Should Rams Invest in Free-Agent Edge Dawuane Smoot?
While the Los Angeles Rams hope to rebound from a disappointing 5-12 season last year and return to the playoffs in 2023, they are, at a minimum, retooling. And thus, general manager Les Snead has seemingly ditched the "F them picks" strategy, attempting to set the team up for success in 2024 and 2025 as much as 2023.
To that end, Pro Football Focus recently suggested that the Rams would be wise to sign free-agent pass rusher Dawuane Smoot to a multi-year contract, with their eyes on 2024:
"Smoot tore his Achilles late in the 2022 season, so this is really investing in a younger free agent for 2024 and beyond, but that has been the overarching focus of the Rams' offseason already."
"Perhaps Smoot is open to a multi-year deal like we’ve seen recently for players such as Ja’Wuan James with the Baltimore Ravens during the 2021 offseason, where he gets paid around the minimum, has access to an NFL training staff year-round and can then get ready to bounce back in a major way in 2024."
A third-round pick in the 2017 NFL Draft out of Illinois, Smoot recorded 45 quarterback hits, 18 tackles for a loss, 16.5 sacks, five pass deflections and four forced fumbles between 2020 and 2022, the final three seasons of a five-year stint with the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Of course, in such a contract, you are essentially paying a player to not play or not play until late in the first year of such a contract. If the Rams were to sign Smoot to a two-year deal, there's a chance 2023 would be a redshirt year. But the Rams would get to oversee his recovery, and then they would have him under contract for his age-29 season in 2024.
Given that future Hall of Famer Aaron Donald has seemingly weighed retirement in each of the last two offseasons, Snead and coach Sean McVay need to begin planning for life after the seven-time All-Pro. That could come as soon as 2024, when Smoot may be ready to make an impact on Los Angeles' defensive line.
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