Cooking Up A Plan

The St. Louis Rams are cooking up a plan to help Sam Bradford take the next step. At 3:00 pm on Tuesday, the new NFL league year started and the free agency signing period began. A couple hours later St. Louis agreed to a five-year deal with TE Jared Cook. Cook was drafted out of South Carolina back in 2009 when Jeff Fisher was the head coach with the Tennessee Titans. Known for his athleticism — the 6-foot-5, 250-pounder runs a 4.4 forty — Cook is not a traditional tight end. He often lines up away from the line of scrimmage in the slot, , the same spot vacated by WR Danny Amendola in the Rams offense, to exploit the physical mismatch he creates.His last two seasons in Tennessee, Cook caught 93 passes for 1,282 yards and 7 touchdowns. Before inking Cook to his new deal, the Rams set up free agent visits with LT Jake Long and S Louis Delmas. Long was the #1 overall pick in the 2008 NFL Draft (Rams DE Chris Long — no relation — was selected #2 overall) by the Miami Dolphins. Long was unanimously regarded as one of the elite left tackles in the NFL after his first few years with the Dolphins; he made the Pro Bowl in each of his first four seasons in the league. Injuries, however, wrecked his 2012 season and he wanted out of Miami. Since entering the league in 2009, safety Louis Delmas has been a starter with the Detroit Lions. St. Louis, who just released S Quintin Mikell to free up cap space, is likely interested in Delmas after hiring Tim Walton from Detroit as the new defensive coordinator earlier this year.