Though they have different specialties, with Titus Young being a field-stretcher and Amendola a slot guy, the presence of Young on the roster gave the Rams a little extra leverage in their negotiations with Amendola, who’ll be a free agent on March 12.
With the Rams saying, “Ta-ta, Titus,” the pendulum swings back to pint-sized paisano. (It’s OK; I’m Italian.)
But that doesn’t mean a long-term deal is on the horizon between Amendola and the Rams. In the same article in which Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that Rams’ personnel decided Young was not “quite there” mentally, Thomas explains that the team and Amendola are not quite there financially. In fact, Thomas says they are “far apart.”
Both Amendola and Brandon Gibson are headed for the open market, leaving the Rams with only three wideouts under contract: Austin Pettis, Chris Givens, Brian Quick.
Predictably, coach Jeff Fisher says he’s not worried. “Not a concern whatsoever,” Fisher said. “There’s options out there. The free-agent market, there’s options out there, and it’s a great draft for a receiver this year.”
That’s fine. But when the Rams already have a great receiver in Amendola, it’s hard to let him walk away.