Giants land linebacker help, acquire Alec Ogletree from Rams

A week before free agency, some teams are apparently cleaning up their rosters with trades.

For the second time Wednesday, an impact defensive player was on the move. The New York Giants, who have been looking for an answer at middle linebacker for years, acquired Alec Ogletree from the Los Angeles Rams. Ogletree and a seventh-round pick goes to the Giants for New York’s fourth- and sixth-round picks, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. The trade can become official at the start of the league year next Wednesday. Earlier Wednesday, the Seattle Seahawks traded three-time Pro Bowl defensive end Michael Bennett to the Philadelphia Eagles.

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Ogletree signed a four-year, $42 million extension just last October. He was a key part of a surprising Rams team that won the NFC West. But things change fast in the NFL, and the Rams bailed out of the contract for a pretty modest return.

Ogletree is just 26 years old and has at least 95 tackles in four of his five NFL seasons. In 2015 he played only four games due to fractured fibula. The Giants have had a hole in the middle of the front seven for a while, and Ogletree should calm that down.

This is the second time this offseason the Rams have traded a big name off their defense. Robert Quinn was shipped to the Miami Dolphins. It’s a bit of a surprising shakeup given how good the Rams were last season, but they just put an expensive franchise tag on safety Lamarcus Joyner and need cap space to sign defensive tackle Aaron Donald to what will be a monster extension. Still, running back Todd Gurley didn’t seem happy with the Ogletree trade.

Given all the moves happening before free agency, maybe the Rams aren’t done retooling their defense before free agency starts.

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Frank Schwab is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at shutdown.corner@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
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