The Rams signed Allen Robinson to a huge contract yesterday, and the initial thought was that it meant the team wouldn't re-sign Odell Beckham. But subsequent reports have the Rams fielding calls for -- or shopping -- another veteran wide receiver coming off a torn ACL, Robert Woods.
Woods tore his ACL in Week 9 a year ago, nearly 3 months before Beckham -- he's a lot more likely to be ready for the start of the season. But based on this Adam Schefter report (and reasonable considering the size of his contract), Robinson is viewed as the No. 2 across from Cooper Kupp. This doesn't necessarily mean Beckham will be a Ram again (after getting hurt in the Super Bowl, he's very unlikely to be playing early in the 2o22 season at all), but it sounds like Woods won't be.
So who needs a wide receiver? Well, the Packers leap to mind; Woods working with Aaron Rodgers would be pretty intriguing, and he'd move immediately to the top of that depth chart. Kansas City would be another great landing spot, giving the team a legit No. 2 across from Tyreek Hill. That one would be particularly compelling with a creative offensive coaching staff that would take advantage of Woods' dual-threat ability.
The Rams have had Woods for the last four seasons, and they've been aggressive in terms of using him as not only a receiver but a runner. In those 3 and a half years he's rushed for 473 yards and 5 TDs. The only wide receivers with more rushing yards or touchdowns in that timeframe are Cordarrelle Patterson and Deebo Samuel. Patterson primarily played running back a year ago (and was listed that way), while Samuel also played extensively in that regard last season. No. 3 is Woods. (Search tools at pro-football-reference.com used in compiling this table.)
| WIDE RECEIVER RUSHING, 2018-PRESENT | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | G | Att | Yds | Y/A | TD |
| Cordarrelle Patterson | 63 | 276 | 1181 | 4.3 | 8 |
| Deebo Samuel | 38 | 81 | 550 | 6.8 | 11 |
| Robert Woods | 56 | 68 | 473 | 7.0 | 5 |
| Curtis Samuel | 49 | 72 | 425 | 5.9 | 5 |
| Tyreek Hill | 60 | 52 | 393 | 7.6 | 3 |
| D.J. Moore | 63 | 29 | 282 | 9.7 | 0 |
| Isaiah McKenzie | 54 | 37 | 171 | 4.6 | 3 |
| Jamal Agnew | 43 | 15 | 170 | 11.3 | 1 |
| CeeDee Lamb | 32 | 19 | 158 | 8.3 | 1 |
| Julian Edelman | 34 | 19 | 156 | 8.2 | 0 |
| Sterling Shepard | 45 | 16 | 145 | 9.1 | 1 |
| Christian Kirk | 56 | 16 | 142 | 8.9 | 0 |
| Brandin Cooks | 61 | 18 | 141 | 7.8 | 1 |
| Laviska Shenault Jr. | 30 | 29 | 132 | 4.6 | 0 |
| Kendrick Bourne | 64 | 12 | 125 | 10.4 | 0 |
| Dede Westbrook | 48 | 14 | 125 | 8.9 | 0 |
| Stefon Diggs | 63 | 16 | 124 | 7.8 | 0 |
| Tavon Austin | 38 | 15 | 123 | 8.2 | 1 |
| Deonte Harris | 36 | 15 | 123 | 8.2 | 0 |
| Devin Duvernay | 32 | 11 | 120 | 10.9 | 0 |
| Jarvis Landry | 59 | 14 | 120 | 8.6 | 4 |
| Odell Beckham Jr. | 49 | 13 | 115 | 8.8 | 1 |
| Chase Claypool | 31 | 24 | 112 | 4.7 | 2 |
| Diontae Johnson | 47 | 12 | 109 | 9.1 | 0 |
| Steven Sims | 29 | 10 | 103 | 10.3 | 1 |
| Tyler Boyd | 61 | 13 | 97 | 7.5 | 0 |
| DeAndre Carter | 60 | 11 | 96 | 8.7 | 0 |
| Emmanuel Sanders | 57 | 7 | 96 | 13.7 | 1 |
| Brandon Aiyuk | 29 | 11 | 94 | 8.5 | 2 |
| Mecole Hardman | 49 | 16 | 94 | 5.9 | 0 |
| David Moore | 49 | 12 | 91 | 7.6 | 0 |
| Keenan Allen | 62 | 13 | 90 | 6.9 | 0 |
| Ray-Ray McCloud | 48 | 8 | 84 | 10.5 | 0 |
| Taylor Gabriel | 25 | 12 | 81 | 6.8 | 0 |
| Cooper Kupp | 56 | 14 | 80 | 5.7 | 0 |
| Albert Wilson | 34 | 17 | 78 | 4.6 | 0 |
| Rondale Moore | 14 | 18 | 76 | 4.2 | 0 |
If the Rams are able to trade Woods for a decent pick, that looks likely to happen in the next few days. Would be a plus for his 2022 outlook, and also for Kupp and Robinson (and increase the odds of Beckham getting re-upped with Los Angeles).
--Andy Richardson