Dominique Easley signs with Los Angeles Rams

The Los Angeles Rams take a shot on the upside of former first-round defensive tackle Dominique Easley.

After getting released by the New England Patriots earlier this offseason, the Los Angeles Rams have signed 24-year-old defensive tackle Dominique Easley. The one-year-deal was first reported by ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter.

Easley was a first-round selection by the Patriots (29th overall) in the 2014 NFL Draft. Easley entered the NFL with a ton of upside as an interior pass rusher. However, torn ACL injuries on both knees in college caused Easley to come in with massive injury concerns.

While he has shown some flashes over the past couple of seasons, Easley finished both 2014 and 2015 on injured reserve. He finished his Patriots’ career with 25 tackles, three sacks, and an interception while mostly playing in obvious passing situations.

Easley was expected to be the Patriots’ primary pass rusher on the interior in 2016, but they obviously felt they were better off going in another direction.

While this is mostly just a shot in the dark, Easley did still show some nice ability last season. Before all of the injuries took over his career, Easley was an elite-level interior pass rusher in college. It may be unlikely that he ever gets back on that level, but Easley is at least capable of creating pressure in short doses.

Signing Easley gives the Rams five former first-round selections on their defensive line joining Aaron Donald, Robert Quinn, Michael Brockers and the also recently signed Quinton Coples. Easley will help the Rams replace the production left by Nick Fairley, another first-round defensive lineman who joined the New Orleans Saints via free agency this off season.

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