LA Rams Ink Cam Thomas to Deal, Now Have Three UNC D-Linemen

There’s a reunion going on in Hollywood–just not the type you might expect.

After the Los Angeles Rams signed former UNC defensive tackle Cam Thomas on Monday, the team now has three members of the vaunted 2009 Tar Heel defensive line.

Robert Quinn has become a star with the Rams–tallying 50 sacks in his first five seasons since being taken 14th overall by the team in the 2011 NFL Draft.

Quinton Coples, the New York Jets’ first-round pick in 2012, also agreed to a deal with Los Angeles earlier this offseason.

Now there’s just one question left to ask: Butch Davis, where are you?

Under their former head coach in Chapel Hill, the trio combined to help UNC finish 13th in the nation in points allowed in 2009.

Although the eight wins from that season were later vacated by the school, there’s no denying the defense was among the best in program history.

The Rams will be hoping the same formula up front pays off for them in their first season in California since relocating away from St. Louis.

There should be ample opportunity for both Thomas and Coples to win spots on the final roster–given that the Rams lost defensive tackle Nick Fairley to the New Orleans Saints this offseason, and released defensive end Chris Long.

In six NFL seasons–four with the San Diego Chargers and two with the Pittsburgh Steelers–Thomas has accumulated 6.5 sacks and 74 tackles in 85 career games.

His main job as a nose tackle, though, has always been to take up blockers in the middle of the trenches–meaning his stats don’t really show the full picture of who he is as a player.

Coples spent six games with the Miami Dolphins last season, but has played the majority of his career with the Jets. In 62 games playing as both a defensive end and an outside linebacker, he’s recorded 16.5 sacks and 75 tackles.

If Tar Heel fans learned anything from watching these guys work together up front, it’s that the whole is often greater than the sum of its parts.

Whether that’s true at the professional level certainly remains to be seen, but the Rams have at least proven that they definitely want to give it a shot in training camp.