The Rams have a little more room to play in the free agency pool... but not a lot.

For those a little confused (and count me among them) by the Rams spending big on Quintin Mikell -- 4 years, $27 million dollars, with $14 million guaranteed according to reports -- just hours after it was revealed that we have only $12 mil to play with, here's some clarification.

Liz Mullen of the Sports Business Journal passed on a memo from the NFLPA this morning: it turns out that the new NFL salary cap (just over $120 this year) is a "soft cap." Under certain conditions, teams can spend more.

NFL.com's Albert Breer offers more details:

If I read this correctly, this savings wouldn’t get realized off the top of Mikell’s contract, but the Rams could make extra room for it by resigning some of their veterans and shifting those dollars into this “soft” area. I also hear, though I haven’t found a verified source, that teams can “borrow” up to $3 million more against future year’s cap.

That said, an extra six million doesn't give the Rams that much more flexibility. And in his first post-lockout press conference, Rams GM Billy Devaney tried to temper expectations.

So while the Rams might have kicked the tires on Sidney Rice before he went to Seattle, I doubt there was a serious play made. Rather than get these big name weapons, the Rams are going to have to contain them when they line up opposite.

New Rams free safety Quintin Mikell is equally talented against the run and the pass.

The Rams made a surprising move in free agency Tuesday, signing perhaps the best free safety available, Philadelphia's Quintin Mikell.

Earlier today, we looked at pessimistic reports of the Rams' salary cap room, and at the Rams' apparent low priority for true free safety play in their recent history with Oshiomogho Atogwe, and pretty confidently predicted that this would be the least likely position to invested in. Clearly I was wrong on that count, and perhaps the reports we saw limiting our spending were wrong as well.

All that aside, what kind of player are the Rams getting? One who excels in all facets of free satefy play, say those who scout the game closely.

From ESPN's Mike Sando:

From Doug Farrar at Yahoo! Shutdown Corner, calling attention to Mikell's 3rd-rated 48% "stop rate".

From Pro Football Focus: Quintin is pretty much good at everything.

We know that Spagnuolo prizes physicality and tackling ability in his defensive backfield, areas that Mikell is plenty capable in. But the job requirements of the free safety also require you to be capable as the last line of defense, often matched up against some of the elite talents in the game.

I delved into three Eagles' matchups from last season where Mikell graded particularly well, and plucked three individual plays against three of the best offensive players in the league to demonstrate what he will bring to the Rams' rapidly improving pass defense.

Remember when we learned that the NFC West was the "richest" division in football in terms of cap money to spend in free agency? The news spawned a whole new round of free agent dreaming. "Why not Barry Cofield AND Reggie Bush AND Sidney Rice?" asks the dreamer.

As it turns out, the cap-crunchers have spoken again, and the Rams are now looking like the pauper in this division of riches. After originally reporting a $35.6 million dollar surplus in Billy Devaney's GM checkbook, ESPN's John Clayton now is the bearer of some very bad news.

$12 million? That doesn't leave much room for a bold statement, especially if the team's slated rookie expenses -- a hair over $5 million, says Mike Sando -- have to be cut from this same slim pie.

Meanwhile, Seattle is said to be in the running for Sidney Rice, and has reportedly already brought in a familiar face at quarterback -- fellow Viking (and former understudy of the now-departed Matt Hasselbeck) Tarvaris Jackson. That's a topic for a whole separate post, but worth noting as a sign that Pete Carroll's team plans to be as aggressive in this year's free agency pool as they were in last year's draft.

Arizona also has much coin to spend, though their ongoing flirtation with both the Eagles' Kevin Kolb and the Broncos' Kyle Orton will leave them much lighter in the pocket in terms of draft picks. 

All of which means the Rams will have to be very choosy with their free agent spending. How this might affect the key areas of need:

For the last four months, ever since the players and owners stood up from their respective tables and went the paths of decertification, lawsuits, and locking the doors, it's been awful hard to talk about football. Like a giant family of children caught in the middle of a very loud, very public and very messy divorce, we the millions of fans were being asked to choose sides, when all we ever wanted was for them to shut up and get back together.

Now, finally, they have, and the player reps have a simple message of thanks for us.

But should either party apologize to the fans for holding the game hostage and threatening to blow it all up? A series of tweets between myself and Sports Illustrated's Peter King led to a pretty interesting discussion on that note.

Is UK running back Derrick Locke poised to join the Rams?

The lockout is over and the first beneficiaries are the young men whose careers were most threatened by "irreparable damage" -- the huge crop of free agents left over after the draft ended and were caught in labor limbo. The window for a UDFA to make an impact in the NFL is vanishingly slim, but the huge success stories out there (long time Colts center Jeff Saturday and Patriots recever Wes Welker to name two) prove that it can be done. 

Now, less than twelve hours since the lockout was officially lifted, a deluge of UDFA activity has hit the Twitter wires, and four undrafted players have been semi-officially inked by the Rams: CB James Dockery (no relation to Kevin), Oregon State; DT Arthur Thomas, Arkansas-Pine Bluff; QB Taylor Potts, Texas Tech; and CB Dionte Dinkins.

A fifth name, though not yet confirmed, could potentially have the biggest impact.

ShanePHallam
PERFECT. Do it Rams RT @RamsHerd: @ShanePHallam What do you think about RB Derrick Locke as a fit for the Rams?

That tweet was from 5 pm... a few short hours later Locke's name started hitting the wires as an rumored acquisition by the Rams. Hopefully we'll know more at 10 am tomorrow, the first time any of these signings can be officially announced.

Last year, I would have gladly settled for mediocrity from the Rams.

My expectations were at a relatively low level after starting over from a one win season and hinging the outcome of 2010 on a rookie quarterback with injury questions.

Then the team exploded with a 7-9 season and an almost playoff berth built on a stingy defense and the clear emergence of a franchise leader in Sam Bradford.

Despite these strides, the 2011 offseason atmosphere around St. Louis seems to be reverting back to the same mediocre mentality.

St. Louis should be looking for slam dunk, not a lay up as we have seen far too often in the last few years.

The time to make a splash is now in the biggest free agent pool any of us has ever seen.

The poster boy for a big splash: Sidney Rice and the Rams should do everything in their power to get him.

There are rumblings the team will stick with post-injury Mark Clayton and Donnie Avery while hoping to strike gold with the promise Danny Amendola and Danario Alexander showed or the potential of the rookie receivers.

Clayton started out great last season, but was the victim of an injury and has never showed superstar talent. Avery is nothing more than a third receiver that hasn’t inspired any feelings besides regret for me after we chose him over Desean Jackson.

The Rams must also have a short memory because the last game of the season showed just how toothless the offense was and left the team on the outside looking in on the playoff race.

The time is now to take advantage of a weak NFC West and Rice is the perfect player to get the ball rolling.

He is only 25-years-old and broke out in 2009 with 1,312 yards and eight touchdowns and would instantly become the star to lift the rest of the receiving group to a higher level.

Despite an injury shortened year in 2010, he is young and talented enough to become the deep threat the Rams desperately need to pair with Bradford to speed up his development.

Other options include Mathias Kiwanuka or Charles Johnson at defensive end, Eric Weddle or Quintin Mikell at safety, Darren Sproles or Reggie Bush at running back and especially Barry Cofield at defensive tackle.

Any of these guys would be great additions to the Rams puzzle but the point is to get after them in the first place as a free agency player instead of standing on the sidelines.

I’m not saying to go the Washington Redskins route and throw money at any guy with a jersey on, but the Rams are in a place to spend some cash and finally have an owner with the pocket change to do so.

It’s time to throw out the notion of mediocrity and rise to this once in a lifetime free agent occasion.

Soooo…the premise of today’s post was supposed to be what approach the Rams are going to or should take when Free Agency opens tomorrow. Yeah, that’s not going to happen.  As our town’s Mike Shannon so famously once said, “you have to get up pretty early to try and sneak sunshine by a rooster.”  I can think of no better way to describe the move NFL owners tried to pull yesterday in CBA negotiations.  In a move very similar to the way Congress loves to attach bogus pay increases or personal agendas to a Bill, NFL owners figured why not give it a try. Whoops.

What should have been a joint moment in celebration for both sides, we now continue to wait. But I can guarantee that will not stop Spagnuolo and Devaney from sorting through the, what must appear endless, potential list of Rams Free Agents, Restricted & Un-restricted FA’s and UDFA’s.  In doing their due diligence the collective brain trust at Rams Park will need to prepare for the complete chaos that will be 2011 Free Agency. And to be completely honest with you my faithful readers, I am so excited for the chaos.  Fans and media alike are going to see 6 months worth of action take place in a span of about 3-4 weeks. To quote another all time great, Flounder from Animal House, “This is gonna be great!”

So the logical question remains how are the Rams going to do this?  And with so little time and amidst the chaos what should they take care of first? Believe it or not there are some differing opinions on the topic.  Here is a sampling of those I have deemed worthy. Congratulations if you see your link below.

Let the link-fest begin!

Make it rain! A lot of money to be spent in the NFC West

The Blitz is on, question is can the Rams pick it up.

So it would only make sense to get help up front, right?

Always good to stick with what you know…and Spags knows the Giants

One thing’s for sure there are a lot of roster options to explore

With still so many needs and now even less time…what to address first

Sando’s Take, on someone else’s take, on…

And don’t forget about the UDFA’s. Oh my goodness the UDFA’s!

Rams on the clock…again

Evan Silva’s got a checklist yes he do, Evan Silva’s got a checklist how ‘bout you!