The Rams shouldn’t bring back this pending free agent on defensive line

Rams pending free agent Bobby Brown III goes to Twitter to voice displeasure with current role

The Los Angeles Rams locked up their most important free agent of the offseason in left tackle Alaric Jackson. After coming to an agreement with quarterback Matthew Stafford, the Rams signed Jackson to a three-year, $57 million extension. The Rams must now decide how they want to build out the rest of the roster. That included making decisions on other pending free agents set to leave.

One of those free agents is defensive lineman Bobby Brown III. Brown has been a cog in the middle of the Rams defensive line room over the last two years since taking over for Sebastian Joseph-Day and Greg Gaines as the 1T.

As Stu Jackson wrote on the Rams website,

“The Rams’ pass rush rightfully got the attention it deserved last season, but one defensive lineman who didn’t get as much attention as he probably deserved was nose tackle Bobby Brown III, especially for how he played against the run.”

Jackson specifically praised Brown for his work against the Seattle Seahawks in the middle of the season on the critical 4th-and-1 stop. It was because of this stop that the Rams were able to take over and score the game-winning touchdown.

While that would seem like praising a player, Brown took it as a backhanded compliment. Brown went to Twitter to voice his displeasure with his role in the defense. By the sounds of it, Brown may be on his way out of Los Angeles to get the role that he thinks he deserves.

Heading to Twitter, Brown called himself more than just a run defender and the team’s highlight of him a “backhanded compliment.” He then proceeded to quote certain replies and retweet others.

It’s easy to understand what Brown is trying to do, but unfortunately it didn’t come off the way that he may have wanted it to. It’s one thing to voice displeasure in a current role. However, criticizing the team in public forum on social media probably isn’t the smartest way to go about it right before hitting free agency.

There’s very clearly some internal frustration from Brown. His going about it publicly seals his fate. Brown essentially said that he doesn’t want to be back. Combine that with the Rams “we not me culture” and it ends any chance that there was of him returning in 2025. Simply put, it’s not a good look. One of those quote tweets seemed to hint that Brown would be looking for an opportunity elsewhere this offseason.

When it comes to the defensive line, the Rams have been pretty consistent with how they’ve approached the position. The Rams went from Sebastian Joseph-Day to A’Shawn Robinson to Greg Gaines. After Gaines left in free agency, the Rams gave Bobby Brown III an opportunity. Last season, rookie Ty Davis had the ninth most snaps among rookie defensive linemen with 354. Davis had approximately 150 fewer snaps than Brown in 2024.

As a rookie, Davis led the 2024 draft class in run stop percentage at 9.1 percent. His 15 run stops was one fewer than Brown and his run stop percentage was actually higher. While Brown voiced displeasure about not being used as a pass rusher, he ranked 81st among 93 qualifying defensive linemen in win percentage. His 0.8 PRP, which is a formula that combines sacks, hits and hurries, ranked dead last.

With the emergence of Davis last year and the amount of reps that he got as a rookie, it makes sense to promote him to a larger role next season. Davis didn’t have much of an impact as a pass-rusher either, but it’s also a deep defensive line draft class.

If Brown wants to leave Los Angeles in pursuit of a better fit and more opportunities, that will be his choice and right as an upcoming free agent. At the same time, it was always hard to see the Rams bringing Brown back especially with Davis having the rookie season that he did. With a deep defensive line class, the Rams can add another rotational player and continue to build on what was a strength of theirs in 2025.