The Los Angeles Rams have tendered a qualifying offer to Canadian defensive lineman Michael Hoecht, per source, keeping him with the team through the 2023 season.
The 26-year-old completed his third season with the team this past year, recording 36 total tackles, nine quarterback hits, 4.5 sacks, four tackles for loss, and one forced fumble over 17 games with six starts.
The native of Oakville, Ont. spent his entire rookie season on L.A.’s practice roster in 2020, which means he has only two accrued years of NFL service. As such, Hoecht became an exclusive rights free agent this off-season, a rare designation reserved for players whose contracts expire without three or more year accrued in the league.
Hoecht will now return to Los Angeles in 2023 on a one-year deal with the potential to be a day-one starter.
The six-foot-four, 300-pound defensive lineman went unselected out of Brown University in the 2020 NFL Draft. He recorded 158 total tackles and 17 sacks during his Ivy League college career while also serving as a calculus tutor.
Hoecht moved to Dayton, Ohio as a young child but returned to Canada with his family during his teenage years, playing high school football in Ottawa in grade nine and Toronto in grade ten.
The Super Bowl LVI winner was selected by the Ottawa Redblacks in the second round of the 2020 CFL Draft, though it appears unlikely that he will end up north of the border anytime soon.
