Jay87 Posted March 3, 2005 Share Posted March 3, 2005 http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/columns/story?columnist=pasquarelli_len&id=2004374 For the second time in two days, the St. Louis Rams have addressed their linebacker corps, as they move toward a major overhaul of the unit for 2005. Unrestricted free agent Chris Claiborne, who played the past two season for the Minnesota Vikings, agreed Thursday afternoon to a three-year contract, ESPN.com has learned. The addition of Claiborne, who will become the Rams' starting middle linebacker, follows the Wednesday acquisition of former Dallas star Dexter Coakley. Claiborne will sign a three-year contract worth $10.5 million and the deal includes a $3.6 million signing bonus. In terms of annual salaries, Claiborne will earn $800,000 (2005), $2.85 million (2006) and $3.25 million (2007). Revamping the linebacker corps, after a dismal 2004 performance, was an offseason priority for the Rams, and they wasted little time addressing it. Coakley signed a five-year contract worth $14.5 million, with a $3 million signing bonus. Claiborne, 26, played the strong-side spot for the Vikings the past two seasons and really resurrected his career. Part of what made him attractive to the Rams was the versatility he has exhibited, as he has started at various times at all three linebacker positions. The former Southern California star was a first-round draft choice of Detroit in 1999 and played his first four seasons with the Lions before signing with the Vikings in 2003 as a free agent. He has 528 tackles in his career, along with 14½ sacks, eight interceptions, 30 passes defensed, seven forced fumbles and eight recoveries. In the 2000-02 seasons, he had 100-plus tackles each season. Claiborne has played in 87 games. Just a resident Rams fan delivering the news. Maybe we should go for Smoot now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oldskool Posted March 3, 2005 Share Posted March 3, 2005 LOL You cant afford Smoot now :laugh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warhead36 Posted March 3, 2005 Share Posted March 3, 2005 Claiborne and Coakley are both mediocre. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skins4SB Posted March 3, 2005 Share Posted March 3, 2005 So what does your linebacking corps look like now? LOLB: Coakley?/Tinoisamoa MLB: Claiborne ROLB: Coakley?/Polley Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MumboSauce Posted March 3, 2005 Share Posted March 3, 2005 Claiborne was good once upon a time..he stinks now...even if he manages to stay healthy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay87 Posted March 4, 2005 Author Share Posted March 4, 2005 Originally posted by Skins4SB So what does your linebacking corps look like now? LOLB: Coakley?/Tinoisamoa MLB: Claiborne ROLB: Coakley?/Polley LOLB: Coakley MLB: Claiborne ROLB: Thomas Polley is gone and Tinoisamoa is being moved to SS. Pace is supposed to sign long-term this week so that should free up some more room. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CanadaRam Posted March 4, 2005 Share Posted March 4, 2005 The sad thing is that as mediocre as these LB's might be, they are an immediate improvement over the 04 LB corps. Also, based on other signings (ex. Greenwood, Pierce) the rams have managed not to break the bank. BTW, Tinoisamoa has been moved to SS and Archuleta is slated to be FS. Although this could change with future signings and the draft. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zen-like Todd Posted March 4, 2005 Share Posted March 4, 2005 Tinoisamoa to SS? I wasn't aware he had any coverage skills whatsoever. :rubeyes: Did they drop him into coverage last year? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skins4SB Posted March 4, 2005 Share Posted March 4, 2005 Is Archeluta better suited to play FS rather than SS? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CanadaRam Posted March 4, 2005 Share Posted March 4, 2005 Other than some zone stuff in Lovie Smith's cover 2 system Tinoisamoa has never been asked to drop into coverage. Also, as you probably know Archuleta was a LB at ASU and the rams converted him to SS as a rookie. Despite the move to SS he has spent a lot of time playing close to the line as a ram. As a reuslt, he is not known for his coverage skills. So there is no question that he is better suited as a SS. He has some serious back injury issues right now, so that is probably part of the reason for the move. The rams safety play was terrible last year, so it can't get any worse, even with these moves. Arch and Tino are the only safties on the roster at this point. Hopefully, the rams FO will address the safety position in FA, but there really isn't much out there, I don' think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skins4SB Posted March 4, 2005 Share Posted March 4, 2005 Don't you have Antuan Edwards and Zach Bronson? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dn0774 Posted March 4, 2005 Share Posted March 4, 2005 As a Vikes fan I am a little disappointed Claiborne wont be back. He was one our better defensive players (not saying much, I know). I hope he can manage to stay healthy for a season cause he could put up some decent numbers. He needs to watch his weight though, he seemed to get bloated and sluggish as the seasons went on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danny Montana Posted March 4, 2005 Share Posted March 4, 2005 Nice to see the Vikes using their NFL leading amount of cap space. :laugh: They better start spending some paper soon. Hopefully they blow a chunk of it on Plax Burress, and stay away from WRs in the draft. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dn0774 Posted March 4, 2005 Share Posted March 4, 2005 Originally posted by Danny Montana Nice to see the Vikes using their NFL leading amount of cap space. :laugh: They better start spending some paper soon. Hopefully they blow a chunk of it on Plax Burress, and stay away from WRs in the draft. Thats what happens when your owner made his living as a used car salesman. It seems like year in and year out the Vikes are left rummaging through the bargain bin for free agents. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CanadaRam Posted March 4, 2005 Share Posted March 4, 2005 Originally posted by Skins4SB Don't you have Antuan Edwards and Zach Bronson? Edwards is a UFA. Apparently the rams had a three year offer on the table for him, but he wanted to test the waters. Bronson was signed to a one year deal before going on IR. I don't know what the rams have planned for him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay87 Posted March 4, 2005 Author Share Posted March 4, 2005 Edwards spit on the Rams offer so they took it off the table and told him to take a hike. They were going to sign DB Bhawoh Jue who can play safety and corner, but he opted for San Diego. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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