The Los Angeles Rams bid farewell to veteran linebacker Mark Barron last week, releasing him to free up some much-needed cap space. He spent the last four-plus years with the Rams after coming over in a trade with the Bucs in 2014, starting 56 games and making 398 tackles after transitioning to linebacker.
By all indications, the Rams have moved on from Barron, but general manager Les Snead seemed to leave the door slightly open on Tuesday. He told media members that the Rams will continue to monitor Barron’s market in free agency, which suggests they’ll keep an eye on his asking price and interest from other teams.
Snead did say Micah Kiser would replace Barron at inside linebacker as of now, but that’s obviously preliminary. The Rams could sign a free agent like Brandon Marshall to help fill the void left by Barron, or use one of their top three picks on a linebacker in the draft.
However, it seems there’s an outside chance Barron could return if the price is right. He’s still a talented player and an athletic linebacker, but he doesn’t exactly fit the Rams’ scheme to perfection.
He’s best as a 4-3 weakside linebacker, allowing him to flow to the ball behind bigger defensive linemen. Being slightly undersized, he doesn’t excel at getting off blocks and has had his lapses in coverage, too.
It would be best for both parties to move on, but it’s certainly interesting that Snead said the Rams will monitor his market.
