The Los Angeles Rams made a curious offseason decision about middle linebacker James Laurinaitis, and it had nothing to do with releasing him.
After the NFL's owners approved the Rams' relocation application to the West Coast, they asked their veteran defender to make himself available for interviews in the Los Angeles market, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
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Laurinaitis complied.
"So I was like, if they're gonna call and ask me to do that, I must be all right," Laurinaitis told the Post-Dispatch in a phone interview Friday night. "I thought maybe at worst, a pay cut. I still felt like I was producing."
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So Friday's announcement that the Rams were releasing him, along with defensive end Chris Long and tight end Jared Cook, had Laurinaitis scratching his head.
"I didn't see this one coming," Laurinaitis said.
The Ohio State alum was a team captain, and he was the team's all-time leading tackler. He had 109 tackles, one interception, one forced fumble and one safety in 2015 despite playing the last 10 games basically with one arm.
If he were a baseball player, he would've required Tommy John surgery, the Post-Dispatch reported. He also was slowed by a foot injury in 2014, but he started every game for St. Louis during his seven-year career.
In fact, when the Rams were ready to make their announcement about the cuts, they didn't have to go too far to find Laurinaitis; he was at the team's facility working out.
Los Angeles already has a plan in place to replace Laurinaitis by moving outside linebacker Alec Ogletree to the middle and re-signing free agent Mark Barron to play outside, the Post-Dispatch added.
"That makes sense," Laurinaitis said. "Alec will do a good job there. It's a new chapter now. It's the first time in my career I get to look around and see where I want to go."
The good news for the 29-year-old Laurinaitis is that he likely will find good financial market for his services.
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