Rams Ripped For This Questionable Free-Agent Signing

The Los Angeles Rams reset has been a remarkable one. After tearing the roster down nearly to the foundation, the team had a successful 2023 season.

Head coach Sean McVay found plenty of young contributors, taking advantage of the boatload of draft assets the team had last year. In 2024, they had a first-round pick for the first time since picking Jared Goff first overall in 2016.

The front office deserves a lot of credit for restocking the roster so rapidly. Foundational pieces in Byron Young, Kobie Turner, Puka Nacua, Cobie Durant, Kyren Williams, Derion Kendrick and Ernest Jones were all picked in 2022 and 2023.

Making those selections even better is that they were all picked in Round 3 or later. The Rams have done an excellent job of identifying talent later in the draft, making up for their lack of first-round picks.

They should be applauded for those moves. Alas, there are also some moves that have been made that haven’t panned out.

One move that NFL analyst David Kenyon of Bleacher Report is skeptical of is their signing of tight end Colby Parkinson. Kenyon recently put together a piece predicting each team’s biggest bust for the 2024 season.

For the Rams, his selection was Parkinson, and it is hard to argue against the selection with the reasons he laid out.

“Seriously, what do the LA teams see in Seattle tight ends? Colby Parkinson signed a three-year agreement with $15.5 million guaranteed after tallying 50 catches for 569 yards over the last two seasons. That’s a remarkable amount of money for replacement-level stats,” Kenyon said.

A multi-year pact at that kind of money was one of the most surprising moves of the offseason. Playing between 21 and 47 percent of the offensive snaps in his first four seasons in the NFL, maybe the Rams see breakout potential in Parkinson.

They have gotten a good look playing against him. As a member of the Seattle Seahawks, the NFC West foes face off against each other two times a season.

He is durable, not missing a game during the last two seasons. But, they could have likely signed him for a lot less money and put that cash toward a more pressing need on the roster.

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