What It Means:

Those three were scheduled to earn $22.525 million in base salary for 2016. The Rams now have over $50 million in cap space in addition to four of the first 95 picks in the upcoming draft. Cook was a non-factor in fantasy football last year, hauling in just 39 catches for 481 yards with zero touchdowns. The 28-year-old never lived up to his five-year, $35.11 million contract. He'll join a tight end market which includes Antonio Gates, Dwayne Allen, Coby Fleener and Ben Watson. Nearing age 29, Cook has gone 19 consecutive games without scoring a touchdown.

The Rams had one of the league's best defenses in 2015, ranking eighth in Adjusted Defensive Net Expected Points per play.