The Rams need Joe Noteboom to play like the $40 million lineman they paid him to be in 2022
The Los Angeles Rams paid Joe Noteboom to be their starting left tackle last season, giving him a three-year deal worth $40 million in 2022. Unfortunately, the injury bug bit him again as he missed 11 games due to a torn Achilles.
Noteboom is still working his way back from the injury and wasn’t on the field for OTAs or minicamp, but the Rams’ hope is that he can be their starting left tackle for the duration of the 2023 season. If not, the position could be handed over to Alaric Jackson, a former undrafted free agent.
Noteboom may not be one of the Rams’ best players, but he’s one of their most important as they look to bounce back from a disastrous season on the offensive line.
The Rams have gotten under the salary cap already, but how much space do they currently have?
The NFL requires all teams to be under the salary cap when the new league year begins, which is March 15 at 4 p.m. ET this year. The Los Angeles Rams were more than $14 million over the limit a few weeks ago, but they’ve made the necessary moves to get under the cap ahead of Wednesday’s deadline.
They agreed to trade Jalen Ramsey to the Dolphins, cut Leonard Floyd, restructured Joe Noteboom’s contract and split with Bobby Wagner. The Ramsey and Wagner moves haven’t yet been made official, but they will go through on Wednesday.
Over The Cap is keeping track of every team’s moves and cap situation, updating the Rams’ financial standing with every transaction. Accounting for the Ramsey trade, Floyd release and Noteboom restructure, Over The Cap has the Rams with $6.27 million in cap space.
When Wagner is released, assuming he’ll be a standard cut and not a post-June 1 release, the Rams will save another $5 million, giving them more than $11 million in free space. If he’s a post-June 1 cut, the Rams will get $8 million in savings, but they won’t see that money until June.
The Ramsey trade saved $5.6 million in cap space, the Floyd cut saved $3 million and Noteboom’s restructure saved $9 million, so that’s where the additional money has come from.
The Rams are getting under the cap by restructuring Joe Noteboom’s contract, which saves $9 million
The Los Angeles Rams must get under the salary cap by Wednesday at 4 p.m. ET and they took a big step toward getting there on Tuesday. According to Field Yates of ESPN, they restructured Joe Noteboom’s contract to create $9 million in cap space.
Noteboom was viewed as a potential cap casualty this offseason after signing a three-year deal in 2022, but with his deal being reworked, it’s highly unlikely that the Rams will move him now.
The Rams signed Noteboom to a three-year deal worth $40 million last offseason, keeping him under contract through 2024 before he could hit free agency.
His deal includes two void years in 2025 and 2026, which are only there for cap purposes. In this instance with a restructure, it helps spread out some money across additional years rather than it all coming in the next two years.
More cap space created:
* The Ravens reworked G Kevin Zeitler and RB Gus Edwards' deals for $7.108M
* The Rams reworked LT Joe Noteboom's deal for $9M
This move should get the Rams under the cap by the start of the new league year after trading Jalen Ramsey and releasing both Bobby Wagner and Leonard Floyd.
Joe Noteboom suffered a season-ending Achilles injury in the Rams’ Week 6 win over the Panthers.
Joe Noteboom was carted off during Sunday’s win over the Carolina Panthers as the Los Angeles Rams ended a two-game losing streak. Ahead of the bye week in Week 7, it’s been confirmed that Noteboom suffered a season-ending Achilles injury against the Panthers.
Sources: Rams left tackle Joe Noteboom tore his Achilles’ tendon on Sunday and will be out for the season.
Noteboom exited in the second quarter of Sunday’s win and he was immediately ruled out for the rest of the game. Sean McVay shared that the Rams feared he sustained an injury to his Achilles, but the team would wait for him to undergo more tests.
Sadly, Noteboom will miss the rest of the season as he’ll join a long list of injured offensive linemen on the Rams. Aside from Noteboom, Brian Allen, David Edwards, Coleman Shelton, and Tremayne Anchrum Jr. have all endured injuries that have caused them to miss multiple games.
Ahead of the 2022 season, Noteboom signed a three-year, $40 million contract to replace Andrew Whitworth as the blindside protector for Matthew Stafford following his retirement. The TCU product had started in all six games for Los Angeles this season and he’s made 23 career starts since the Rams took him in the third round of the 2018 NFL draft.
With Noteboom out for the rest of the year, Rob Havenstein is the lone remaining starter on the offensive line from Week 1 that is healthy. Alaric Jackson could see more time at left tackle or the Rams could potentially make a move soon with all of the injuries they’ve endured in the trenches.
That was Sean McVay’s take on the Rams’ incredibly long list of injuries suffered along the offensive line after losing Joe Noteboom in Sunday’s win over the Panthers. Noteboom was carted off and ruled out with an ankle injury, but the fear is that he hurt his Achilles.
McVay told reporters it “might be an Achilles,” which is always a crushing injury if the tendon is indeed torn. That would sideline Noteboom indefinitely, leaving the Rams without their left tackle for the foreseeable future.
Mike Garafolo also reported that the belief is he suffered a season-ending Achilles injury.
That’s the fear for the #Rams’ left tackle. Tests coming but the belief is he’ll be lost for the season, source says. https://t.co/3XXQEqalri
Noteboom signed a $40 million extension this past offseason to stay aboard as Andrew Whitworth’s replacement, and even though he hasn’t played well thus far, he’s the Rams’ best option at left tackle.
After Noteboom left the game, Alaric Jackson slid over to left tackle and Oday Aboushi took over at right guard. That could be the Rams’ approach moving forward if Noteboom is sidelined.
The Rams took care of business at home with a 24-10 win over the Panthers in Week 6 and here are our immediate takeaways.
The Los Angeles Rams were able to come away with a 24-10 win over the Carolina Panthers at home in Week 6. The Rams improve to 3-3 on the season after ending a two-game losing streak with consecutive losses to the San Francisco 49ers and the Dallas Cowboys.
It was a game that Los Angeles was expected to win as Carolina had an interim head coach, backup quarterback, and injuries to some notable players. Meanwhile, the Rams have dealt with countless injuries on both sides of the ball to begin the season.
After bouncing back in Week 6, here are our immediate takeaways from Sunday’s win over the Panthers.
The Rams just can’t catch a break. Already down several starting offensive linemen, the unit suffered another injury early in Sunday’s game against the Panthers.
Left tackle Joe Noteboom went down with an injury in the second quarter and had to be carted off the field. It appears to be some sort of leg injury for the Rams’ starting left tackle, leaving Rob Havenstein as the only player left from the starting line in Week 1.
Alaric Jackson moved from right guard to left tackle, and Oday Aboushi was inserted at guard. The Rams also announced Noteboom is doubtful to return before later ruling him out.
Noteboom replaced the retired Andrew Whitworth this year, signing a $40 million extension in the offseason. In addition to Noteboom, Brian Allen, Coleman Shelton, Tremayne Anchrum Jr. and David Edwards are all injured right now for the Rams, too.
Noteboom is expected to help buoy the #Rams’ offensive line after injuries have decimated their depth early in 2022
Injuries on their offensive line have come to define the Los Angeles Rams’ season through five weeks. With a favorable matchup against the Carolina Panthers looming on Sunday’s schedule, it would appear that the team is positioning itself to do everything it can to mitigate the effect of its starters’ absence.
Head coach Sean McVay addressed what he has seen from one offensive lineman in particular on Wednesday, telling reporters that tackle Joe Noteboom is progressing well in the Rams’ system. Asked how he would assess the lineman’s performance through five games, he explained that Noteboom is on track with what the team expected of him heading into the season.
“I think it’s been some things that are in alignment with what we expect from Joe,” McVay said. “Then there’s some things that he could do at a higher level. I think he’d be the first to be able to tell you that. The consistency is something that we’re hunting up from all of our players. But the good thing is that you’ve seen enough positives over the course of Joe’s career to really be able to build on it. Let’s learn from those things. He still is a young developing player, but we want to be able to see that growth and maturation occur a little bit more quickly. I do have a lot of confidence in Joe that that will get done.”
A third-round pick by Los Angeles in the 2018 draft, Noteboom has started in almost 20 games for the Rams over the course of his young career. He is still just 27 years old, so it isn’t out of the question that he might continue to get better as he hones his technique and understanding of McVay’s offensive schemes.
As injuries to the front five are a key talking point ahead of the Rams’ Week 6 matchup, Noteboom may be thrust into a key role this week as one of the team’s most-tenured linemen. His performance is likely to make or break Los Angeles’ chances of getting back above the .500 mark.
Here’s what we learned from the Rams’ blowout loss to the Bills on Thursday night
The Los Angeles Rams kicked off the 2022 season with a highly anticipated matchup versus the Buffalo Bills on Thursday night. Despite the excitement surrounding the game, the Bills made a loud statement by defeating the Rams in impressive fashion, winning the game 31-10 at SoFi Stadium.
The Rams offense accumulated only 243 yards and their lone touchdown came in the second quarter. On the other side of the field, the defense of the Bills played lights out to ruin the start of the season for the reigning Super Bowl champions.
Following the forgettable outing, here are six takeaways from the showdown between the Rams and the Bills.
Andrew Whitworth has high expectations for Joe Noteboom, even comparing him to former All-Pro LT Joe Thomas in one area
Andrew Whitworth has handed over the reins at left tackle after retiring from the NFL this offseason, stepping away from the game after 16 incredible seasons. In his place, the Los Angeles Rams will start Joe Noteboom – a former third-round pick out of TCU.
Whitworth has always been complimentary of Noteboom and seen great potential in the young tackle, but now that Noteboom is taking over as a full-time starter, Whitworth has even higher expectations for him.
In a recent interview with Rams Wire on behalf of Pepsi, Whitworth opened up about Noteboom’s potential and what he’s seen from Joe over the years. One thing that stands out to Whitworth is Noteboom’s anchor as a blocker.
His ability to set and not get knocked back reminds Whitworth of former six-time All-Pro left tackle Joe Thomas.
“For Joe, it’s the ability – he has a really special anchor. I look at Joe Thomas, he was a tremendous setter at left tackle. Had a really fluid set. Joseph sets really fluid and has a really special anchor,” Whitworth said. “Joe Thomas was a guy that had such a smooth set, but what really made him special was how strong the anchor he had. Not always being the biggest tackle out there, he could set back as far and as fast as he wanted and was actually able to anchor on people in a really special way. That’s one of the things for linemen, especially tackles, as far as you have to move and as athletic as these guys are, you gotta be able to anchor and not get knocked back in a split-second. Sometimes when they choose to attack, Noteboom has a really special anchor and can sit people down. To me, if you can do that, the rest of the stuff is just a matter of experience.”
Noteboom has made starts at left tackle before, but never for an entire season. And since struggling at left guard in 2019, a season that ended prematurely due to injury, Noteboom has focused primarily on playing tackle – unquestionably his best position.
Whitworth expects him to play well in his first year as a starting left tackle, seeing no reason he can’t excel as a pass blocker.
“… He’s gonna be a great pass protector and play well from the jump, I would imagine,” Whitworth continued. “He’s always played well in moments he’s gotten to go in there and I don’t see him in an 18-game season playing any different. I think he’ll be very consistent and play well, so as a young player, it really stuck out to see him be completely out of position a little bit and still be able to anchor guys down, which is a trait that any left tackle would love to have.”
Since retiring, Whitworth has partnered with Pepsi to give away a tiny home built for NFL game days, allowing one fan to stay in the “18 Week Pack” for 18 weeks this season, complete with two TVs, a fridge, a murphy bed and a loft.
