The St. Louis Rams have already fulfilled their biggest need heading into NFL free agency, signing Cortland Finnegan to a five-year contract on day one, but their most superficially obvious need—a wide receiver Sam Bradford can count on—remains unsettled. Most of the big names have already left the market, and despite a brief flirtation with Robert Meacham the Rams looked undisturbed by their absence. Mario Manningham, perhaps tops among the remaining names that aren't Brandon Lloyd, remains an option, as the National Football Post reports.
The San Francisco 49ers—who already landed Randy Moss, the jerks—are reportedly already in the mix on Manningham, who at 25 has failed to graduate from brilliant-but-frustrating second banana to number-one receiver. He wouldn't be the number-one option of Sam Bradford's dreams, but he'll come cheap, and he possesses more potential (not to mention better numbers) than any Rams wide receiver not named Danario Alexander. Also, any Rams wide receiver with two functioning knees.
If the Rams turn out infatuated with Justin Blackmon after all, he and Manningham would be a nice upgrade on what passed for a receiving corps last year—even though they might not be considerably more tested.
More wide receiver updates from the writing corps at SB Nation St. Louis:
- Danny Amendola could move from the Rams to the New England Patriots, which is not the direction you usually expect wide receiver upgrades to go.
- Trading out of the No. 2 spot makes it easier to justify drafting a wide receiver in the first place. Justin Blackmon time!