With offseason workouts and minicamps in the rearview mirror and training camps only a few weeks away, we assess the St. Louis Rams' offseason moves and assign a letter grade in the video above.
Best move: Trading quarterback Sam Bradford for quarterback Nick Foles and draft picks. Despite two consecutive season-ending knee injuries, the Rams seemed as if they were going to again bet big on Bradford. But they finally cut ties when the Eagles came calling with both a replacement at quarterback and a second-round choice in 2016. With the trade, the Rams freed up about $13 million in salary-cap space. They also gave themselves a chance to finally build the run-oriented offense coach Jeff Fisher has long said he wanted. Whether they want to admit it, the presence of a high-priced, former No. 1 overall pick at quarterback doesn't make it easy to center the offense on a power running game. Foles gives the Rams a healthier option who should be able to do what the Rams want at a fraction of the cost of Bradford. He counts only $1.542 million against the cap in 2015.
Riskiest move: Relying solely on the draft and in-house candidates to fix a broken offensive line. In 2014, the Rams gave up sacks on 8.3 percent of their dropbacks and pressure on 33.1 percent of their dropbacks, ranking 25th and 30th, in those categories. So how did they go about fixing that offensive line? They passed on all veteran options and bet big on the NFL draft. They drafted four offensive linemen, including projected starters in second-round tackle Rob Havenstein and third-round guard Jamon Brown. At center, they are hoping that one of three in-house options -- Barrett Jones, Tim Barnes or Demetrius Rhaney -- proves capable of handling the job. Add those unproven pieces to a still developing left tackle in Greg Robinson and injury-prone guard Rodger Saffold and you have question marks all over the group. Line coach Paul Boudreau shouldn't be underestimated; he has made it work with questionable units in the past, but this might be his toughest task yet.
Fresh ideas on offense: For the first three years of the Fisher regime, the offense remained status quo in almost every area, especially the coaching staff. The results were predictably similar as well, as the Rams finished 23rd, 30th and 28th in yards per game and 25th, 21st and 21st in points per game. The lack of consistent offensive productivity put undue pressure on the defense to carry the load from week to week. But when coordinator Brian Schottenheimer departed for the same job at the University of Georgia in January, it opened the door for the Rams to finally bring in some new blood. After promoting in-house to replace Schottenheimer with quarterbacks coach Frank Cignetti Jr., Fisher went outside the family to hire former NFL quarterbacks Chris Weinke and Jeff Garcia as quarterbacks coach and offensive assistant. It's unfair to expect Weinke and/or Garcia to be offensive saviors but adding some new ideas to the mix should be good for an offense that has lacked imagination.
Training camp outlook: The Rams' defense looks as if it could be ready to finally take the next step forward and become a dominant group. But so much of the team's potential is rooted in the development of an offense with no shortage of unknowns. Training camp will be a pivotal time as Foles must adapt to a new scheme, the offensive line must find cohesion and Cignetti must bring it all together. If the Rams are to finally improve from mediocrity to being contenders, the onus is on the offense.