Being a general manager in the NFL always comes with tough decisions each year, and Les Snead won’t be immune to those this offseason. As the Rams’ GM, he’ll have several difficult calls to make when it comes to building out Los Angeles’ roster, from players to re-sign to the backup quarterback position.
Free agency is still a month away and the draft will take place in late April, but Snead and the Rams front office have already begun their offseason planning. These are their six biggest decisions looming this offseason.
This is a huge decision for the Rams, one that could create a ripple effect. Noteboom has a $20 million cap hit, but if he’s cut before June 1, the Rams only save $5 million of that amount. Keeping him on the roster as a $20 million backup is bad business, but it’s not as if the savings is significant if the Rams decide to move on from him.
If they bring him back in 2024, it almost has to be as a starter, either at right guard or left tackle. Los Angeles can’t afford to keep him around as a backup again, especially if it plans to pay Kevin Dotson and/or Alaric Jackson, who are both free agents.
Dotson is the Rams’ biggest free agent this offseason after emerging as one of the top guards in football. If Los Angeles wants to retain him, it certainly won’t be cheap, and the cost could be as high as $15 million per year. Will the Rams be comfortable paying a guard that much? Or will they prefer to sign someone cheaper in free agency, or possibly just draft a guard in the top 100 to replace Dotson?
This decision will set the table for the rest of the offseason. A big contract for Dotson could mean the Rams won’t go on a spending spree at other positions such as edge rusher or cornerback. However, if they let Dotson walk, they might be saving their money for outside free agents (Brian Burns, anyone?).
Snead mentioned the possibility of extending Jones this offseason during his end-of-year press conference. Jones is entering the final year of his contract so he could be up for an extension before his deal expires in 2025. The Rams obviously don’t need to extend him right now but doing so could save them money in the long run if he has a breakout year in 2024.
Jones should remain an integral part of the defense for years to come after seeing the way he played this past season, his first full year as a starter and signal caller. And while an extension probably won’t lower his $1.4 million cap hit much, but it could bring down that number slightly.
The Rams don’t have a quarterback under contract who they can trust to be Stafford’s backup in 2024. Carson Wentz is a pending free agent and Stetson Bennett may not even be back with the team next season, according to Sean McVay. That leaves a big void behind Stafford on the depth chart, and one the Rams may need to fill if Bennett doesn’t return.
Will Snead and McVay draft a quarterback early in order to not only find a backup for Stafford, but to get the ball rolling on a succession plan? Or will they simply re-sign Wentz to be QB2 again in 2024? Both options should be on the table.
One way or another, the Rams have to find some consistency at kicker this year. They missed the most kicks in the NFL last season and McVay lost confidence in both Brett Maher and Lucas Havrisik as the season went on.
Los Angeles could decide to pay for someone like Ka’imi Fairbairn in free agency, or drafting a kicker is always an option, too. Either way, the Rams have to find someone who can routinely make kicks from 40-49 yards, which was a trouble spot all year.
Ahkello Witherspoon, Jordan Fuller and John Johnson III are all pending free agents in the secondary, and all three were starters in 2023. The Rams don’t usually re-sign their own defensive backs so it’s possible they’ll let all three walk in free agency.
That would leave Derion Kendrick, Cobie Durant, Quentin Lake, Russ Yeast and possibly Tre Tomlinson as projected starters in 2024, pending any other moves made in free agency or the draft. If the Rams weren’t impressed enough by the way Fuller, Johnson and Witherspoon played in 2023, they could look to start over this offseason.