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Whether it turns out to be a fortuitous move for fantasy football owners, Kenny Britt should find some level of comfort with his new team. This after the free-agent wide receiver signed a one-year contract with the Rams, a deal that means Britt will be reunited with Jeff Fisher.
Fisher, the Rams’ head coach, was the head coach of the Titans when Tennessee selected Britt in the first round of the 2009 NFL draft. He coached Britt for two years.
According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, the Rams signed Britt to a one-year, $1.4 million contract. The deal includes $550K in guaranteed money and has a maximum value of $2.9 million.
Britt dropped off the NFL radar in 2013, but he promised to resurface.
“I am going to be a No. 1 receiver somewhere else if I am not here next year, and that is guaranteed,” Britt told Nashville Tennessean beat writer Jim Wyatt back in December. “I am definitely going to be a receiver that makes plays on Sundays and makes something happen for a team.”
I can think of worse teams than the Rams for Britt to make that happen.
Last season the Titans largely phased Britt out of their offense. He caught just 11 passes for 96 yards. But as Profootballtalk.com's Michael David Smith notes, Britt had more than 700 receiving yards in both of his seasons playing for Fisher and the Rams would love to see Britt provide that kind of production again.
It's safe to say that's not a given.
Britt is a classic case of signing a guy just in case he finally achieves what many thought he might upon being a first-round pick in 2009. He's caught 157 passes in five seasons but never more than 45, and in three seasons he's played in 12 games or fewer.
In the early weeks of the 2011 season, it appeared that Britt was destined to become one of the best receivers in the game. With 136 receiving yards in Week 1 and 135 in Week 2, Britt was on his way. And then an ACL tear derailed him. The knee has been an ongoing issue since then.
Britt also has had multiple run-ins with the police since entering the league and was suspended for one game in 2012 after an arrest on suspicion of DUI.
Still, as Smith suggested, Fisher clearly believes that Britt’s talent outweighs those concerns.
He joins a receiving corps led by Chris Givens, Tavon Austin, Austin Pettis, Stedman Bailey and Brian Quick.
As the Sports Xchange recently noted, Givens seemed to take a step back from his rookie 2012 season, but some of the evaluation of receivers is skewed by Sam Bradford's injury and the fact that pass attempts went down with Kellen Clemens under center, especially in games where the running game was working well. Givens did average 16.7 yards per catch, but had only 34 and never found the end zone all season.
Pettis played more in the beginning of the season than in the second half although he did get more snaps in the final few weeks.
The Rams had difficulty early getting the ball in Austin's hands in space, and his 10.5-yard average was hiked by an 81-yard touchdown play. He missed the final three games of the season because of an ankle injury. Fisher said this past week, however, that Austin is ready to take the next step in his development this season.
Quick had a strong average per catch (16.8), but had just 18 receptions. The Rams believe his third season could be the one where he begins to make a bigger impact. Bailey was a standout on special teams in the first half of the season, and then started seeing the field more on offense late in the season. There was enough improvement to believe he can be a much larger factor in 2014.
In other words, if Britt can regain past form, he has a good chance of contributing. Given his physical attributes, Britt's ability to re-invent himself (or not) will be a story that merits our attention.