Tag: Morgan Fox

Panthers signing former Rams DE Morgan Fox to 2-year deal

Panthers signing former Rams defensive end Morgan Fox to a two-year deal.

Following a quiet legal tampering period, the Carolina Panthers have gotten to work aggressively adding to their front seven since the official start of free agency. So far the team has signed former Chargers linebacker Denzel Perryman and former Cardinals outside linebacker Haason Reddick. Now, they’re adding another defensive lineman to the mix.

According to a report by Tom Pelissero at NFL Network, former Rams defensive end Morgan Fox is also signing. It’s a two-year deal worth $8.1 million. Albert Breer at Sports Illustrated had it first.

Fans can be forgiven for not knowing who Fox is. He went undrafted after playing his college ball at Colorado State-Pueblo. For the last four seasons, he’s filled a backup role for LA’s defensive line.

Like Reddick, his numbers ticked up in 2020. Fox posted a career-high six sacks to go with nine QB hits and 13 pressures.

Based on his history and the size of his contract, coach Matt Rhule likely sees Fox as a backup. Assuming free agent DL Efe Obada does not return, Fox should be no higher than No. 4 on the DE depth chart behind Brian Burns, Reddick and Yetur Gross-Matos.

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Rams 2021 free agency preview: Morgan Fox should be a priority

Morgan Fox had a career year in 2020 and the Rams shouldn’t let him get away just yet.

Free agency will bring some tough waters for the Rams to navigate this offseason, being so far over the cap with a number of key players set to hit the market. Morgan Fox isn’t one of their top pending free agents like Leonard Floyd and John Johnson, but he’s certainly a valuable player who helped the Rams greatly last season.

He’ll be an unrestricted free agent for the first time next month and the Rams could have some competition from other teams when the market opens on March 17. Will they be able to retain him at a reasonable price? Or will they get outbid by a team with more spending money?

4 players who may follow Chargers HC Brandon Staley in free agency

The Chargers could garner the attention from these soon-to-be free agents.

The Chargers hired Brandon Staley to be the new man in charge.

In just one season as the Rams’ defensive coordinator, he was the engineer of the top defense in the NFL. He was respected by the handful that he coached, and some of those players may want to follow him.

With that being said, here are four soon-to-be free agents that Staley could potentially bring with him.

OLB Leonard Floyd

A former No. 9 overall pick of the Bears, Floyd was close to being labeled as a “bust” but Staley was the one who rejuvenated his career. Floyd is coming off his best year as a pro after totaling career-highs in sacks (12.5), tackles (55) and quarterback hits (19). He had a career-best 52 total pressures. Floyd also had 31 defensive stops and has been a consistently solid run defender over his career. With Melvin Ingram slated to be a free agent, he would give the Chargers another much-needed pass-rush presence alongside Joey Bosa.

CB Troy Hill

When you’re in the same secondary as Jalen Ramsey, you will likely have your work cut out for you, as opposing quarterbacks will look your way plenty. Hill did a fine job in that role, coming up in a big way. He finished tied for second on the team with three interceptions and scored three of the Rams’ defensive touchdowns on the year. Hill also had 10 passes defensed. Based on how Staley runs his system, he will likely load up on defensive backs and Hill is one that he would love to reunite with.

S John Johnson

After suffering an injury in 2019 that limited him to just six games, Johnson bounced back this past season, being the only player to play every defensive snap. Johnson logged 105 combined tackles and an interception. In addition, he only allowed a 4.9 yards per target. Versatility is everything and Johnson is a smart, adept in pass coverage and run defense, who’s capable of playing both safety positions, cornerback and linebacker.

DL Morgan Fox

The addition of Staley led to Fox’s breakout season in 2020. Fox came into the season with only 4.5 sacks and six tackles for loss in a three-season span. But he topped those this past season, finishing with six sacks and eight tackles for loss. The Chargers have promising defensive linemen in Linval Joseph, Justin Jones and Jerry Tillery, but Fox could be a huge depth piece up front.

Rams re-sign Morgan Fox, release Tanzel Smart

The Rams are bringing back Morgan Fox, who was a free agent this year.

The Los Angeles Rams are bringing back a familiar face along the defensive line and parting ways with another. The team announced on Friday it has re-signed Morgan Fox and released Tanzel Smart.

Fox for Smart isn’t a one-for-one replacement, since they play different positions. Fox is more of a defensive end or outside linebacker in certain packages, while Smart is a defensive tackle, often backing up Aaron Donald at 3-technique.

Fox was a restricted free agent this year, but the Rams opted not to tender him, allowing him to hit the open market. He’s opted to return to Los Angeles, likely seeing not much interest from other teams in free agency.

He missed the entire 2018 season due to injury, but he had two sacks and 18 total tackles last year in 16 games, including three starts. In his last two seasons when healthy, he’s played about 31% of the defensive snaps, rotating in with Michael Brockers at defensive end.

The Rams’ defensive line was made deeper this offseason with the addition of A’Shawn Robinson and the return of Brockers, so Fox will join those two and Sebastian Joseph-Day, all of whom can play defensive end.

Smart had been with the Rams for three years and played 31 total games. He doesn’t have a sack and has just 21 total tackles with one quarterback hit.

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Rams 2020 free agency preview: Morgan Fox is a backup plan at DE

The Rams can keep Morgan Fox around with the tender, but will they?

Morgan Fox missed the entire 2018 season with a torn ACL, which was a big blow to the Rams defense because he was in the process of transitioning to outside linebacker – a position of need for Los Angeles that year. He bounced back in 2019 by playing all 16 games, even earning three starts.

His playing time was still limited (32% of the snaps), but Fox made an impact defensively as a backup defensive end with two sacks and three tackles for loss. Though they’re hardly impressive numbers, he was a reliable No. 2 DE behind Michael Brockers.

Set to become a restricted free agent, Fox has a good chance to stay with the Rams. But RFA tenders don’t come extremely cheap, so the Rams will need to determine his value and whether he’s worth the lowest amount of $2.14 million.

  • 2019 stats: 18 tackles (3 TFL), 2.0 sacks, 3 QB hits
  • PFF grade: 50.7 overall

Analysis

Fox has the requisite size to play defensive end in a 3-4 scheme, standing at 6-foot-3, 275 pounds. He’s smaller than Brockers, but you could make the case that he offers more as a pass rusher than the guy he’s behind on the depth chart.

He had a key sack against the Steelers to force a punt and another against the 49ers later in the year, taking Jimmy Garoppolo down 8 yards behind the line of scrimmage. Both of his sacks came on third down, which was often when he came onto the field.

That shows the confidence the coaching staff has in him as a pass rusher, subbing Brockers off in favor of Fox in passing situations. He’ll never be a double-digit-sack player, but Fox does offer some upside at defensive end.

Positional need: Medium

Brockers is the first domino that needs to fall. If he returns, the Rams could probably make do without Fox and find a cheaper, younger option in the draft. However, if Brockers departs in free agency, Fox’s return becomes that much more important.

While he wouldn’t be a surefire starter, he’d be the team’s best option at defensive end. They’d still most likely add one in the draft, but with Fox on the roster, that need becomes smaller.

Prediction: Signs original-round tender for $2.14 million

I think the Rams will see the value that Fox brings, especially with not much depth at defensive end on the roster right now. They’ll apply an original-round tender to him, which will cost $2.14 million for the 2020 season alone.

It might not be a bargain, but it’s also not a huge price to pay for a potential starter.

What should the Rams do with their three restricted free agents?

The Rams have some decisions to make with their RFAs this year.

For the Los Angeles Rams, most of the attention is being paid to the 10 unrestricted free agents set to hit the market next month – including five key starters. But what gets lost somewhat in the shuffle are the three restricted free agents who are also on expiring contracts.

Morgan Fox, Donte Deayon and JoJo Natson have all accrued only three seasons in the NFL and are considered restricted free agents, which makes it easier for the Rams to retain them. But how interested is Los Angeles in bringing those three contributors back in 2020?

These decisions aren’t as clear cut as they were with last year’s restricted free agents. Last offseason, it was Cory Littleton, Malcolm Brown, Troy Hill and Blake Countess who became RFAs. Littleton was kept on a second-round tender, while the Rams signed Hill to an extension and matched the Lions’ offer sheet for Brown.

While restricted free agents are easier to retain than unrestricted ones, they aren’t always bargains. According to Over The Cap, here are the projected tender amounts:

  • First round: $4.667 million
  • Second round: $3.278 million
  • Original round: $2.144 million

If the Rams assign a first- or second-round tender to a player and he’s signed to an offer sheet, they have the chance to match that contract. If they decline, they’ll get a draft pick back in the round of the tender assigned. For the original-round tender, it’ll be a pick coming back in the round the player was drafted; or no pick if he went undrafted, as Fox, Deayon and Natson all did.

The first- and second-round tenders protect the team more, but they’re also costlier. For the Rams, none of their three RFAs would need tenders above the original-round designation. Still, that doesn’t make them easy decisions to make.

JoJo Natson

Natson was decent as a punt returner, but paying him more than $2 million to primarily play on special teams probably isn’t necessary. He doesn’t contribute enough on offense to warrant a contract that size, and the Rams shouldn’t have much trouble replacing him on special teams for significantly less money.

Don’t be surprised if Los Angeles declines to tender Natson and allows him to hit free agency. If no one bites and he can’t find a new team, it would open the door for the Rams to sign him for less money than the tender.

Morgan Fox

Fox is the likeliest of the three to be tendered. Michael Brockers is an unrestricted free agent and if he doesn’t return, Fox gains some leverage because he’d be L.A.’s most obvious choice as a replacement.

He’d be worth keeping at the original-round level for $2.144 million, especially if he’s elevated to a starting role in 2020. The Rams would like to keep him at a lower price, but he could have suitors in free agency.

Donte Deayon

Deayon was only active for three games, playing just 43 defensive snaps and 44 on special teams. He was buried on the depth chart last season and will remain a deep reserve in 2020 if the Rams keep him on the roster.

He’s squarely behind Jalen Ramsey, Troy Hill, Nickell Robey-Coleman and David Long, and would have trouble beating out Darious Williams, too. The Rams should pass on using any tender on him, allowing him to hit free agency and gauge his value.