It isn't often that an agent is just as happy as his player to negotiate a free-agent contract with a specific NFL team. But that was the case as free agency opened and the Rams signed former Ravens center Jason Brown to a five-year, $37.5million contract that included $20 million in guaranteed money. Of the total guaranteed, $11 million was a signing bonus.
Lewis' hometown is St. Louis, and there was time in the team's 1999 Super Bowl run that he represented seven players on the roster, including defensive end Kevin Carter, tackle Fred Miller, center Mike Gruttadauria and tight end Roland Williams. However, all four of those players eventually departed and some of the negotiations were acrimonious.
It got to the point where the Rams made every effort to avoid players represented by Lewis. However, with changes in the team's front office, things are now different. Brown was on a plane to St. Louis for his first, and only, visit within hours of the start of the league year, and signed that night.
Said Lewis, "I told him what a great sports town this was and what a great place it is to live. I told him it's like a dark cloud has been lifted from the place, like the Rams had just had a baby. I asked him to simply check it out, and if he didn't agree, he could be on a plane to another city.
"After the Rams rolled out the red carpet for him, it didn't take long for him to say to me, 'Harold, you were so right.'"
The Rams are looking not only for improved play at the position, but they expect Brown to be a leader.
Asked what he can bring to the locker room, Brown said, "I definitely want to bring my work ethic to this team. I've heard that there are some areas lacking leadership-wise. I can be vocal, but I choose to be a servant-leader first and to lead through example. I will be the first person in these facilities in the morning and I will be the last person to leave."
Said general manager Billy Devaney, "We stressed, even when the season was going on, about getting bigger on the offensive line and being more physical. He fits everything. He's almost 315 pounds, 320 pounds, extremely smart, 25 years old, all of those things. He's a strong character guy. In scouts' lingo, the arrow is still going up on him; he's still an ascending player so that to us, there are a lot of good traits about him."
Added coach Steve Spagnuolo, "I'm fired up. What struck me first when I met him (Friday) morning was the person that he was. The things he said - he just spit out exactly what we're looking for. The team aspect. How unselfish he was as a player. Some of the things he went through in Baltimore. The things he shared with me. I'm very, very impressed with him.
"This is a quality guy. You talk about character and quality people that we wanted to add to this (team). I tell you what, unless we're way off, he fits it perfectly. He's very, very serious about his job. I could see that immediately when I met him. I think he's mature beyond his age."
