Cory Littleton has become an integral part of the Rams defense. Unfortunately for Los Angeles, he’s not under contract for the 2020 season and will become a free agent in March if the Rams can’t sign him to a long-term deal.

He’s among five starters set to hit the market next month, but given the progress he’s made and the team’s lack of depth behind him at linebacker, it’s easy to see why Littleton would be a high priority for the Rams.

Steve Wyche of NFL Network talked to Sean McVay on Tuesday at the combine and says McVay told him Littleton is someone they want to bring back. Based on the way Wyche made it sound, Littleton is at or near the top of the list for the Rams.

“Dante Fowler, their stud pass rusher, he’s a free agent. They said they want to re-sign him. Michael Brockers, a defensive lineman, a veteran – going to be tough to re-sign him because there will be a market for Brockers,” Wyche said. “But Cory Littleton, the free-agent middle linebacker, McVay said that is a priority for him. With some of the tweaks they’re going to make in their new defensive scheme, they want to keep him.”

Littleton was arguably the Rams’ second-most important defender behind Aaron Donald in 2019. He made 134 tackles (6 for a loss), 3.5 sacks, four fumble recoveries, nine passes defensed and two interceptions. In the last two years alone, he has 125 tackles, five interceptions, 15 tackles for loss and 7.5 sacks.

Those numbers show that he’s always around the ball, whether it’s making solo stops, recovering fumbles when the ball is on the turf or breaking up passes over the middle. It’s hard to replace that sort of production, and Littleton is only getting better with each passing year.

Deciding between him and Fowler will be extremely tough for the Rams, but they can most likely only keep one with their limited cap space and number of free agents needed to re-sign.

Free agency opens on March 18 with the legal tampering period beginning two days prior. The Rams have until then to work out a deal with Littleton before the 31 other teams can start negotiating with him, too.

Gallery Ranking Rams' pending free agents by importance View 13 photos

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