Rams trade Chris Givens

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I resisted the opportunity to title this "Rams trade leading rusher": Chris Givens was the Rams' leading rusher last week with 24 yards, and he's now a Baltimore Raven. The Rams have dealt him for a 7th-round pick in 2017.

Baltimore's dealing with a lot of injuries at WR and also let Torrey Smith walk in free agency. Their offense relies a lot on having a vertical threat, and they just don't have one right now. It was supposed to be rookie Breshad Perriman but injuries are making this a lost season for him.

Givens had a nice rookie season for the Rams as a 4th-round draft pick in 2012, claiming a league record with five straight games with a catch of 50 yards or more. He finished with 65 catches for 698 yards and 3 TDs. He hasn't had a catch of 50 or more since. In 2013, I think the Rams miscast him as more of a possession receiver. His average per catch went up but he was no deep threat at all. Defenses took him out of games with man coverage and he got sloppy hands and ran sloppy routes. The Rams then drafted Tavon Austin and Stedman Bailey, pushing Givens to the bottom of the depth chart. He got a shot to make a mark as a kick returner but didn't deliver there.

From the Rams' standpoint, there was a decent chance they'd have had to cut Givens in the near future. Brian Quick is coming out of mothballs this week, so Givens' limited reps at WR would be gone. Trey Watts, who offers a lot more as a special teams player, comes off suspension after this week. From the 2015 standpoint, this trade works for the Rams as a something-for-nothing kind of deal. From the 2013 standpoint, it looks like they failed to maximize a good thing they had going. Between this and cutting Isaiah Pead last week, the 2012 draft is making kind of a hasty departure around here.

This could be a good move for Givens assuming his role in Baltimore will be first and foremost to take the top off of defenses, like it was his rookie year. That will give him a good chance to flash the form he showed back then and this past preseason.

We'll see Givens again November 22nd when the Rams play the Ravens in Baltimore. Be ready for the deep ball.

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