Reeder signed with the Rams on Thursday.
Reeder has spent the majority of his career with the Rams and has occupied various roles. Most recently, he's been primarily a special teams contributor, and that's likely to remain the case in 2024.
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Rams' Michael Hoecht: Staying in LA
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Hoecht re-signed with the Rams on Monday, Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 Houston reports.
Los Angeles placed a right-of-first-refusal tender on Hoecht, but he did not receive an offer sheet from another club. The 26-year-old started 17 regular-season games in 2023 and recorded 81 tackles (45 solo) including 6.0 sacks, plus two passes defensed and one forced fumble.
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Rams' Larrell Murchison: Re-signs with Los Angeles
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The Rams re-signed Murchison on a one-year deal Friday, Cameron DaSilva of USA Today reports.
The 26-year-old defensive lineman spent time with the Rams during each of the last two seasons, and he'll remain in Los Angeles after agreeing to a new one-year deal Friday. Murchison appeared in 15 games for the Rams in 2023, recording 16 total tackles, including one tackle for loss, on 252 defensive snaps. He's expected to compete for another depth role on Los Angeles' defensive line as the offseason progresses.
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Vikings' Jonah Williams: Ready to wear purple
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Williams has agreed to sign a contract with the Vikings, Ben Goessling of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.
Williams visited Minnesota on Monday, and it did not take long for him to come to terms on a contract. The 28-year-old spent his first three seasons with the Rams and accumulated 49 tackles (20 solo) during the 2023 campaign.
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Rams' Christian Rozeboom: Brought back by L.A.
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The Rams re-signed Rozeboom on a one-year deal Friday, Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic reports.
According to Rodrigue, Rozeboom had a couple offers from other teams, but he ultimately chose to return to Los Angeles for his fourth season with the team. The South Dakota State product had the best season of his career in 2023, racking up 79 total tackles and four passes defended, including one interception, in 17 regular-season outings. Expect Rozeboom to have the opportunity to compete for a starting inside linebacker spot once again this offseason.
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Panthers' Jordan Fuller: Coming to Carolina
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The Panthers signed Fuller (ankle) on Friday, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports.
Fuller was forced to miss the Rams' wild-card loss to the Lions due to an ankle injury, but it now seems as if he's moved past the issue. After spending the first four seasons of his career in Los Angeles, the Ohio State product will look to build on a productive 2023 campaign during which he recorded 84 total tackles, three forced fumbles and eight passes defended, including three interceptions, across 17 games. The 26-year-old safety is expected to help fortify a Panthers' defense that already ranked third in passing yards allowed per game (171.5) in 2023.
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Aaron Donald: Announces retirement
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Donald announced his retirement from football Friday, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.
Donald had one season remaining on his contract and was due a $5 million roster bonus this weekend. He was still one of the best interior defensive linemen in the league in 2023, but retirement makes sense given that there's not a ton left to accomplish. Donald won three DPOY awards (2017, 2018, 2020) and a Super Bowl ring (2021), and he had at least eight sacks every season besides 2022 when he missed six games with an ankle injury. He retires two months before his 33rd birthday, sitting on 111 career sacks and locked in for a Hall of Fame spot. It's a massive loss for the Rams, though the blow is somewhat lessened by Kobie Turner's nine-sack rookie campaign in 2023.
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Rams' Michael Hoecht: Tendered by Rams
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Hoecht, a restricted free agent, has been tendered by the Rams.
By placing a one-year tender on the restricted free agent, the Rams will have the opportunity to match any contract offer extended to Hoecht by another team. Hoecht is still free to negotiate with other clubs coming off a 2023 season in which he set career highs in tackles (81) and sacks (6.0).
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Rams' Bobby Brown: Earns backup role
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Brown recorded 31 tackles (16 solo) and 0.5 sacks during the 2023 regular season over 13 games played.
Operating as the primary backup behind talented rookie Kobie Turner, Brown easily eclipsed his nine career tackles prior to 2023 while logging 298 snaps on defense. Brown did suffer an MCL sprain that cost him four games, but otherwise he had a respectable year as a reserve, and with one year left on his rookie deal, the Texas A&M product will likely remain in a depth role barring an injury to Turner.
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Rams' Cobie Durant: Makes some strides in second year
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Durant logged 39 tackles (23 solo) and six passes defended during the 2023 regular season over 16 games played.
The sophomore corner bounced in and out of the starting lineup throughout the season, and while his tackles and snaps on defense both increased over his rookie year, he failed to record a pick after notching three of them in 2022. The cornerback position for the Rams could be in flux heading into 2024, with Ahkello Witherspoon a free agent and little depth behind Durant remaining, so Durant's role for his third campaign may be hard to determine before training camp begins.
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Rams' John Johnson: Sees role reduce in return to Rams
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Johnson recorded 42 tackles (24 solo), six passes defended and two interceptions during the 2023 regular season.
After two years as a starter with Cleveland, Johnson returned to the team that took him in the third round in 2017 as a depth piece, but he was able to crack the starting rotation at safety after a Week 10 bye, producing modest numbers but a career low in tackles and his lowest snap count since an injury-shortened 2019 campaign. Johnson is an unrestricted free agent and would likely be looking at a reserve role again should he choose to return to the Rams.
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Rams' Jonah Williams: Continues development in year three
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Williams logged 49 tackles (20 solo), 2.0 sacks and one pass defended during the 2023 regular season over 17 games played.
Williams saw his snap count uptick slightly from 2022, but he turned into a run-stuffing surprise for the Rams and logged a career high in tackles, notched his first career pass defense and quintupled his career sack total in the process. Williams is a restricted free agent but showed enough that the Rams may choose to bring him back for a fourth season with the team.
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Rams' Derion Kendrick: Sees usage increase in second year
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Kendrick recorded 49 tackles (41 solo), 10 passes defended and an interception during the 2023 regular season over 17 games played.
Kendrick was given two opportunities throughout the season to prove his worth as a starter, as he began the year starting alongside Ahkello Witherspoon and regained the role after losing it to Cobie Durant for a few weeks in the middle of the season. Kendrick wouldn't be able to hang on to the starting job on his second chance, however, and was relegated to backup duty by Week 16. Witherspoon may leave in free agency, but the Rams may elect to shore up the position in the offseason, jeopardizing Kendrick's chances of increasing his playing time for a third consecutive season.
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Rams' Quentin Lake: Develops into starting role
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Lake logged 53 tackles (42 solo), six passes defended and recovered a fumble during the 2023 regular season over 14 games played.
Through the first half of the 2023 season, Lake looked like he was going to continue his role from his rookie year as a special teams regular with scant usage on defense, but he replaced Russ Yeast as a starter after a Week 10 bye and performed well despite suffering a hamstring injury that cost him three games. With Jordan Fuller an unrestricted free agent, Lake will likely retain his starting role in 2024 barring a splash by the Rams in the draft or free agency.
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Rams' Russ Yeast: Loses starting role mid-season
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Yeast recorded 61 tackles (37 solo) and five passes defended during the 2023 regular season over 17 games played.
Yeast was relegated mostly to special teams in 2022, but he had a strong training camp and earned a role as a starting safety to begin 2023. Despite beginning the year as a starter, Yeast reverted to a backup behind Jordan Fuller and Quentin Lake after a Week 10 bye, failing to eclipse a 45 percent snap share in all but two games the rest of the way. Fuller is an unrestricted free agent after the season, so Yeast, who still has two years left on his rookie deal, may get another chance to earn a role as a starter if Fuller doesn't return.
Witherspoon recorded 52 tackles (43 solo), 14 passes defended and three interceptions while recovering two fumbles during the 2023 regular season.
Expected to be a depth piece for the Rams after an underwhelming and injury-riddled 2022 with the Steelers, Witherspoon instead stepped in and earned the starting cornerback role alongside Cobie Durant, and he produced career highs in tackles and passes defended while tying a career high with three interceptions. He did sustain two injuries on the year but played through them to log his first season with all games played in seven seasons in the NFL. Witherspoon is a unrestricted free agent in the offseason, and a return to Los Angeles will likely hinge on who GM Les Snead deems a priority with Kevin Dotson, Coleman Shelton and Demarcus Robinson all also pending free agents.
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Rams' Byron Young: Stellar rookie campaign
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Young logged 61 tackles (42 solo), 8.0 sacks, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery during the 2023 regular season over 17 games played.
A third-round pick out of Tennessee, the rookie outside linebacker stepped in and immediately produced at an elite level as a starter, leading all rookie edge rushers in sacks and establishing himself as one the anchors for the Rams at linebacker alongside Ernest Jones. Young may have a new counterpart on the outside, as Michael Hoecht is a restricted free agent, and the rest of the group behind them are unproven rookies and UDFAs, but Young looks like a steal after one season in Los Angeles.
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Rams' Christian Rozeboom: Breaks through in third year
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Rozeboom finished the 2023 regular season with 79 tackles (48 solo), four passes defended and an interception over 17 games played.
After two years of very limited usage outside of special teams, the Rams finally promoted Rozeboom to a starter alongside Ernest Jones to replace the massive production of Bobby Wagner, who returned to Seattle in the offseason. Rozeboom produced modest numbers as a starter, in part due to his usage never peaking above 75 percent of the snaps in any game on the year. He's a restricted free agent, and the Rams may give him another shot to prove his capability as a starter if the price is right.
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Rams' Michael Hoecht: Increases production in year three
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Hoecht logged 81 tackles (45 solo), 6.0 sacks and two passes defended during the 2023 regular season over 17 games played.
After ending the 2022 campaign with a role as a starting outside linebacker, the Rams picked up Hoecht's exclusive rights free-agent tender to bring him back for a third season. He was a starter alongside Byron Young, and Hoecht more than doubled his snap count from last season while easily setting career highs in tackles and sacks. One glaring issue with the duo was a lack of pash-rush win percentage, with Hoecht in particular at 11.1 percent (42nd out of 58 qualifying edge players), and pass rusher may be a position addressed by the team in the offseason, which could leave Hoecht looking for a new home in 2024.
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Rams' Aaron Donald: Returns to form in 2023
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Donald recorded 53 tackles (28 solo), 8.0 sacks and three passes defended during the 2023 regular season over 16 games played.
After suffering a high-ankle sprain that required surgery to end his 2022 campaign after just 11 games, seeing the future Hall of Famer play in all but one game (which was a mostly meaningless Week 18 game with a wild-card spot already locked up) was an encouraging sign, and he produced at a reasonable level at the age of 32. Donald finished second on the team in sacks, but for the second straight year he failed to hit double digits on his sack total, while failing to record a forced fumble for the first time since 2015. Donald will likely return for his eleventh season as a key anchor on an otherwise young Rams defense.
