His contract has a year on it and the Rams are very good at creative caponomics and paying players while insulating themselves with escape routes. Also if a trade were to happen it would mean Mack wants the Rams, and why wouldn't he given that he actually has a chance at a ring with us next season, so that means a deal would probably be there if the Rams wanted it, to spread out his cost.
So really the hurdle will be what the Chargers can get for him on the open market. Mack is still a good player. He was better last season than what Von looked like when we traded for him. What this means is teams will be expected to offer up significant picks for him, which is where I don't think it fits where the Rams are in their roster build.
Last season the Rams solved their OL issues for the most part and the offense responded by getting us to the playoffs in a rebuild year. But many of the roster issues remain, mostly on the defensive side of the ball. It's not barren. There are some pieces who might be here long term among them. But they lack the key guys and their depth is iffy across the board. So if trading for Mack requires let's say two first round picks (and I have no idea what the going rate will be for him) as a starting point by the Chargers and ends up being a first round pick or that plus another pick... That feels too rich given that the Rams still need to finish up the defense this offseason.
And I don't think Mack is going to go for a 2nd round pick, which the Rams certainly would do, because of supply and demand and Mack's quality as a player. His contract is not that bad. It only has one year on it remaining and the team who trades for him will adjust that if they want. So as much as I'd like to see this happen I would much rather see them load up young defenders for this defense and keep this rebuild rolling with coachable and hungry pieces until we get to at least that roster level where we know we're a contender. And that is when a move like Mack makes the most sense IMO.
