PRO FOOTBALL DAILY REPORT : RAMS : Lyght’s Attorney: No. 1 Pick ‘Very, Very Close’ to a Deal
The Rams and the attorney for holdout No. 1 pick Todd Lyght Thursday night were on the verge of agreeing to a five-year deal worth about $5.6 million and could complete the details by this morning.
After seven hours of face-to-face discussions with Ram Vice President Jay Zygmunt, attorney Bob Woolf emerged praising the pace of the talks and the Rams’ eagerness to get Lyght signed.
“We really got into it,” Woolf said. “We’re very, very close. I made concessions, they made concessions, and every time we hit a snag, we’d just keep working at it.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if we have an agreement in principle by tomorrow morning.
The Rams and Woolf are believed to be zeroing in on an average salary of slightly more than $1.1 million for Lyght, including a signing bonus of about $2.5 million.
The Rams’ previous offer to Lyght had been a five-year, $4.5-million package--or an average of $900,000.
Woolf had been annoyed by the Rams’ unwillingness to discuss numbers, but Thursday was satisfied by Zygmunt’s explanation that it was useless to negotiate until Woolf completed his $1.31-million-a-season deal for linebacker Mike Croel with the Denver Broncos. Croel, who signed earlier this week, was taken one pick ahead of Lyght.
Lyght has so far missed 30 days of workouts, and the team broke training camp Thursday night. Friday’s practice is at Rams Park.
Ram Coach John Robinson and defensive coordinator Jeff Fisher have both pointed out that cornerback is one of the easier positions to learn, and that Lyght’s most important adjustments will be the physical, not the mental, ones.
Fullback Buford McGee reported after signing a two-year contract.
However, he said he was unsure if he would be ready to play in Saturday’s exhibition game against the Seattle Seahawks at Anaheim Stadium. “I don’t know if they’ll use me or not,” McGee said. “Mentally, there’s no problem. I just need to get into shape.”
Whether the two weeks left before the regular season would be enough time for that, McGee was again uncertain. “All I know is it’s better than having only one week,” he said.
Last season, McGee was voted the team’s most valuable player. He rushed for 234 yards and caught 45 passes for 377 yards and four touchdowns.
Linebacker Fred Strickland, another player who was recently signed, will definitely play Saturday but not entirely at his position. Strickland, who came to terms earlier this week, will play left outside linebacker. He will also fill in at left defensive end for Kevin Greene, who injured his right triceps Wednesday in practice. Defensive coordinator Fisher said linebacker Mike Wilcher and the first-team defense will see more playing time this week.
“We need to have them get the feel for playing right after halftime,” Fisher said. “Guys will relax after a half during exhibition games. We need them to get prepared to play longer.”