After a flurry of offseason moves that included trading Brandin Cooks, re-signing Andrew Whitworth and adding A’Shawn Robinson in free agency, the Los Angeles Rams have put themselves in a difficult situation financially. According to Over the Cap, the Rams are actually over the limit by $5.35 million, which means they’ll need to create some space one way or another.
The best option is to simply restructure Jared Goff’s contract, which would create the necessary cap room for the Rams. With an NFL-high cap hit of $36 million, the Rams have the chance to move money around and reduce that figure.
If the team were to go in that direction, Goff would have no complaints. He said on a conference call Wednesday that he’s open to restructuring his deal if it helps the Rams.
Rams QB Jared Goff on the possible restructuring of his contract, if it gives the team more cap space: "If so, I'm all for it. I don't see why not. It doesn't change anything for me, and it helps the team out."
— Greg Beacham (@gregbeacham) April 15, 2020
By restructuring, Goff wouldn’t be taking a pay cut. In fact, he’d get more money up front, likely in the form of a signing bonus. The Rams would then be able to spread that money out over the rest of his contract to lessen the blow in 2020.
Goff doesn’t have any say in the matter because there’s a clause written in his contract to allow the Rams to do this, so even if he was against the move, the Rams could do it anyway. But having him (and his mustache) on board is a plus.
The Rams hold an option to restructure Jared Goff's contract to create short-term cap space. It's written in. There's no negotiation involved but there still would be a discussion. And, of course — again for the people in the back — a simple restructure is not a pay cut.
— Rich Hammond (@Rich_Hammond) April 15, 2020
It’s now up to the Rams to decide whether they want to restructure his deal, free up space this offseason and push money down the line in later years. GM Les Snead indicated last month that restructuring isn’t always a wise proposition, but that was before the Rams found themselves in their current cap predicament.
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