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theramswire.usatoday.com] Rams' pending free agents have much different feel than 2022 class
Cameron DaSilva
January 19, 2023 7:31 am PT
This time last year, the Los Angeles Rams were preparing to face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the divisional round of the playoffs. Free agency was hardly at the top of the minds of those in L.A., but this offseason has a different feel after the Rams went 5-12.
What also has a different feel is the Rams’ collective group of free agents. They suffered some major losses in free agency last offseason, watching Von Miller, Darious Williams and Austin Corbett all leave. Odell Beckham Jr. also was not re-signed, though he remains a free agent.
This year, there are no headliners. There are no Pro Bowlers set to hit the market for the Rams, and certainly no future Hall of Famers like Miller is. That’s not to say there aren’t starters who will become free agents, but they’re not as impactful as the players Los Angeles lost last year.
A good way to compare their 2022 and 2023 free-agent classes is by looking at Pro Football Focus’ rankings from each year. In 2022, the Rams had four of the top 50 free agents: Miller (No. 2), Beckham (No. 15), Williams (No. 29) and Corbett (No. 45). Brian Allen (No. 59), Sony Michel (No. 72) and Sebastian Joseph-Day (No. 77) all cracked the top 100, too.
This year, the Rams don’t have a single free agent in PFF’s top 50. Their top free agents are A’Shawn Robinson, Troy Hill, Matt Gay, Nick Scott and Greg Gaines. They all could be starters on another team in 2023, but the Rams won’t be in significantly worse shape without them.
Perhaps it’s a good thing Los Angeles doesn’t have any stars hitting free agency. The Rams are already limited in terms of cap space, currently sitting $14 million over the projected limit, so they won’t exactly have an abundance of cash to spend on their own players.
Gay should be a priority, being one of the top kickers in football, but they shouldn’t overpay to keep any of their other free agents. Though they missed out on Miller last year, the Rams pushed hard to re-sign him. There’s no one worth going above and beyond for in 2023.
