Rams can ‘take big swings’ again, thanks to roster reset in 2023…
| February 28, 2024 07:15AM |
Rams can 'take big swings' again thanks to roster reset in 2023
[theramswire.usatoday.com]
Cameron DaSilva
For several years, the Los Angeles Rams were one of the most aggressive teams in the NFL. They swung for the fences with trades for Matthew Stafford, Jalen Ramsey, Brandin Cooks and Von Miller, all of which helped them either reach the Super Bowl or win it.
They remained aggressive in 2023, but in a very different way. They tore down their roster and offloaded bigger contracts for players such as Ramsey, Leonard Floyd, Bobby Wagner and Allen Robinson, taking on more than $70 million in dead money. In doing so, they freed up more than $60 million for the 2024 season, which they can now use to get back to their old ways of going after stars.
Rams COO Kevin Demoff said in an interview with ESPN LA this week that the team can now be the Rams again, taking big swings and having the flexibility to bring in higher-priced players.
“This is fun, right? A year ago, the problem was we had always been so aggressive, we just didn’t have the draft picks or salary cap space to win those battles,” he said. “When you go into a Christian McCaffrey trade, people can outbid you. That was never the case with us before. Now with hopefully 11 picks once we get these compensatory picks, and a first-rounder, maybe four picks in the top 100, about $45-50 million of salary cap space, we can go be the Rams. We can be aggressive. I think one of the things people didn’t get last year was we didn’t have to be as aggressive – I don’t want to say tearing it down – making the moves that we did. We could’ve kicked the can down the road. There are other teams that do that. But we wanted to get back to being able to take big swings and being able to really – if a player becomes available through a contract dispute or falls out of favor through a salary cap cut, we can move up in the draft or trade back. All of those options are available to us. That’s something we haven’t had.”
As of now, the Rams have an estimated $39.9 million in cap space – the 12th-most in the NFL. Though edge rushers such as Brian Burns and Josh Allen are expected to be tagged, the Rams can now afford to trade for such a player or sign someone such as Chase Young or Danielle Hunter. They couldn’t do that last year with limited cap space and no first-round pick.
The front office sounds genuinely excited about the future of the team, especially after making the playoffs last season in a year where they were rebuilding. With Stafford, Cooper Kupp, Aaron Donald, Kyren Williams and Puka Nacua to build around, the Rams should be back in Super Bowl contention sooner rather than later.
[theramswire.usatoday.com]
Cameron DaSilva
For several years, the Los Angeles Rams were one of the most aggressive teams in the NFL. They swung for the fences with trades for Matthew Stafford, Jalen Ramsey, Brandin Cooks and Von Miller, all of which helped them either reach the Super Bowl or win it.
They remained aggressive in 2023, but in a very different way. They tore down their roster and offloaded bigger contracts for players such as Ramsey, Leonard Floyd, Bobby Wagner and Allen Robinson, taking on more than $70 million in dead money. In doing so, they freed up more than $60 million for the 2024 season, which they can now use to get back to their old ways of going after stars.
Rams COO Kevin Demoff said in an interview with ESPN LA this week that the team can now be the Rams again, taking big swings and having the flexibility to bring in higher-priced players.
“This is fun, right? A year ago, the problem was we had always been so aggressive, we just didn’t have the draft picks or salary cap space to win those battles,” he said. “When you go into a Christian McCaffrey trade, people can outbid you. That was never the case with us before. Now with hopefully 11 picks once we get these compensatory picks, and a first-rounder, maybe four picks in the top 100, about $45-50 million of salary cap space, we can go be the Rams. We can be aggressive. I think one of the things people didn’t get last year was we didn’t have to be as aggressive – I don’t want to say tearing it down – making the moves that we did. We could’ve kicked the can down the road. There are other teams that do that. But we wanted to get back to being able to take big swings and being able to really – if a player becomes available through a contract dispute or falls out of favor through a salary cap cut, we can move up in the draft or trade back. All of those options are available to us. That’s something we haven’t had.”
As of now, the Rams have an estimated $39.9 million in cap space – the 12th-most in the NFL. Though edge rushers such as Brian Burns and Josh Allen are expected to be tagged, the Rams can now afford to trade for such a player or sign someone such as Chase Young or Danielle Hunter. They couldn’t do that last year with limited cap space and no first-round pick.
The front office sounds genuinely excited about the future of the team, especially after making the playoffs last season in a year where they were rebuilding. With Stafford, Cooper Kupp, Aaron Donald, Kyren Williams and Puka Nacua to build around, the Rams should be back in Super Bowl contention sooner rather than later.
| Subject | Author | Views | Posted |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Rams43 | 73 | February 28, 2024 07:15AM |
