One of the biggest storylines of the offseason for the Rams is their salary cap situation. Their decisions to move on from Todd Gurley, Brandin Cooks, Clay Matthews and Nickell Robey-Coleman were all financially driven, as the team attempted to get under the cap for not only this year, but also freeing up money in future seasons.
They’ll need to do some more finagling, however, after setting their initial 53-man roster. According to the NFL’s salary cap report, the Rams are the only team over the limit. They’re over the cap by $404,000 after making several roster moves over the weekend, including claiming Justin Hollins off waivers.
As Albert Breer points out, the Rams are allowed to be over the cap until Wednesday thanks to the top-51 rule, which only counts the 51 most expensive players against the salary cap. But that’ll change soon.
Reason the Rams can be … "Top 51" rules are in place until Wednesday, meaning top 51 cap numbers are calculated against the cap. After that, all 53 go into the equation. So Rams have work to do the next 2 days. https://t.co/bishPUnGuL
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) September 7, 2020
Regardless, the Rams need to make a roster move to free up a spot for Raymond Calais, whom they signed off the Buccaneers’ practice squad Sunday. That move could be placing someone like Terrell Lewis on IR, if needed, or sending someone down to the practice squad, where there’s still one opening.