The Los Angeles Rams have agreed to trade linebacker Alec
Ogletree to the New York Giants for two draft
picks
New York Jets Jerseys
Womens , a person with knowledge of the deal told The Associated Press.
The person spoke on condition of anonymity Wednesday because NFL trades can’t
be announced until March 14. ESPN first reported the deal.
Los Angeles gets the Giants’ fourth-round and sixth-round picks in the 2018
draft. The NFC West champion Rams also will send a seventh-round pick in 2019 to
the Giants along with Ogletree, their defensive captain and last season’s
leading tackler.
Ogletree has spent his entire five-year NFL career with the Rams, who drafted
him out of Georgia in the first round in 2013. He led their defense in tackles
during four of his five seasons, only failing to do so in 2015 when he played in
just four games due to a broken leg.
He had 95 tackles and two sacks last season while moving into coordinator
Wade Phillips’ 3-4 defensive scheme. He also provided leadership on the defense,
both during the Rams’ turbulent relocation season from St. Louis and again last
season, when they ended their 12-year playoff drought.
Ogletree signed a four-year, $42.7 million extension with the Rams just last
October, getting $30 million in guaranteed money.
While Ogletree is a speedy linebacker who has been quite productive, he has
been an inconsistent tackler at times, and he never appeared to be an ideal fit
in Phillips’ defense.
Ogletree also was a key player in the Rams’ spotty run defense. Los Angeles
finished last season fifth-worst in the NFL at stopping the
run Oakland Raiders Jerseys
Womens , allowing 122.3 yards rushing per game and frequently struggling
with stops between the tackles, where Ogletree needed to shine.
Ogletree will fill the Giants’ need for quality veteran linebackers as they
rebuild from their 3-13 season, arguably the worst in franchise history.
Starting linebackers Devon Kennard and defensive captain Jonathan Casillas could
leave as free agents.
The Giants had two fourth-round picks in the upcoming draft, including a
compensatory selection.
Despite their overall success last season under coach Sean McVay, the Rams
clearly are reconfiguring their defense in Phillips’ preferred image while
clearing salary cap space. That room is likely to be used in part to sign AP
Defensive Player of the Year Aaron Donald to a lucrative long-term
extension.
Los Angeles already agreed to trade linebacker Robert Quinn to Miami last
week, and starting linebacker Connor Barwin is a free agent.
The Rams agreed last month to acquire cornerback Marcus Peters in a trade
with Kansas City, and Los Angeles also used its franchise tag on safety Lamarcus
Joyner. Those moves likely mean top cornerback Trumaine Johnson will leave as a
free agent.
The trade of Ogletree seemingly improves the chances for the Rams to keep
fellow veteran linebacker Mark Barron, who carries a $28 million salary cap hit
over the next three seasons. He is due a $2 million roster bonus next week.
—
Tyler Skaggs‘ return to the Los Angeles Angels‘ rotation for a makeup game
against the Royals on Monday was only the start of what manager Mike Scioscia
hopes is a wave of positive news.
The ailing Angels, who were in Kansas City to make up a game frozen out on
April 15, have seen just about everybody experience some kind of injury this
season. They’ve ranged from the typical nicks and bumps to the strained elbow
ligament that has Japanese sensation Shohei Ohtani on the shelf.
The Angels had 15 players on the disabled list just over a week
ago Philadelphia Eagles Jerseys
Womens , the first time they’ve had that many since the stat began being
tracked in 1987, and still had a dozen there when they flew into Kansas
City.
Skaggs was the latest to rejoin the fold after being scratched from last
week’s start with tightness in his hamstring. When asked who’s next, Scioscia
deadpanned: ”We’re not going to handicap it.”
But, the skipper added, ”We have a whole team back in Southern California
that works out every day.”
Skaggs is among the 27 pitchers who have played for the Angels this season,
the most in team history through 78 games. He also is among the 48 players who
have appeared this season, which means Los Angeles needs to suit up just eight
more to break a club record set last year.
Right-hander Garrett Richards‘ workouts took a step forward Monday when he
threw a bullpen session off the mound. Richards has been out 10 days with a left
hamstring strain, but Scioscia cautioned that his session was ”more of a touch
and feel” than bearing down in anticipation of a start.
”This is really just getting on there, seeing how it feels, and obviously
we’ll have to progress from there before he’s back in
there Pittsburgh Steelers Jerseys
Womens ,” Scioscia said. ”How quickly it comes, we’re not sure.”
Roughly the same prognosis was given for infielder Zack Cozart. He just began
to get into ”baseball activities,” Scioscia said, but he’s still in the
evaluation phase as he returns from a shoulder injury.
There was no real update on his two biggest stars: Ohtani and outfielder Mike
Trout.
Ohtani will be evaluated Thursday, three weeks after he received stem cell
and platelet-rich plasma therapy. The Angels hope his elbow will have showed
significant enough improvement that he can avoid Tommy John surgery, which would
shelve Ohtani as a pitcher for at least a year and possibly two seasons.
What makes Ohtani’s situation unusual, though, is his ability to hit. The
Angels could use his bat in the lineup even if he’s not hitting, and that
creates question marks about how to move forward.
”We anticipate, if everything goes well on
Thursday Seattle Seahawks Jerseys
Womens , he’ll swing the bat before he’s pitching,” Scioscia acknowledged.
”So, we’ll wait until our evaluation on Thursday and we’ll see.”
Trout has avoided the disabled list as he recovers from a sprained right
index finger, but he was relegated to designated hitter on Monday for the sixth
straight game. The hope was that Trout could test his hand in center field after
about a week, which means it could happen any day.
”We’ll wait and see what the medical staff decides as to when he can go out
and throw, and progress out to play centerfield,” Scioscia said. ”He’s not going
to play centerfield tomorrow. It’s going to take – we’ll see how it progresses
when he starts to throw.”
Indeed, there’s a lot of wait-and-see in Scioscia’s world these days.
—