St. Louis Rams Will Not Tender Contract to C Tim Barnes
As the St. Louis Post-Dispatch‘s Jim Thomas reported on Friday evening, the St. Louis Rams will not tender a 2015 contract offer to center Tim Barnes, who is a restricted free agent this offseason.
The 6-foot-4, 306-pound Barnes, an alum of the University of Missouri, has been in the Rams’ organization since 2011. He spent the latter part of the 2011 season and the early part of 2012 on the practice squad before being promoted to the active roster in Week 2. He’s maintained a steady presence as the team’s backup center since then, and he started the final four games of the 2013 season after veteran starter Scott Wells suffered a fractured fibula. For what it’s worth, Barnes actually graded out better on Pro Football Focus than Wells did in their respective 2013 starts, as Barnes received a -1.3 grade in 272 snaps, while Wells received a -2.5 in 756 snaps.
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The Rams can still elect to bring Barnes back on a cheaper contract after he becomes a free agent next week, but with the lack of faith they’ve shown in him through the choice not to tender him, that possibility doesn’t seem likely.
It’s long been assumed that Wells, who is owed a $2 million-dollar base salary with $2.75 million in bonuses during 2015, will be released this offseason. If that move comes to fruition and Barnes is not brought back at a reduced rate, that means the Rams’ starting center next season will be either a newcomer (who could be acquired either through free agency or the draft) or one of the team’s developmental prospects at the position, 2013 fourth-rounder Barrett Jones or 2014 seventh-rounder Demetrius Rhaney.
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With Barnes seemingly out of the fold, cornerback E.J. Gaines is the final remaining Mizzou product on the Rams’ roster. Four Tigers–Barnes, Gaines, Michael Sam, and T.J. Moe–were in training camp with the team last summer.