Les Snead, general manager of the Los Angeles Rams, has a long history of making shrewd transactions, including ones that have helped the team win the Super Bowl. But now, a certain contract appears to be circulating due to a narrative from another general manager.
Eric DeCosta, general manager of the Baltimore Ravens, recently gave a speech at the Penn State Sports Business Conference. He talked about some of his past experiences as a top executive for an NFL franchise, including decisions he now regrets making and anecdotes from his formative years.
As an employee of one of the most prosperous NFL teams in the contemporary age, DeCosta has witnessed a great deal. Once he was promoted to general manager at the beginning of the 2019 offseason, he was struck by one of his first moves. In addition to helping the Ravens, it was advantageous because of the player’s circumstances.
To be honest, the guy was sort of a dumbass. He was a part of a deal that we thought was excellent. In the transaction, we acquired a decent player who turned out to be a fantastic asset to the team. Even though the coaches thought this guy was a moron, I had mixed feelings about sending him to the other side because he was a young draft pick.
While DeCosta doesn’t name the specific player, the revelation of the team is a bit of a giveaway. In October 2019, the Rams traded cornerback Marcus Peters to the Ravens in exchange for linebacker Kenny Young and a draft pick. At the time, Young was just a year removed from being the 122nd overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft. An All-Pac-12 linebacker for the UCLA Bruins, a return to Los Angeles seemed to be perfect for Young. However, as DeCosta detailed, the 6-foot-1 linebacker’s last impression on DeCosta seemed to back up the belief of the coaching staff that he was a “idiot” with a lack of emotional intelligence.
“I’m trying to find him. I call him on my phone and tell him to come to my office. With an ice cream cone in hand, he approaches my office. I thus ask that you take a seat. He then grabs the ice cream cone—this is not a made-up story—throws it at my garbage bin, missing. It hits the can’s side and slides over the carpet, leaving me with a ton of vanilla ice cream. It only takes me a few seconds to switch from feeling horrible about telling this guy I was trading him to actually being happy. I said, “Dude, you got traded to the Rams.” I wasn’t sorry for him in the slightest because of that starts.