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theramswire.usatoday.com] How Rams can free up $29.7 million, get under salary cap with 3 moves
Cameron DaSilva
March 1, 2022 10:28 am PT
With all the superstars the Rams collected over the last few years, many have assumed they’re in terrible position salary cap-wise this offseason. They are $21.6 million over the salary cap as of now, according to Over the Cap, but that doesn’t tell the full story.
The Rams have a clear path to getting under the cap before the new league year begins on March 16, which is also the official start of free agency. Three simple moves can not only get the Rams under the $208.2 million limit, but also give them some wiggle room.
All of those moves are restructures, tweaking the contracts of three top players: Aaron Donald, Jalen Ramsey and Cooper Kupp. They can also restructure Matthew Stafford’s contract, Leonard Floyd’s deal and Robert Woods’, as well, each of which would save the Rams $9 million-plus against the cap in 2022.
But rather than redoing those deals, I opted to highlight those of Donald, Ramsey and Kupp because I’d rather extend Stafford, and I don’t necessarily want to push money out further on Floyd’s and Woods’ deal.
Not that they’ll probably want to, but the Rams can get out of Floyd’s and Woods’ contracts in 2023 with the way they’re laid out right now, and if the Rams restructure their deals, that will lock in both players for the next several years. Again, not that that’s a bad thing.
But let’s get to the three restructures that make the most sense.
1
Aaron Donald – Restructure savings: $8.8 million
Unless Donald chooses to retire this year, which seems unlikely with Sean McVay coming back, there’s a decent chance the Rams will restructure his contract. There’s absolutely no concern that his play will drop off in 2023 or 2024, which are the last two years of his deal. The Rams won’t want to get out of his contract before it expires, so pushing money out is as low-risk a move as there is.
The one caveat is the fact that Donald may want a new contract entirely. He’s not the highest-paid defensive player in the NFL, ranking fifth behind T.J. Watt, Joey Bosa, Myles Garrett and Khalil Mack – all of whom Donald absolutely believes he’s better than. If Donald is seeking a raise and extension, the Rams will probably oblige. But if not, restructuring his contract – which gives Donald more money now – is a logical step.
2
Jalen Ramsey – Restructure savings: $10.5 million
Ramsey is under contract through 2025 with cap charges ranging from $22.7 million to $26.7 million in the next four years. As the league’s best cornerback, Ramsey is worth every penny the Rams are paying him and there’s no reason to believe they’ll want to cut or trade him before his contract ends in four years.
Restructuring Ramsey’s contract would save the Rams $10.5 million this year but it would push about $3.5 million onto the cap each year from 2023-2025. With the salary cap expected to rise annually, that’s really not a big deal. It’s kicking the can down the road, but it’s not like Ramsey is at risk of completely falling off.
3
Cooper Kupp – Restructure savings: $10.4 million
Kupp’s is signed through 2023, but he has two void years on his contract in 2024 and 2025. Those two years were put in place as a way for the Rams to spread out his cap hit over a longer period of time, so he’ll have a dead cap charge of $4.6 million in 2024.
If the Rams restructure his contract, it’ll save $10.4 million this year but will add about $3.5 million to the cap in 2023, around $1.2 million in 2024 and $5.6 million in 2025. It’s not ideal that the Rams would be at risk of paying Kupp not to be on the team in 2024 and 2025, but there’s also a chance they could extend him beforehand to prevent him from leaving.
Like Ramsey, he’s worth every penny and restructuring his contract would make a lot of sense.
