The whispers already have begun around the Los Angeles Rams camp: they're preparing to make a deal.
The Rams released three veterans on Friday that will save them $23 million in cap space, according to USA Today Sports.
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Defensive end Chris Long, linebacker James Laurinaitis and tight end Jared Cook all are casualties of a Rams search for a franchise quarterback.
"This is the time of year when all NFL teams are faced with difficult decisions regarding their veteran players," Rams coach Jeff Fisher said in a statement through the team, USA Today Sports reported. "Chris and James are the epitome of what it means to be a pro in this league and it's been an honor to coach them both. They've been the pillars of our defense for many years and not enough can be said of their love for the game and for their teammates. Beyond the field, they took pride in mentoring the younger players and doing their part to make a real difference in the St. Louis community. We will always be grateful for James and Chris' unselfish commitment to the Rams and wish them the best moving forward."
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While Long and Cook both had subpar years for the Rams in 2015, Laurinaitis recorded his seventh consecutive 100-plus tackle season on defense. He became the franchise's all-time leading tackler, surpassing Hall of Famer Merlin Olsen.
The moves give the Rams more than $50 million in cap space, lending credibility that something big is on the horizon - if the team can pull if off.
The two names to burst forth first are Robert Griffin III and Peyton Manning, according to USA Today's For the Win.
"RG3 actually makes legitimate sense," For the Win reported. "He's struggled since sustaining an ACL injury at the end of the 2012 season, but at 26, he's certainly still young enough to deserve at least one more shot as a starter. It isn't hard, either, to make the case that the Redskins compromised this part of RG3's career by mishandling his recovery."
As for Manning, "From a purely football perspective, it really doesn't make any sense," FTW added.
"But he's also a professional athlete, and it's a short list of pro athletes who recognize the time to gracefully walk away. Pros are competitive. They're winners, and besides, he did just win a Super Bowl after all. He might want to keep going because he thinks he can, and with Rams in need of both a quarterback and a high-profile name, they could easily pay him handsomely for the pleasure."
Other free-agent quarterbacks include Brock Osweiler, Colin Kaepernick and, yes, Sam Bradford.
Kaepernick has been rumored to be a target, but the one drawback was his game last season in St. Louis where the Rams cornerbacks didn't even bother to guard the 49ers wide receivers because they knew Kaepernick was going to hand off the football.
Bradford, the Rams' first-round pick in 2010, also would be intriguing. That's what $50 million in cap space brings.
Intrigue.
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