Sean McVay: Leonard Floyd was 'one of the more complete edge players' in the NFL this year
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theramswire.usatoday.com]
Cameron DaSilva
Leonard Floyd earned a nice chunk of change from the Los Angeles Rams this season after signing a one-year deal last offseason. He brought in $10 million as a base salary and added $3.25 million in incentives, including a 10-sack bonus that netted him $1.25 million alone.
But as much as Floyd made this season, he’s going to earn a whole lot more in March.
With a career year in 2020, Floyd ensured that he’s going to get paid by someone this offseason when he hits free agency – whether it’s the Rams or someone else. Floyd recorded 10.5 sacks, 11 tackles for loss and 19 QB hits, all of which are new career-highs for the 28-year-old edge rusher.
Like Dante Fowler Jr., Floyd reaped the benefits of playing with Aaron Donald for a short time. And like Fowler did with his $45 million deal, Floyd will almost certainly earn a similar contract this offseason.
Sean McVay came away extremely impressed by what he saw from Floyd this season and called him one of the most complete edge rushers in the NFL.
“We talk a lot about Leonard – the versatility, the relentless passion and really persistence that he played with, ability to affect the quarterback, ability to stop the run,” McVay said in his end-of-season press conference. “I think he was one of the more complete edge players in this league. Brandon had an experience with him in Chicago that made him feel really comfortable and confident. I felt comfortable (from) going against him and I thought you saw his best this year.”
Keeping Floyd around will be a challenge for the Rams. If the salary cap drops to $175 million, the Rams will be $26.6 million over the cap. That means they’d have to clear a lot of space just to get under the league limit before even thinking about signing free agents.
Considering what Fowler got from the Falcons last offseason, it’s reasonable to think Floyd will earn a similar contract – depending on how the league is impacted financially by the pandemic. There’s no possible way the Rams will be able to afford $15 million per year for Floyd unless they get creative by giving him a long-term deal and pushing most of the money to later years.
Assuming Floyd leaves, the Rams will once again be left searching for a starting edge rusher, which are by no means easy to find.
