The Los Angeles Rams have traded inside linebacker Alec Ogletree to the New York Giants, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN. The Giants are sending their fourth- and sixth-round picks in exchange for Ogletree, as well as the Rams’ 2019 seventh-round pick.
This is, to say the least, very surprising. Ogletree was given a long-term contract extension that made him among the highest-paid linebackers in the NFL. He’s a big-play player who also tends to miss some tackles in an effort to make those big plays. In-all, he’s a high level player and I’m pretty shocked he’s being moved.
The Rams are dumping a big contract for a player who is probably just about worth it, but they can likely find similar help without paying him $10 million for the 2018 season. The Rams now have a big hole in their defense, with Mark Barron and Cory Littleton at linebacker and not a whole lot else.
Los Angeles, though, figures to be a popular free agency destination and, of course, they are accruing draft picks. Their big changes are certainly of the more positive variety than the ones currently undergoing and rumored from the Seattle Seahawks.