NFL free agency: Quinton Coples signs two-year deal with Los Angeles Rams
By John Buhler
Defensive end Quinton Coples will leave the AFC East’s New York Jets in 2016 NFL free agency to sign a two-year contract with the NFC West’s Los Angeles Rams.
According to the NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the Los Angeles Rams have reached a two-year contract with free agent pass rusher Quinton Coples on Wednesday morning.
Quinton Coples has agreed to a 2-year deal with the #Rams, source said
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 16, 2016
Coples had spent his first four NFL seasons in the AFC East playing mostly with the New York Jets except for a six-game stretch in 2015 with the Miami Dolphins. The former No. 16 overall draft pick by the Jets in the 2012 NFL Draft will begin the next stage of his NFL career playing on the West Coast for the newly relocated Rams franchise.
In 62 professional games since 2012, Coples has started 32 times, recording 16.5 sacks, 75 solo tackles, 36 assists, 5 pass deflections, and 2 forced fumbles. He became a respectable rotational pass rusher for the Jets the last four years, but due to the crowded nature of the Jet’s vaunted front seven, Coples only started two games for the Jets in 2015.
He’ll have a great opportunity to play on another defense-first football team in Jeff Fisher’s Rams in 2016, serving as a likely replacement for the Rams’ former No. 2 overall draft pick Chris Long, who was released over a month ago and has since signed with the New England Patriots.
Los Angeles will look to win football games in 2016 with a steady dose of dynamic front seven play spearheaded by All-Pro defensive tackle Aaron Donald and a dominant running game led by 2015 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year tailback Todd Gurley.
Coples may not be the star he was drafted to become with the Jets out of North Carolina, but this seems like a strong fit for him the next two years with the great front seven of the Rams. If Coples can replace the Long’s production on the outside as a situational pass rusher during the life of his contract, this will go down as another smart move for Rams general manager Les Snead.
For more posts on 2016 NFL free agency, please check out our NFL free agency hub page.