Rams Match Offer for Butler

[Ade Jimoh Fan Club]

Looks like we still have our 5th Pick after all ..... I can't believe Danny Boy got outbid!! He'll be soooo pissed!


BY JIM THOMAS
Of the Post-Dispatch
03/11/2004


Rather than wait the full seven days, the Rams decided Thursday to match offer sheets on restricted free agents Jerametrius Butler and Brandon Manumaleuna.

Butler, a cornerback, received a five-year, $16 million offer sheet -- including a $4 million signing bonus -- from the Washington Redskins last Friday night.

Manumaleuna, a tight end, received a five-year, $8.3 million offer sheet -- including a $2 million signing bonus -- from the Carolina Panthers last Friday afternoon.

Teams have seven days to decide whether to match an offer on a restricted free agent. And the Rams originally had planned to wait the full seven days, which meant they would have had to make a decision Friday (March 12).

"But we had really made up our mind, and decided to just do it," Rams president of football operations Jay Zygmunt said.

By matching those offers, the Rams now have only about $1.8 million of room left on the salary cap. Unless the unlikely happens, and franchise player Orlando Pace agrees to a multi-year contract before March 17, the Rams have next to no money left to shop the free-agent market in the immediate future.

Especially since it's still possible that quarterback Marc Bulger and defensive end Bryce Fisher could receive offer sheets as restricted free agents between now and April 16.

Matching on Manumaleuna all but puts the Rams out of the running for a free-agent tight end, unless it's a tight end who's willing to play for the veteran's minimum -- or close to it. Free-agent tight ends Mark Bruener of Pittsburgh, Jason Dunn of Kansas City, and Jed Weaver of San Francisco all visited Rams Park this week.

The Rams also agreed to terms Thursday on a one-year deal with former Kansas City linebacker Tony Newson.