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After seemingly going all in two years ago with the additions of Marcus Peters, Aqib Talib, Ndamukong Suh and Brandin Cooks in the same offseason, the Los Angeles Rams have taken a more conservative approach in the last two offseasons. They watched Rodger Saffold, Lamarcus Joyner and Suh eave in free agency a year ago, and this offseason, they lost Cory Littleton, Dante Fowler Jr. and Michael Brockers, among others.
Their less aggressive plan lately has a lot to do with the repercussions of making so many bold moves in the first two years of Sean McVay’s tenure. Now, it’s time for the Rams to lean on young players they’ve drafted and get top-level play from their biggest stars.
COO Kevin Demoff recently appeared on ESPN LA 710 and discussed the Rams’ quiet offseason, attributing it to the team’s confidence in its younger players such as Darrell Henderson, Micah Kiser and Ogbonnia Okoronkwo.
“We always knew when we took a more aggressive strategy beginning in 2017-2018 when Jared Goff’s contract came up that there would have to be one offseason where you’re a little bit more disciplined to kind of get back in line and to make sure that what we think is our window to compete stays open for a very long time,” Demoff said. “I think we could’ve moved some resources around this year to push some salary cap pain off into the future. But when Sean and Les (Snead) looked at this roster, a lot of young guys they’re excited about to compete. While you’re always saddened to lose a Todd Gurley, there’s a lot of excitement about Darrell Henderson and what he did last year and what his future looks like. The chances for a Micah Kiser – who had a great preseason last year – to step up at the inside linebacker position. Obo on the outside. I think there are a lot of young guys who we’ve been counting on the last few years, who we’ve been developing who will be part of this roster moving forward.”
The Rams dug themselves into a hole with the contracts they gave out to Gurley, Goff and Brandin Cooks, none of which have paid off up to this point. They were forced to eat $20.15 million in dead money by releasing Gurley, which could’ve been used to retain a player such as Littleton or Brockers.
It’s easy to see the logic of signing those three core players when the Rams did, but the contracts have hindered the Rams’ flexibility with the salary cap. And now they’re paying for it.
Much of the 2020 season will hinge on the play of their younger players such as Henderson, Kiser and Okoronkwo. If they can’t meet expectations and fill the voids left by Gurley, Littleton and Fowler to at least a small degree, the Rams are going to be in trouble.
But, they’re at least going to give those guys a chance to prove their worth after struggling to make an impact early on in their careers.
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