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The St. Louis Rams moved to strengthen their linebacker corps Thursday, signing veteran linebacker Ben Leber to a one-year deal worth as much as $1.75 million. He's the Rams' second thirtysomething linebacker of the offseason, coming after the Rams signed former Green Bay Packers starter Brady Poppinga.
Leber, 33, had his best statistical year in 2007, when he made 67 tackles to go with five sacks and two interceptions. The Kansas State alum was held sackless in 2010, his fifth season with the Minnesota Vikings, for the first time in his career. Turf Show Times has a very favorable reaction to the news, which continues the Rams' extremely active trip through free agency. Few teams have taken better advantage of the narrow timeframe afforded by the NFL lockout.
The 2010 team, for all its playoff contention, had a lot of holes; this one, a strange combination of long-term projection and short-term pieces with experience, promises to be considerably deeper at the positions that matter.