This offseason is shaping up to be one that includes unprecedented movement of players across the league, either by trade or release. That’s largely because of the decreasing salary cap, forcing teams to clear their books of bloated contracts.
The Rams have already struck a blockbuster deal of their own, agreeing to trade Jared Goff and three draft picks for Matthew Stafford. But that may not be the last deal they make. According to Albert Breer, the Rams have made Michael Brockers available for trade.
That comes as a surprise to many fans, considering the team just signed him to a three-year extension last offseason after he initially agreed to a deal with the Ravens. Brockers is signed through the 2022 season, but with the defensive line having good depth at the moment, Los Angeles sees this as an opportunity to potentially trade him.
If Brockers is traded, what could the Rams get in return? Looking at past trades involving interior defensive linemen, probably not much. Brockers is 30 years old, has never made a Pro Bowl and isn’t considered a pass rusher.
He’s coming off a season in which he had five sacks (his most since 2013) and 10 QB hits, so the Rams could be selling high on the veteran defensive lineman. He’s also remarkably consistent, playing at least 13 games in each of his nine seasons and holding up well against the run just about every year despite scheme changes.
A Day 2 pick is out of the question for Brockers. There’s almost no chance the Rams will get a second- or third-rounder in exchange for a 30-year-old defensive tackle. The more likely scenario is trading him for a sixth- or seventh-rounder.
Here are some defensive linemen who were traded in recent years and the compensation for each.
- Calais Campbell: 2020 5th-round pick
- Jurrell Casey: 2020 7th-round pick
- Hassan Ridgeway: 2019 7th-round pick
- Marcell Dareus: 2018 6th-round pick
- Steve McLendon: 2022 6th- and 2023 7th-round picks
- Damon Harrison: 2019 5th-round pick
- P.J. Hall: Conditional 2021 7th-round pick (trade fell through)
Campbell was 33 when the Jaguars traded him to the Ravens, but he was also coming off Pro Bowl selections in five of his previous six seasons – and made the Pro Bowl again in 2020. Casey was 30 when the Titans traded him for a seventh-round pick and had made the Pro Bowl in five straight seasons. Dareus was only 27 when the Bills traded him to Jacksonville in 2017 and was a two-time Pro Bowler.
Casey is probably the best measuring stick for any trade involving Brockers, given their similar age and position. So if a five-time Pro Bowler only fetches a seventh-round pick, what does that say about Brockers? That he’s not going to fetch the Rams very much in a trade.
Brockers has base salaries of $6.5 million and $7.5 million in the next two years, which the team that trades for him would have to take on. They’re not huge numbers, but for a 30-year-old defensive lineman, it’s not cheap, either.
In an ideal scenario, the Rams get a fifth-rounder for Brockers. But more realistically, they won’t get more than a sixth or possibly a player that fills another need (linebacker, center) in return.
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