Tuesday, May 11, 2010
The Rams and Dallas Cowboys have completed the trade sending tackle Alex Barron from St. Louis to Dallas for linebacker Bobby Carpenter.
“As we continue to shape our roster and address the needs of our club, we believe this trade helps improve our team,” said Rams Head Coach Steve Spagnuolo in a statement released to the media. “We wish Alex the best and appreciate his efforts as a member of the St. Louis Rams.”
Both players passed physicals, and it is believed the Rams also settled an issue with incentives in Carpenter’s contract that called for him to be paid $1.895 million if he participates in 45 percent of the defensive snaps. However, it is not known how the matter was resolved.
Barron had signed his restricted free-agent tender of $2.73 million on Friday to facilitate the trade. That tender figure is correct, not the $2.621 million figure that has also been reported. The lower number is the tender for players with five accrued seasons where a first-round pick would be the compensation.
However, the tender can be higher when it is based on 110 percent of the player's previous year's salary. Because Barron's 2009 salary was $2,482,500, the actual tender is $2,730,750.
That procedure doesn't normally apply to restricted free agents, but there were several similar cases this year because the uncapped year resulted in players with four and five accrued seasons becoming restricted free agents. In the past, they would have been unrestricted free agents.
Barron was the Rams' first-round pick, the 19th overall selection, in the 2005 draft. He started 74 of his 76 career games with the Rams.
The 6-foot-2, 249-pound Carpenter is expected to compete for the starting job at weak-side linebacker for the Rams and potentially remain on the field in passing situations. Last year with the Cowboys, he played 42.1 percent of the time and had 48 tackles, two sacks and four quarterback pressures. He also had eight tackles on special teams.
In a conference call with St. Louis reporters on Monday, Carpenter said he was excited about the new opportunity he will receive with the Rams.
"They’ve got some great defensive minds and really a young team, so I think it’s going to be very enthusiastic, a lot of energy and I think we’re looking to hopefully accomplish some big things this year," Carpenter said.
"I think I’ll probably obviously be playing somewhere on the outside. Whether that’s strong or weak probably remains to be determined. It kind of depends how I fit within the scheme, and the more they see me, they’ll see what I can do and where I can play and how I can really help this team.”
Carpenter said he had paid attention to the Rams at the end of last season, and was surprised by how the team was working in those final weeks of a disappointing year.
“I would have been concerned had I not seen…the last couple of games at the end of the season, we had some common opponents (with the Rams) I believe, and just watching how hard that the defense played when they were 1-13 and they’d been on the field a lot," Carpenter said. "Those guys were still out there battling, playing hard with a great amount of effort. Then just coming in here today and watching how energetic everyone was…in the workouts everyone is bouncing around, a lot of energy. It’s something that I’m trying to stress here because it’s something that I was not necessarily taken back by, but it was refreshing to see that.”
Contact Globe-Democrat.com sports writer Howard Balzer at hbalzer@globe-democrat.com.
Comments
cul8tr (anonymous) says...
Another #1 pick is gone too early. No wonder the Rams are in a hole.
May 10, 2010 at 3:32 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
handsomejimmy (anonymous) says...
We couldn't win with Barron on the team and we can sure lose just as well without him. A change had to be made with the guy. It was not like the Rams will have a chance for the playoffs this coming season anyway. Hopefully the trade will benefit both teams.
May 10, 2010 at 4:47 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
BROWNMAJIC48 (anonymous) says...
I HAVE READ MANY COWBOY WEB SITES AND THEY SAID IN MANY OF THEM THAT CARPENTER WAS A BIG BUST. HE WAS DRAFTED BY BILL PARCELLS AS A FAVOR TO HIS DAD WHO WAS A TEAMATE OF PARCELLS. IN DALLAS CARPENTER WAS A SOFT TACKLER AND SOME OF HIS TEAMATES AND THE MEDIA SAID THAT HE TACKLED LIKE A GIRL. THEY CALLED HIM "BARBIE".
SO WE HAVE JUST TRADED OUR STARTING TACKLE FOR A GIRL. WHAT'S THE NEXT STUPID MOVE BY THE RAMS?
May 10, 2010 at 8:55 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
stomp (anonymous) says...
Well if he was a big bust,it's a pretty even trade.Barron couldn't count to two and sometimes didn't even line up on the right side of the ball.Most stupid penalties for O-lineman ever.
May 11, 2010 at 4:58 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
beebee (anonymous) says...
If we received nothing for Barron, it is a plus. He contributed nothing to the Rams and ironically he goes to a team with playoff potential. We didnt lose much when Ingognito left and we have not lost much now. I wish Barron well regardless of how short his stay will be with the cowboys.
May 11, 2010 at 7:09 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
stavrso (anonymous) says...
Two first round busts traded for a "new" start! The Cowboys must be truly excited because Barron has stated that his penalty woes are behind him. In fact, Barron's agent claims that the excessive penalties committed by Barron were due in part to the "losing atmosphere" at Rams park! WOW! How "bad" was the "atmosphere" when Barron "picked up" his paycheck twice a month. Personally, I am happy that both Barron and Incognito are playing elsewhere. Barron replaced by a rookie is a positive!
Personnel moves were needed to ignite this franchise and we will see a different look this season. Hold your opinions until the season had been finalized. I do believe we will improve over a "one" win season.
May 16, 2010 at 1:22 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )