams prediction: let 'im go. Fells will start for Pat Shurmur in Cleveland.

Laurent Robinson
RamView: let 'im go. Poor receiver other than blocking.
Rams prediction: re-sign. Coaches appear to like him and he'll get every chance to keep his job in training camp.

Adam Goldberg
RamView: re-sign. Don't think he should win the starting RG job but he's a leader on the o-line and can play either guard or tackle position off the bench.
Rams prediction: re-sign. I expect he's the top priority among Rams UFAs. I also believe they still think he's a starter.

Gary Gibson
RamView: re-sign. Nice player to have in the defensive tackle rotation.
Rams prediction: re-sign.

Kevin Dockery
RamView: let 'im go. Just a poor back.
Rams prediction: re-sign. He'll be in the mix for the nickel back job. I assume Jerome Murphy will have first dibs on that entering training camp.

Michael Lewis
RamView: as with Dockery, a poor defensive back who deserves to be cut based on his role in blowing the game in San Francisco.
Rams prediction: I fear he's the fallback if the Rams don't/can't make a significant UFA move at safety. Let's call it a 50/50 chance.

Mark Setterstrom, Darcy Johnson, Derek Schoumann, Cliff Ryan
RamView: gone because I doubt he can pass a physical, gone, gone, gone.
Rams prediction: Same. Setterstrom retires, Johnson and Schoumann find jobs on special teams somewhere. Maybe Ryan gets a tryout with Lovie Smith in Chicago, which could lose a couple of players in the middle of their line.

Restricted free agents:
RamView: re-sign Chris Chamberlain, David Vobora, Justin King, Renardo Foster, John Greco. Let Kenneth Darby, Quincy Butler, Curtis Johnson go.
Rams prediction: They'll also re-sign Darby, to be a special-teamer at a minimum, or as Steven Jackson's fallback should they fail AGAIN to upgrade in free agency. They're at the tipping point with Greco, who really needs to have a healthy training camp.

When the Great FA Rush starts next Monday:
RamView priority #1 - safety, where I'd like to go after Bears SS Danieal Manning.
Rams prediction: it won't be their priority. Quintin Mikell will be locked up by Dallas before the Rams can get to him. They go into the season in awful shape at the position, possibly with Lewis in the starting lineup.
RamView priority #2 - defensive tackle. I'm going after Seahawks DT Brandon Mebane, but I confess I'm probably not taking his market value into account enough.
Rams prediction: They'll sign Barry Cofield from the Giants.
RamView priority #3 - running back. My target is Packers RB Brandon Jackson.
Rams prediction: They'll make a relatively-inexpensive move for a Kevin Faulk-type. I'll go off the beaten path and predict it'll be Brian Westbrook. Seems like he would fare well in an offense where his plays are all designed to get him open in space.
RamView priority #4 - if I have any cap space left, weakside linebacker. I'd like to get a young 'backer like James Anderson or Zac Diles into the Will mix.
Rams prediction: won't be a priority. Ben Leber has surfaced on the local radar, but that would surround James Laurinaitis with 32- and 33-year-old LBs. David Vobora as Opening Day starter won't be a big shock.

That's actually it for RamView's UFA priorities. I don't see the Rams making moves at QB (duh), offensive line, DE or corner. At WR, I predict they'll make an honest run at Sidney Rice but will come up dry. I'm falling off the Daniel Graham bandwagon for blocking TE, but don't rule it out.

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