Long shot lands in St. Louis

The St. Louis Rams now have a #1 overall pick as Sam Bradford’s blindside protection.

Late Sunday evening, ProFootballTalk.com broke news that Jake Long agreed to a 4-year, $34 million dollar deal with the Rams. The can reach as high as $36 million if incentives are met. Long was the first overall pick in the 2008 NFL Draft (Rams DE Chris Long — no relation — was the second pick in that draft).

Long spent his first five seasons with the Miami Dolphins and made played in the Pro Bowl each of his first four seasons in the league. At that time, Long was widely regarded as one of the elite left tackles in the NFL, but injuries have sullied his reputation the last two seasons. Long missed six games combined in 2011 and 2012 due to back injuries and a torn triceps muscle in his left arm and his play suffered as a result that was compounded by playing in a new zone blocking scheme that Long reportedly did not like.

With Long now in St. Louis to play left tackle, it is likely that the team will move Rodger Saffold over to left tackle.