The St. Louis Rams looked to have moved on—targeting Mario Manningham in recent days—but Josh McDaniels's captive receiver, Brandon Lloyd, and the New England Patriots are reportedly separated still by Brandon Lloyd's demand for a crazy deal. Lloyd appears to have gotten into the market too late, as a rush of early demand (and crazy early rumors) in NFL free agency has left the few remaining wide receivers looking at decidedly more pedestrian contract offers from the remaining teams.
Lloyd is an excellent wide receiver, but his market is probably depressed by just how dependent he seems on Josh McDaniels; unless they're negotiating as a package deal, he's a harder sell to other teams than he is to the Patriots now or was to the Rams a few months ago.
It doesn't seem likely that his price will fall enough to get the Rams interested, but it's hard to rule anything out in a universe where Laurent Robinson has a long-term deal. Here's more on the Rams' hunt for a number-one wide receiver, hand-picked from SB Nation St. Louis:
- Mario Manningham is currently in St. Louis—this is day two—but nobody knows just what that means for his future with the Rams.
- If the Rams don't go with a sure-ish thing like Justin Blackmon, they could find themselves regretting all the draft picks they just hoarded.
- Because the experts appear to agree that Justin Blackmon is the best option at No. 6 overall.