INDIANAPOLIS – Rams general manager Les Snead held a video conference with local and national media on Wednesday, discussing the team's approach to this year's NFL Scouting Combine, planning for free agency, and more.
Here are some of the top takeaways from that virtual conversation:
Free agency, player contract planning played a role in decision not to attend combine this year
Snead and head coach Sean McVay both stayed back in Los Angeles instead of traveling to Indianapolis for this year's combine, a decision rooted in part with preparing for free agency and working on quarterback Matthew Stafford and defensive lineman Aaron Donald's contracts.
Getting Stafford extended is a priority, and Snead also said the team has been talking with Donald and his representatives about Donald's contract. There's also addressing players' contracts who will expire when the new league year begins on March 16 at 1 p.m. pacific time.
Snead said he and McVay have "sat together this week and put together an action plan and feel like we can execute it from here, maybe more efficiently than in Indy."
And that planning is taking shape
Conversations with players scheduled to hit free agency and their representatives is an ongoing dialogue after the season ends, but now that Snead, McVay and Vice President of Football and Business Administration Tony Pastoors have had a chance to refresh and clear their heads, they have started to put together that free agency blueprint – beginning this past Monday.
"At that point, Sean will definitely reach out to the player, and often Tony and I will reach out to the agents and begin the dance of trying to come up with a win-win situation for both player and club, in our efforts to bring as many of this year's players back as possible," Snead said.
Rams still want to bring back WR Odell Beckham Jr.
Beckham sustained a knee injury late in the first half of Super Bowl LVI that sidelined him for the remainder of the game and ultimately required surgery, which Beckham announced on Instagram last week was successful.
While Snead expects the injury to prevent Beckham from playing a full 2022 season, they still want him back.
"It's unfortunate Odell had an injury," Snead said. "What that does for us is, yes, we'd definitely like to have Odell be a part. Now you just know he might miss the first half of the season, or something like that. The negative of that is, that's a tough, unlucky break. The positive is that you may get someone with very fresh legs for the stretch run, similar to maybe how we did it this year."
