How Much Can the St. Louis Rams Really Get Out of Nick Fairley?

The St. Louis Rams brought in their second outside free agent of 2015 on Friday, signing former Detroit Lions defensive tackle Nick Fairley to a one-year deal worth $5 million, though it could become worth as much as $8 million through incentives.
Aaron Donald is firmly entrenched as the Rams’ starting three-technique defensive tackle, and 2012 first-rounder Michael Brockers seems to be the best fit for the traditional nose tackle position that the Rams have utilized since Donald’s emergence this past season. With this in mind, Fairley’s expected to fill the rotational third defensive tackle spot which was last filled by Kendall Langford.
The move to go after Fairley was somewhat odd, considering that the team just recently chose to release Langford, who was scheduled to count $6 million against the cap in 2015. Fairley’s cap hit will be $1 million cheaper, but the dynamics of the Rams’ defensive line will change.
Whereas the 6-foot-6, 313-pound Langford had both the size and ruggedness in run pursuit necessary to play the nose, as well as the pass-rushing ability required to play 3-tech, Fairley will be limited exclusively to the 3-technique position behind Donald. Fairley told reporters on Friday that he’s currently weighing in at 280 pounds.

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Fairley’s weight has fluctuated significantly throughout his career (he maxed out at over 320 pounds during the 2013 season), so it’s possible that he could grow back into that dual-position role before the start of the season. However, his weight has been steadily decreasing since he underwent sleep apnea surgery last offseason. At this point, Fairley’s on the light side even for a three-technique tackle. With this in mind, the Rams will probably need to go after a

backup

to Brockers in free agency or the draft, unless they think that Doug Worthington, a practice squad member in 2014, can rise to the challenge.

The 27-year-old Fairley was a high-profile first-rounder and he obviously has the ability to be an effective pass-rusher, having collected 5.5 sacks in 2012 and then six in 2013. However, he had just 14 total tackles and one sack in eight games last season before suffering a season-ending knee injury.

With Donald being perhaps the best pass-rushing three-technique in the NFL and Brockers serving in his niche role as the run-stuffing nose tackle, it may be difficult for the Rams to find Fairley playing time other than on obvious passing downs. Fairley’s expected to replace Langford in the rotation, but Langford only got 346 snaps after after his benching in the fifth game of the season: an average of 28.8 snaps per game. Even after starting those four games, Langford got the least playing time of the six Rams defensive linemen—Langford, Brockers, Donald,

,

, and

—who were consistently on the 46-man active roster. With that in mind, Fairley must be prepared to make a big impact on minimal snaps, unless the Rams are going to try to pass him off as a nose tackle, because Donald should not be coming off the field regularly.

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The other risky aspect to Fairley’s signing, like with many other Rams

gambles

, is his criminal history. Fairley was arrested for marijuana possession in April of 2012, then was arrested once again in May of that year for driving under the influence, trying to evade police, and reckless driving. He recently went on trial to decide his fate in the DUI case, where he was acquitted of the DUI charge and found guilty of only the reckless driving charge, for which he was ordered to pay a fine of $500.

Fairley becomes the sixth player on the Rams active roster to have been arrested while in the NFL. That doesn’t include six more players who were arrested during their college playing days but have stayed in line with the law since entering the league.

Lastly, Fairley also joins the

continually

growing group of Auburn alums on the Rams’ roster. Now with Fairley, running back

, wide receiver

, left tackle

, and linebacker

, the Rams have five different players from Auburn on the active roster. It’s certainly possible that linebacker

, an Auburn alum who was an impact special-teamer during 2014, could be brought back as well. GM Les Snead, a former Auburn tight end, and head coach

, whose son played safety for the Tigers, have been active in bringing in players from the school since they arrived in 2012.

Next: Rams Sign LB Akeem Ayers