NFL Free Agency Begins: St. Louis Rams Seeking To Fill Needs?

In one hour, the Free Agency period begins for the NFL.  For the St. Louis Rams repairing the damage of the last half of a decade begins now.

The Rams have more problems than people they can likely fill them with.  Even with dumping salary like they have been doing, they will have their work cut out for them.

For Coach Steve Spagnuolo and his staff, filling in the blanks to make a team which can compete means doing at least two things. Repair the defense and repair the offensive line.

The Rams we see in September will probably look more like the Baltimore Ravens then the run and gun offense of yesteryear. 

So where to they start?  Well they could go for the big fish in Albert Haynesworth, a solid defensive line player to add some grit to their team.

Another option is to go for center Jason Brown from Baltimore. The offensive line if it is going to be the ground pounding possession team the coach wants it needs to get better all along the line. 

Another possible addition would be Jim Leonhard who was a stand out safety working with Ed Reed in Baltimore. A 2-14 team needs all the help it can get.  Or they could possibly look to add Ray Lewis, as a teacher for the younger defensive players and to add some leadership on the team.

The one thing I do not see the Rams doing is bringing old or expensive wide receivers.  They really do not have the team right now to offer those players a place worth having and realistically this rebuild is a two year deal.

One question I would have if I was the Rams is to evaluate the performance of Mark Bulger.  Is he going to return to his form of a few years ago as a pro bowler or would this be a good time to bring in a young stud via the draft to back him up? 

It has been and will continue to be a fascinating off season for the Rams. The one thing they have in their favor is the relative weakness of the NFC West which means they might be able to make quicker strides.