Tag: leonard floyd contract

Los Angeles Rams expected to move on from former UGA LB Leonard Floyd

Former Georgia Bulldogs outside linebacker Leonard Floyd has 29 sacks in three seasons with the Rams

The Los Angeles Rams are expected to release former Georgia Bulldogs outside linebacker Leonard Floyd this offseason. The Rams are also looking to trade Floyd.

The Rams could release Floyd as a post-June 1 designation and save $15.5 million in cap space this offseason. Los Angeles would still have $6.5 million in dead cap for the 2023 season due to Floyd’s contract.

Floyd has 29 sacks and an interception over the past three seasons with the Rams. Floyd recorded 59 tackles and 9 sacks in 2022 for Los Angeles, but the Rams struggled and went 5-12.

Floyd is still productive, so he could be worth trading for, but he is scheduled to have a $22 million or more cap hits in each of the next two seasons. Floyd’s ideal destination is probably as an outside linebacker in a 3-4 defense.

Los Angeles signed Floyd to a four-year, $64 million contract after the 2020 NFL season. Floyd and Los Angeles won a Super Bowl in 2021.

Leonard Floyd of the Los Angeles Rams celebrates after Super Bowl LVI at SoFi Stadium on February 13, 2022. Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

The Chicago Bears drafted Leonard Floyd with the No. 9 selection of the 2016 NFL draft. Chicago parted with Floyd in 2020 following after four years together.

Floyd has 47.5 career sacks and 338 career tackles in the NFL.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter and Field Yates reported the details surrounding Floyd’s expected trade or release:

[lawrence-auto-related count=5]

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbz2y40j067srkf player_id=01eqbvp13nn1gy6hd4 image=]

Former Georgia Bulldog earns over $1M incentive with sack

Los Angeles Rams and former Georgia Bulldogs outside linebacker Leonard Floyd recorded a sack on to earn a major contract incentive.

Los Angeles Rams outside linebacker Leonard Floyd recorded a sack on Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals to earn a $1.25 million contract incentive.

The Rams signed Floyd, who was originally a first-round pick out of the University of Georgia, as a free agent this offseason after he previously played for the Chicago Bears.

The Rams defeated the Cardinals 18-7 to finish 10-6 and earn a playoff date with the Seattle Seahawks in the first round.

Floyd finished the season with 10.5 sacks, a career high. He has racked up 29.0 career sacks and will be a free agent after the season. Floyd is set to earn $10 million for his efforts this year.

Congratulations to Leonard Floyd. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported his contract incentive.

Following Floyd’s successful season with the Rams, Los Angeles will likely look to retain him if it has the cap space available. Before then, Leonard Floyd will look to add to his postseason sack total (one career postseason sack).

[vertical-gallery id=38712]

Leonard Floyd’s contract details show Rams had to get creative with the cap

Leonard Floyd signed a 1-year deal, but it’s structured as a 3-year contract for cap purposes.

It took more than a month for Leonard Floyd to sign his contract with the Rams, finally making it official on April 24. The delay was presumed to be because of the coronavirus pandemic making it difficult to get a physical done, but it likely had to do with the Rams’ cap situation, too.

As it’s been pointed out throughout the offseason, Los Angeles isn’t exactly flush with cap space. According to Over The Cap, the Rams have just $419,169 available, the least in the NFL by more than $600,000.

That includes Floyd’s contract, which was reported as a one-year deal worth $10 million. Details of his contract have finally surfaced thanks to Over The Cap, and the structure of it proves the Rams had to get creative.

The $10 million is fully guaranteed, but the Rams were able to spread the cap hit across three seasons – even though it’s only a one-year deal. They did so by essentially making it a three-year deal with the final two seasons automatically voided.

So Floyd will get a base salary of $5 million in 2020 with the other $5 million coming as a signing bonus. Signing bonuses are prorated over the life of the contract, which in Floyd’s case gives him $1.667 million in each of the next three years.

His cap number is $6.667 million in 2020 and $3.333 million in 2021, even though he’s not technically under contract beyond this coming season. So next year, Floyd will carry a dead cap hit of $3.333 million unless the Rams sign him to an extension.

With the Rams’ current cap situation, it would’ve been extremely tough for them to fit the full $10 million under the cap in 2020. By doing this, they lessen Floyd’s impact on the salary cap this year, but the downside is that they’ll have to eat $3.333 million in 2021 for him not to be on the roster.

For most teams, this structure wouldn’t have been necessary. But for the Rams, who have already made just about every cap-saving move possible, it was almost required.

The team already made moves to get under the cap – such as cutting Todd Gurley and Clay Matthews, and restructuring the contracts of Jared Goff and Rob Havenstein – all to help fit Floyd and A’Shawn Robinson in. The only realistic moves left are trading Gerald Everett or Havenstein, restructuring Aaron Donald’s deal, or signing Jalen Ramsey to an extension.

[vertical-gallery id=632575]