Rams COO Kevin Demoff may be telling fans that the team is focused on winning in 2023, but Los Angeles’ moves suggest a very different approach. Everything the Rams have done this offseason has been geared toward 2024, doing absolutely nothing to improve the roster right now.
They cut Bobby Wagner and Leonard Floyd, traded away Jalen Ramsey, and they have yet to sign a single outside free agent. Now, they’re also trading Allen Robinson (pending a physical) to the Steelers for a seventh-round pick swap.
None of those four moves has made the Rams better in 2023. All of them, however, have been made with the goal of rebuilding in 2024 – despite what the Rams’ executives and coaches are saying publicly.
Very simply, they’re biting the bullet this year by eating dead money and taking a passive approach to free agency in order to free up money in 2024 and maximize their compensatory draft picks next year.
For example, the Rams accumulated $67.55 million in dead money this year just by trading Robinson and Ramsey, and cutting Wagner and Floyd. In total, they have $74.22 million in dead cap on the books this year, second-most in the NFL – and $19.5 million more than 30 other teams.
The trade involving Robinson accounts for $21.45 million in dead money alone, $3.4 million more than it would’ve cost the Rams to keep him on the roster.
The benefit is that they’ve cleared Ramsey, Wagner, Floyd and Robinson off the cap in 2024. By trading Robinson, the Rams save $18.55 million in cap space next year, which isn’t an insignificant amount. They can now use that money to add a premier pass rusher or cornerback in 2024.
According to Over The Cap, the Rams are now projected to have $73.8 million in cap space next year, the 13th-most in the NFL. They’ve freed up approximately $76.75 million for 2024 with their moves this offseason, so prior to those cuts and trades, the Rams were projected to be over the cap.
That’s a huge difference and they’ll try to put it to good use next offseason as they attempt to get back to their winning ways.
This isn’t to say the Rams can’t be competitive in 2023 despite their roster teardown. They still could be, especially with stars like Matthew Stafford, Cooper Kupp and Aaron Donald on the team. However, the way this roster currently looks, they don’t have the appearance of a playoff team. And if any of their three stars were to miss time again, the Rams’ playoff hopes will be dashed in a hurry.
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