Mark Barron Traded to Rams: Latest Details, Comments and Reaction

Updates from Thursday, Oct. 30

Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch provided Mark Barron's thoughts on his move to St. Louis:

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Barron was as surprised as anyone about the trade. He missed the initial phone call from Tampa Bay informing him of the trade, so he learned about it through the media.

“Then I went and called back and I found out that everything was official,” Barron said. “I had no idea that I was even available for a trade. I enjoyed the experience I had in Tampa, but it’s on to new things for me.”

Head-coaching changes often lead to massive personnel changes, and Barron didn’t seem like a fit in the more passive Cover 2-based scheme under new Buccaneers coach Lovie Smith.

“Yeah, it is passive,” Barron said. “That’s kind of the only thing I didn’t like about it a lot of times. I had to sit back and I couldn’t really be as aggressive as I wanted to in that system. So yeah, I would most definitely say that.”

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Updates from Wednesday, Oct. 29 

Nick Wagoner of ESPN provides comments from Mark Barron, who spoke about how he found out he was being traded to the Rams:

Original Text: 

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers did not quite go through with a fire sale as expected, but they did manage to part with former first-round pick Mark Barron before Tuesday's trade deadline.

The Bucs will receive fourth- and sixth-round picks in 2015 from the St. Louis Rams in exchange for the struggling safety, per ESPN's Adam Schefter:

The Rams later confirmed the report:

ESPN's Adam Caplan noted the Rams will release quarterback Case Keenum to open up a spot on their 53-man roster: 

The Bucs also traded veteran linebacker Jonathan Casillas to the New England Patriots in a separate deal: 

This isn't a short-term fix for the Rams according to Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network via NFL.com:

Barron has particularly struggled when asked to take more responsibility in pass coverage. Through the first eight weeks, he ranks 47th among safeties in Pro Football Focus' (subscription required) coverage-snaps-per-reception metric. His mostly above-average run defense of the first two seasons has also disappeared, with Barron rating below-average as a tackler and as one of the worst safeties in football in run-stop percentage.

Barron has started all seven Tampa Bay games in 2014, compiling 49 total tackles without an interception. In 37 NFL games, Barron has picked off only three passes. He averaged four per season as a three-year starter at Alabama, emerging as one of the nation's top defensive talents.

STEVE NESIUS/Associated Press

The Buccaneers hoped the signing of Dashon Goldson before the 2013 season would help free Barron for more playmaking opportunities, but the pairing has proven unpalatable. Goldson has failed to live up to his massive contract and has been hobbled by a bothersome ankle injury. With the Bucs sitting at 1-6 after Sunday's overtime loss to the Minnesota Vikings, Lovie Smith and Co. seem determined to move on from mistakes of the past regime.

"We're not as talented as we need to be in some areas," Smith told reporters earlier this month. “But, at the same time, in the areas where we are talented, it’s all kind of snowballed a little bit. We're taking our moments not to play our best ball. It's a combination." 

Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times reported earlier this week that the Bucs were floating Barron, along with running back Doug Martin and wide receiver Vincent Jackson, in trade talks. While Martin and Jackson stayed put, Tampa Bay was able to conjure some value out of Barron. The Bucs will rid themselves of his $2.36 million base salary in 2015, though that will be offset by a significant dead-money surcharge, per Spotrac's breakdown of his contract.

At the very least, Tampa Bay recouped value on a player it had no intention of keeping in the long term. The Rams, meanwhile, bought low on a safety talented enough to go in the top 10 two years ago—a historical rarity at that position. St. Louis will hope Barron recaptures his run-stopping prowess and helps prop up a unit that's allowed the second-most rushing yards per game this season. Football Outsiders' DVOA metric ranks the Rams as having the fifth-worst defense in football.

Keenum, 26, did not attempt a pass in St. Louis after coming over from the Houston Texans in September. He seemed in line for a possible ascent into the starting lineup when Sam Bradford suffered a torn ACL, but Austin Davis' solid play has kept him tethered to the bench. Other teams will have 48 hours to claim Keenum on waivers or he will become an unrestricted free agent.

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