One click glance at the projected salary cap standing of each team in the NFL is all it takes to realize the Rams might be in some trouble. Over The Cap has projected the cap to be set at $176 million, which is $1 million higher than the floor the league set for the 2021 league year.
If the $176 million figure holds true, the Rams will be $31.16 million over the cap, according to OTC. That means they’ll need to shed more than $30 million in financial commitments before the start of the new league year, which is on March 17 at 4 p.m. ET – the same time and date that free agency will begin.
The Rams can begin trimming their cap commitments by cutting players such as Kenny Young and Brian Allen, and they can also restructure the deals of Aaron Donald, Jared Goff and Robert Woods to free up more money.
Even still, the Rams won’t have much spending money for free agency. But as dire as things seem for Los Angeles, there are teams in worse shape. The Saints are projected to be $112.2 million over the cap, the Eagles are set to be more than $53 million over the limit and the Steelers (-$34.9 million) and Falcons (-$36.2 million) are both in deeper holes than the Rams.
In total, 13 teams are projected to be over the salary cap as of now, including the Rams. On the opposite end of the spectrum, the Jaguars ($73 million), Colts ($64.9 million), Jets ($63.5 million and Patriots ($58.5 million) are the four teams projected to have the most spending money.
They’ll probably be among the most aggressive teams in the league come free agency, so the Rams won’t be able to get into a bidding war with those teams for players such as John Johnson, Leonard Floyd or Troy Hill.
Just like everyone else, the Rams will figure it out. However, navigating the offseason in this unprecedented situation will be challenging, to say the least.
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