I agree; and an excellent point on Whitworth. I posted yesterday that a lot of "Experts" thought Whitworth was done when the Rams signed him; and he was just taking a final big pay-check from a desperate team.
However, I would argue that re-signing Noteboom was "taking a shot". His talent is good enough for solid-LT-play but his lack of durability was (and certainly is) a major risk and concern.
I'm really big on What is Realistic given the Market and Cap Limitations. So what are the Rams options at LT?
Maybe they take a swing at Andre Dillard. Philadelphia drafted him in the 1st Round to be its starting LT but he was beaten-out by a 7th Rounder (Jordan Mailata). I loved Isaiah Wynn coming out of Georgia and was hoping the Rams would move-up into the 2nd Round and select him (they had no #1 or #2 in 2018). However, New England drafted Wynn late in the 1st Round; and he lost the LT spot ... and the RT spot.
The other pending free agent LTs seem pretty pedestrian. And none of these guys will sign for the veteran minimum because half the teams in the NFL need O-Line help.
So then there's the Draft. I did a quick check of the First Round Left Tackles selected between 2017 and 2021. It Ain't an overly impressive group.
Jedrick Wills and Rashawn Slater are the best. Tristan Wirfs and Penei Sewell are really good but have only played Right Tackle thus far. Christian Darrisaw looks pretty good but after that, the best are Garrett Boles, Kolton Miller, Cam Robinson, Jonah Williams and Anthony Thomas. That's pretty much it for good LTs taken in Round 1 for a 5-year-period; and most of those guys were drafted in the top-half of the Round.
The Rams will likely have a pick between the mid-30's and mid-40s; plus another in the late-60s-to-mid-70's. They may have cap space for one or two expensive free agents but most teams will have more $ to spend.
