As soon as the announcement was made that the Rams locked up defensive end Chris Long to a four year deal, attention quickly turned to another key member of the Rams defense…middle linebacker James Laurinaitis. Late Monday, head coach Jeff Fisher made it clear, Laurinaitis was the type of guy he wanted in the middle.
Rams senior writer Nick Waggoner says Laurinaitis has established himself as one of the league’s best at his position and in Fisher’s defensive scheme, having a talented and intelligent middle linebacker is as important as any other position on the team.
AUDIO Fisher on Laurinaitis (:40)
Laurinaitis admits his agents have been talking with the Rams, but has no update on where talks are at this point. “I really try not to focus on that. I just go and play football and if anything happens, Tom (agent Tom Condon) will let me know. I haven’t really talked to him much. He just let us know that things have started, that’s basically it, that’s all the feedback I’ve gotten. I’m not really worried about it. I am trying to pick up this defense.”