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The Rams released three veteran players in moves that save them $23M off the cap today. Gone from the new team in Los Angeles are linebacker James Laurinaitis, tight end Jared Cook, and defensive end Chris Long.
Chris Long's farewell to fans in St Louis was typically cool. He's one of the best twitter follows around, has been a great rival to the Seahawks over the years, and called his play over the last two years "shit." You don't see that type of honesty all too often.
Love y'all! pic.twitter.com/Jutw4NQQRi
— Chris Long (@JOEL9ONE) February 19, 2016
The obvious question on Seahawks fans minds is whether or not Seattle would be interested in any of these cap casualties. My guess is that for Long and Cook, Seattle will kick the tires. I'm not so sure about Laurinaitis.
Cook has long underachieved and underwhelmed despite being probably one of the best athletes in the NFL, but will continue to intrigue coaches, most likely, because of that top-end speed and explosiveness. Adding to that is the fact that he hasn't been paired with top-end quarterbacks during his career in Tennessee and St. Louis (Vince Young, Kerry Collins, Matt Hasselbeck, Jake Locker, Sam Bradford, Kellen Clemens, Austin Davis, Shaun Hill, Nick Foles, Case Keenum.... woof), so there's bound to be someone out there that thinks they can make him a star. With the Jimmy Graham health situation up in the air, if Cook could come cheap (that is the main qualifier), I wouldn't be surprised to see Seattle bring him in for a meet and greet.
Same goes for Chris Long. The former 2nd overall pick has just 4.0 sacks in the last two seasons after racking up 41.5 from 2010-2013, but is still just 31 and has battled injuries the last two years. I would think he'll get some interest in the free agent market and would make for a good candidate as a sub-package rusher for some team looking to add some pass rush teeth. Again, it wouldn't surprise me if Seattle kicks the tires. He's coming off two down years and won't likely fetch top dollar.
Overall -- add three names to the free agent market. These are three guys that will find spots in the league, and they're three names to keep an eye on over the next couple of months.