The Rams had several key starters hit free agency this offseason, led by Dante Fowler Jr. and Cory Littleton. They lost both, as well as Greg Zuerlein, but their pending free agents in 2021 are even more significant.
At the top of the list is Jalen Ramsey, who could get an extension before the season begins to prevent him from hitting free agency. Then there’s Cooper Kupp, John Johnson, Josh Reynolds, Gerald Everett, Austin Blythe and Troy Hill, all of whom will be key contributors in 2020.
To make matters worse, the salary cap could decrease next year as a result of lost revenue from the COVID-19 pandemic. But in general manager Les Snad’s eyes, the Rams don’t necessarily have to pick and choose one player over the other.
Snead was asked on a conference call Monday if he has any concerns about the cap decreasing next year.
“The ‘no concern’ would be this: It’s always really good to be in a position where you’re not concerned that you have players you want to pay. So, that’s the good thing,” he said. “But you definitely have to work through the scenarios. Sometimes in those scenarios, it doesn’t have to mean, ‘Well, don’t pay the player you really want to pay.’ You can actually pay that player and there may be some pains on other places on the roster. So, it doesn’t just have to be one or the other with the players you want to pay. That’s the good thing. I always say it’s a really good thing to have discussions about players you want to give a second contract to, because that usually means they’re proven performers. You’re certain about what they can do and how they impact and affect the locker room from a leadership standpoint.”
Snead and the Rams know there’s a possibility the salary cap will drop to $175 million, which would leave them with about $8 million in cap space next year. That wouldn’t be enough to even give Ramsey the franchise tag, which is a problem they’d have to solve.
While the team doesn’t know what the cap will be set at just yet, Snead and his staff have begun going over scenarios before next offseason arrives.
“I don’t know if it pushed it back or forward. What it really does is in your scenario planning, especially from the telescopic view is, just begin running scenarios,” he said. “Really, they’re if/then statements, right? If you do this, you know, what happens you know, what’s the other part of that equation. So, we’ll do a lot of that this August and you’re going to run scenarios in the goal of trying to continue putting a team on the field that, we expect to contend and be in contention for division championships, and then go from there.”
It’s an unfortunate situation that will undoubtedly cost free agents money and complicate roster-building strategies across the league, but it’s something the Rams will have to figure out.
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