With Jalen Ramsey's deal done, Cooper Kupp is next. But can the Rams afford him?
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theramswire.usatoday.com]
Cameron DaSilva
The Los Angeles Rams began Wednesday $404,000 over the salary cap. Yet, just hours into the day, they found a way to give Jalen Ramsey a five-year, $105 million extension. It seemed impossible when examining the Rams’ salary cap situation, but as always, there are methods to freeing up space.
The question now becomes whether they can create enough room for Cooper Kupp, who is set to become a free agent in 2021. Les Snead said on Monday that the Rams were working on extensions for Ramsey and Kupp, though he didn’t set a timeline for either deal to get done.
Well, with Ramsey taken care of, the Rams’ attention is turning to Kupp.
Fortunately, Los Angeles doesn’t have to sign Kupp right now. He won’t be a free agent until March, so there are no concerns about fitting him under the cap in 2020. What they do have to worry about is making it work next year.
If the salary cap drops to $176 million in 2021 like the NFL has said it could, the Rams will have a projected $9.3 million to spend – and that’s before Ramsey’s deal hits the cap, according to Over The Cap. It’s not a ton of money – nowhere close to what the Jaguars, Colts and Jets have to spend – but it’s enough to get by.
Regardless of how Ramsey’s deal is structured, he’s going to eat into that cap space at least a little bit, considering he’s not under contract in Over The Cap’s current projection. Say Ramsey’s cap hit next year is $15 million, that’ll leave the Rams $6 million over the cap.
In order to fit Kupp in, they may need to part ways with a key player or two, potentially A’Shawn Robinson, Rob Havenstein or Robert Woods. As unlikely as that is, the Rams’ options will be limited if the salary cap drops to $176 million.
The other question is how much will Kupp command? He won’t get close to the $27.5 million salary DeAndre Hopkins just got from the Cardinals, nor will he approach Julio Jones at $22 million per year. Instead, he’s more likely to be around the level of Odell Beckham Jr. and Tyreek Hill at $18 million, or possibly Mike Evans and Adam Thielen in the $16 million per year range.
If Kupp does get north of $16 million per year, that’ll give the Rams four players who are making more than $15 million per year – with Ramsey, Jared Goff and Aaron Donald being the others.
That leaves very few resources left for the rest of the roster, especially with Leonard Floyd, Austin Blythe, Troy Hill, Gerald Everett, John Johnson and Josh Reynolds all hitting free agency next year, too.
The Rams would love to keep Kupp – Kevin Demoff said in March that they were trying to reserve space for him, Ramsey and Johnson – but financially, they’ll have to be flexible and possibly part ways with important players.
As it’s often said, the salary cap is a myth, and so the Rams can make it work. It’s just a matter of whether they will in time before he hits the market.
