By Nick Wagoner
Staff Writer

After over two years of back and forth negotiations and struggles, it took just one simple trip to Houston for left tackle Orlando Pace and the Rams to get what they wanted: each other.

Two days after taking his first free agent visit with the Texans, Pace signed a seven-year contract…with St. Louis. This deal has been three years in the making for both sides, but when Pace unexpectedly took a trip to Houston, it appeared that Pace might be on his way out of town.

Instead, the visit expedited the process for the Rams, giving them a better idea of what exactly Pace was looking for in a contract and what it would take to get him to say yes.

After waiting for so long to get a deal done, Rams President of Football Operations Jay Zygmunt was ecstatic about getting Pace signed.

“I was optimistic this morning because I looked out the window and hell did freeze over,” Zygmunt joked. “So, I figured we had a chance.”

Zygmunt got the news of Pace’s agreement Wednesday morning after a night of exchanged ideas and proposals. Wednesday afternoon, the deal was consummated.

The contract is worth $52.9 million. Of that money, $26 million will come in the first three years with $15 million of that in signing bonus.    He will count about $6 million against next season’s cap. That means the salary cap savings won’t be as much as originally anticipated, but will save St. Louis about $2.4 million under this year’s cap.

Pace had made it known in the past that the upfront money is the most important part of any deal. That is usually the case in the NFL, as only the signing bonus is guaranteed money. The chance to receive more money upfront ultimately helped sway Pace to stay in St. Louis.

The deal pays Pace in line with Seattle’s Walter Jones and Baltimore’s Jonathan Ogden, the two tackles most believe to be at the same level as Pace.

The Rams’ original offer was believed to be below what Jones got in the first few years of the deal, fueling speculation that he would take the opportunity to try to work out a deal with Houston. But the Rams boosted their offer Tuesday after Pace’s trip and finally got him to sign on the dotted line.

The contract was three years in the making for the six-time Pro Bowler. After two seasons of contract impasses and stalemates, mostly because of hard-line negotiating tactics by former agents the Postons, Pace grew tired of not having long-term security.

Pace hired Kennard McGuire and Fletcher Smith to be his new agents at the end of February, a move that turned out to be the good for both sides. Rams’ officials have called McGuire and Smith “professionals.”

Zygmunt said the move to the new agents helped clear a path for a deal.

“We talked about a lot of things,” Zygmunt said. “We opened our discussions kind of dealing with things that happened in the past, trying to leave a lot of things aside. I’m not sure they understood everything that happened.

“I think there was a process where I just tried to explain some of the stuff that from our perspective had gone on and to keep reinforcing the fact that Orlando was a very important part of our organization and we really did want to get him signed. But I also expressed that perhaps the most difficult part was the fact that we never got a chance to put our best offer out on the table trying to get something accomplished over the last several years.”

St. Louis had until 3 p.m. Wednesday to get Pace signed before a blackout period was set to begin. Had the Rams been unable to sign Pace before that time, they would have been unable to negotiate with him until July. If they had dealt with him during that time and signed him, they would have lost the franchise tag for the duration of Pace’s contract (in this case, as many as seven years).

Earlier this week, talks began to progress quickly with the Wednesday deadline and the Houston visit speeding up the process. For the first time in the negotiations, there was a real, tangible deadline that perhaps made the deal come about more quickly.

“We knew that a deadline was approaching and it was one of those deadlines…it wasn’t an either party ultimatum, it was a real deadline,” Zygmunt said. “This was real and if it didn’t get done, we all knew the consequences.”
But it did get done and now, finally, the Rams and Pace can move forward.

FISHER GOES HOME: While the Rams spent most of their time getting Pace back in the fold, defensive end Bryce Fisher left for division rival Seattle.

Fisher agreed to a four-year, $10 million contract with the Seahawks one season after leading St. Louis with 8.5 sacks. The move gives Fisher an opportunity to return to Washington – he is originally from Renton, Wash. – to continue his career.

Despite winning the NFC Defensive Player of the Month award for December, Fisher lost his starting spot to rookie Anthony Hargrove. It became clear to Fisher early in the off-season that he would not be back in St. Louis when the team had little to no contact with him.

Fisher’s only free agent visit was to Seattle.

PRESEASON SET: St. Louis announced its 2005 preseason schedule Wednesday. The Rams will open at home against Lovie Smith and the Bears. 

That game will be followed by road games at San Diego and Detroit. The preseason finale is the annual Governor’s Cup game against the Chiefs at the Edward Jones Dome.

The dates for all games except the game against Detroit will be announced later. The Rams and Lions will meet on Monday Night Football on Aug. 29.