For the second time this season, the Los Angeles Rams have traded one of the players they selected in the second round of the 2020 draft. First, it was Cam Akers, who the Rams sent to the Vikings, and now it’s Van Jefferson who’s on the move.
The Rams are trading Jefferson to the Falcons in a swap of 2025 draft picks, with the Rams getting a sixth-rounder and the Falcons getting Los Angeles’ seventh. The Rams obviously don’t get much in return for the fourth-year receiver, but they do clear some cap space with this move.
Jefferson’s remaining base salary comes off the books for Los Angeles, which amounts to $993,167. That’s accounting for the five weeks the Rams have already paid him, at a rate of $76,398 per week (base salary is paid out across 18 weeks).
So the Rams clear $993,167 in cap space for the rest of 2023 after taking on $792,195 in dead money, which is what they already paid Jefferson this year in the form of a signing bonus and his salary. This trade won’t impact the 2024 cap at all because Jefferson will be a free agent next year.
The Rams now have $6.1 million in cap space for 2023 after trading away Jefferson, according to Over The Cap.