By: Jake Rajala

The Dallas Cowboys are working on a deal for Jason Peters via Ian Rapoport of NFL media. Peters isn’t exactly a stranger in the NFC East – as he played 11 seasons for the Philadelphia Eagles. He also made seven Pro Bowls and obtained two, first-team All-Pro nods for Philly. The 40-year-old played 853 snaps for the Chicago Bears a season ago & also garnered a 77.5 grade by PFF.

Peters isn’t a sinless football player, nonetheless. He missed eight games in 2020, three contests in 2019, and nine games in 2017. Tyrell in Blade Runner told Roy Batty, “The light that burns twice as bright, burns half as long”. I believe this quote has been fitting for Peters as of late.

The behemoth Peters might be catching up to Tom Brady in age, but he wouldn’t be the first utterly old tackle to suit up for a playoff-destined team. The Los Angeles Rams called on Andrew Whitworth, who turned 40 years old last December, to protect Matthew Stafford. The member of the Super Bowl LVI winning team didn’t back down – as he garnered an 86.1 grade by PFF.

As widely enunciated, the Cowboys veteran LT Tyron Smith has suffered a torn hamstring, which means he could miss a couple of months. The past few seasons have been a sad and frustrating journey for Smith. He missed six games last season, 14 contests in 2020, and he didn’t play more than 13 games between 2016 and 2019.

I expect the Boys to soon ink Smith, who should be an important part of their puzzle on offense. The question is: can HE stay healthy for the long season ahead?

*Other free agent offensive tackles include Nate Solder, Eric Fisher, and Julie’n Davenport.

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By: Jake Rajala

The athletic behemoth Andrew Whitworth entered the league with the Cincinnati Bengals in 2006. The Thanos clone was a constant brick wall in his football career as an offensive tackle. Whitworth made his first Pro Bowl in 2012 and then continued to blossom in the back-end of his career. He garnered first-team All-Pro honors in 2015 and then obtained first-team All-Pro honors in 2017. In addition to his superb resume, he hauled in his elusive Super Bowl ring w/ Sean McVay’s gang last season.

Of course, Whitworth retired this off-season and it was clear that he really rode off into the sunset. With that stated, there is an intriguing and pivotal question regarding the former Rams All-Pro OT: Is Whitworth a future Hall of Famer?

Contrary to Sean McVay’s unbiased opinion on whether Whitworth deserves to be in Canton, I don’t believe Whitworth should be cast into the HOF. I don’t believe he had enough AP honors (as he had two AP seasons) or SB rings to make up for his lack of AP seasons. I respect that Whitworth played in the NFL for millennia, but I still don’t believe he did enough in his bearded journey to be a greek god-like OL.

The Cowboys OT Tyron Smith is a borderline HOF candidate at this moment, but I expect him to make it into Canton after 2-3 more Pro Bowl seasons. With that stated, Smith already separates himself from Whitworth. They both share two first-team All-Pro nods, but the Cowboys veteran OT made four more Pro Bowls than Whitworth. It should be noted that Whitworth has an SB ring, but I still like Smith’s resume and mark on the NFL a bit more than the long-time Bengals OT. There is no denying that Whitworth was a workhorse, talented, and an inspirational human being, but I don’t forsee him getting into football heaven.

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The Los Angeles Rams were Super Bowl LVI champions, but it wasn’t an easy victory and journey for Sean McVay’s dream team. The Rams weren’t the first seed in the NFC and they were even swept by their divisional foe (San Francisco 49ers) in the 2021 regular season.

Matthew Stafford and his squad had to claw their way to the Super Bowl and edge out the explosive Cincinnati Bengals on the grand stage. As the Super Bowl celebration has eclipsed and the 2022 offseason is in motion, the focus will switch to retaining the elite roster and making another push for a Super Bowl berth in 2022. The question is: what should scare the Rams and keep McVay up at night the most next season? Well, I’m going to untwine the biggest challenges for the LA Rams in 2022.

• Kyle Shanahan

The secret is out: The 49ers have edged out the Rams in 6 of the last 7 matchups. The Rams won the pivotal matchup against SF in the NFC Championship, but Kyle Shanahan will surely upgrade his squad at key positions in 2022. I expect the 49ers to improve the CB spot, which felt like dropping interceptions in the championship game. They could bring in Stephon Gilmore, as the former 49er stud Richard Sherman pointed out.

Shanny’s team will theoretically have an upgrade at the QB position, as the very athletic Trey Lance will replace Jimmy Garopplo. A lot of fans might speculate how Jimmy G was just a step above the 2015 Peyton Manning, who won a Super Bowl off the back of his defense.

• Odell Beckham Jr.

The Rams will have Robert Woods healthy, but they might not have their playoff weapon Odell Beckham Jr. to kick things off in 2022. OBJ could be on a different roster, but McVay does OBJ back in 2022. If the former NYG WR returns to the dreamy city, he will miss the first 5-7 games likely.

The Rams play in a brutal conference and they will need all the firepower they can get. Matthew Stafford will have the 2021 Offensive Player of The Year in Cooper Kupp, but he most likely won’t have two Pro Bowl WRs at his disposal early in the 2022 season.

• LT position

The LA Rams “currently” feature an all-star LT that is somewhat in the shadow of Donald, McVay, OBJ, Stafford, Kupp, and Miller. Their reliable LT that won Walter Payton Man of The Year, Andrew Whitworth, is 40 years old and pondering retirement.

If the Rams lose Whitworth, they will need to find a quality LT to protect Stafford’s blindside. It’s vital that the Rams find a way to fill in the shoes of Whitworth if hangs up his cleats. Nick Bosa had a whopping 0.5 sacks in two games against the Rams in the 2021 regular season. Bosa, J.J. Watt, and Carlos Dunlap will be licking their chops if the Rams don’t adequately replace the large, generous OT that looks like Thanos in 2022.

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