Tag: rams salary cap

Rams projected to be way over salary cap, but there are teams in worse shape

The Rams are projected to be way over the salary cap if it drops as low as $175 million.

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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6 potential cap casualties for the Rams this offseason

The Los Angeles Rams could move on from these players this offseason in order to clear some cap space.

This offseason will present a lot of challenges for teams across the NFL with the salary cap set to drop by as much as $23 million. There will be a lot of restructuring taking place and a bunch of cap casualties as teams attempt to get under the cap this summer.

The Rams will certainly be among those teams that have to make some tough decisions with players currently on their roster, needing to either restructure or cut veterans in order to free up cap space.

Here are six players who could be cut by the Rams in an attempt to clear cap space. In other words, they could be cap casualties in 2021.

Rams to roll over $5.6 million in salary cap space from 2020

The Rams will carry over more than $5 million in cap space from 2020 to next season.

There’s a lot of uncertainty about the salary cap for the 2021 season after the NFL and its teams suffered significantly in the financial department this season due to the pandemic. The salary cap could drop to as low as $175 million next season, which would be down from $198.2 million in 2020.

The Rams will be in rough shape, sitting more than $23 million over the cap if it’s set at $175 million. But they will be able to carry over some money from this season into the upcoming offseason.

According to Field Yates of ESPN, the Rams will roll over $5.67 million in cap space from this season to next. That’s right in the middle of the league, with 15 teams rolling over more cap space than Los Angeles.

Todd Gurley will still count $8.4 million against the cap in 2021 due to his dead cap hit from when the Rams released him last offseason. That’s a significant amount of money to pay a player who’s not going to be on the roster, but the Rams knew what they were doing.

Jared Goff has the biggest cap hit on the team next season at $34.6 million, followed by Aaron Donald ($27.9 million), Jalen Ramsey ($22.5 million) and Cooper Kupp ($14.5 million). Navigating free agency will be difficult for the Rams this coming offseason.

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What does Kupp’s deal mean for Rams’ salary cap and John Johnson’s future?

The Rams probably won’t have the money to keep John Johnson after re-signing Cooper Kupp and Jalen Ramsey.

Rams COO Kevin Demoff said back in March that Los Angeles was trying to leave space in the salary cap for Jalen Ramsey, Cooper Kupp and John Johnson, all of whom were set to hit free agency in 2021.

They took care of Ramsey and Kupp, but Johnson remains without an extension – and there have been no whispers that the two sides are even talking about a new contract. Johnson has said multiple times that he’s not bothered by this being a contract year for him, and that he plans to earn a lucrative contract somewhere next year.

But is it still possible for the Rams to be the team that rewards him?

After seeing them give Kupp $48 million for three years and Ramsey $105 million across five years, it’s hard to see how a contract for Johnson fits in. As of now, Jared Goff, Aaron Donald and Ramsey will all count at least $19 million towards the cap in each of the next four seasons after 2020.

When you add in Kupp’s contract, which runs through 2023, with around $16 million cap hits each season, the Rams’ cap situation gets extremely top-heavy. We don’t yet know Kupp’s cap hits per year yet, but if we project it at $16 million, Kupp, Goff, Donald and Ramsey will cost the Rams about $103 million in cap space next year.

Goff: $36.6 million cap hit
Donald: $27.9 million cap hit
Ramsey: $22.5 million cap hit
Kupp: $16 million cap hit (projected)
Total: $103 million

Of course, the Rams could’ve structured Kupp’s deal in a way where his cap hit is lower next year, thus saving room for other players, but if not, those four players will take up about 58.5% of the Rams’ salary cap – if it drops to the floor of $176 million that the NFL set.

Looking at the safety market, Johnson is probably going to look for at least $14 million, which Landon Collins and Tyrann Mathieu are making. Kevin Byard, Eddie Jackson and Budda Baker both eclipsed that number, but $14 million should be the target for Johnson, assuming he has a good year in 2020.

The Rams can afford to sign him, but it will really strap them financially for the rest of the roster. It’d likely force them to let Austin Blythe, Troy Hill, Gerald Everett and Josh Reynolds leave, all of whom are key players.

Ultimately, it’s difficult to see the team re-signing Johnson, especially with the front office’s history of not paying defensive backs (see: Marcus Peters, Trumaine Johnson, E.J. Gaines, T.J. McDonald). He’ll cash in somewhere, it just probably won’t be with the Rams.

Van Jefferson, Rams players react to Jalen Ramsey’s contract

Needless to say, Ramsey’s teammates are excited that he’s staying for the long haul.

There was a segment on the season finale of “Hard Knocks” Tuesday night showing Jalen Ramsey coaching up rookie receiver Van Jefferson on the field. He was giving him tips on how to run a slant, preparing him for the types of coverage he’s going to see in the NFL.

It was awesome to see, and the two will be spending a lot more time together now that Ramsey is signed for the next five years. Jefferson has only been Ramsey’s teammate for a few short months, but it’s easy for him to see that the All-Pro corner deserves every penny.

Jefferson and other Rams players reacted to Ramsey’s extension, which spans five years and is worth $105 million.

Jalen Ramsey’s contract is the richest ever for a CB, and it’s not even close

Jalen Ramsey just reset the cornerback market in a huge way.

Nearly a year after acquiring him from the Jaguars, the Los Angeles Rams finally extended Jalen Ramsey with a five-year contract on Wednesday. The two sides agreed to terms on a new deal, giving the cornerback $105 million for an average of $21 million per season.

As expected, it’s the largest contract ever for a cornerback, and in more ways than one. While not the longest, it is the most total money, the most guaranteed money and the highest per-year average ever for a cornerback.

Ramsey gets $71.2 million guaranteed at signing, setting a record for a defensive back.

Darrell Revis held the previous record for the largest contract for a cornerback when he signed a six-year deal worth $96 million with the Buccaneers, but Ramsey topped that figure easily – and with one fewer year on his contract.

Tre’Davious White agreed to an extension with the Bills recently, with his contract being worth $69 million for four years. That’s an average of $17.25 million per year, also a number easily leapfrogged by Ramsey.

Ramsey blew away the rest of the cornerback market with an average of $21 million per year – nearly $4 million more per season than the next-highest corner.

Does Jalen Ramsey’s cryptic post imply his asking price is going up?

Les Snead and Sean McVay both said the Rams are still talking to Ramsey and Kupp about contract extensions.

The Los Angeles Rams have been trying to work out a contract extension with Jalen Ramsey since they acquired him from the Jaguars for two first-round picks last season. The two sides still haven’t come to an agreement, and the longer Los Angeles waits, the more Ramsey will cost.

That’s just the nature of playing stars, with each big-name player one-upping the guy who signs before him. But it also seems like Ramsey is raising his asking price despite nothing changing on the cornerback market since Darius Slay’s deal earlier this offseason.

He shared a cryptic post on Instagram with the words “uh oh..” followed by lyrics from Migos’ “What the Price” song. Those lyrics read:

“What’s the price? (What’s the price? Prices goin’up, prices)”

“Hold on (Price, goin’ up, yeah)”

Ramsey has been steadfast on the idea that he’s not worried about his contract situation, but this Instagram post seems to suggest otherwise. Of course, he can brush it off as unrelated to contract talks, but the timing of it with the season approaching is certainly interesting.

Les Snead spoke to reporters on Monday and said the Rams are still talking to Ramsey and Cooper Kupp about contracts, which they hope to get done before the season. If not, the Rams will still be open to negotiating during the season.

Sean McVay also laid out a tentative timeline Monday, saying this is around the time the Rams typically get extensions done. He’s not saying they’ll sign Ramsey or Kupp before Sunday’s game, but they’d like to.

“I think you know from covering us the last couple of years, those things, if we’re able to get something done, it’s usually right in these next couple of days is that window of time that’s kind of been consistent for some of our guys,” he said. “So, there’s a couple of key players that of ours that we are still working and whether or not we’re able to get that done, we remain optimistic. That that’s where we’re at with that. No further updates on any of those contract statuses with some of our players.”

Ramsey’s asking price is not known, but it’s reasonable to think he could approach $20 million per year – which the Rams probably knew when they traded for him. It’s just a matter of finding a cost they’re comfortable with, especially considering Kupp and a host of others will also be free agents in 2021.

Rams are only team over salary cap after final roster cuts

The Rams must make a move by Wednesday to get under the cap.

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.

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.

Predicting what Jalen Ramsey’s next contract could look like

If the Rams sign Jalen Ramsey to an extension this year, it’s going to reset the cornerback market.

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After a few years of being aggressive and making high-profile additions, the Los Angeles Rams took a step back this offseason and played it more conservatively by shedding bloated contracts instead of bringing more in.

It was all in an effort to balance the salary cap out ahead of the 2021 offseason, which comes with even more important decisions than the ones they had to make this year. Jalen Ramsey headlines a free agency class that also includes Cooper Kupp, John Johnson, Gerald Everett, Troy Hill, Austin Blythe and Leonard Floyd.

Ramsey is set to make $13.7 million in 2020 on the fifth-year option and has already said he won’t hold out if he doesn’t get an extension this offseason. That doesn’t mean the Rams should put off signing him for another year, though.

He’s made his stance on the matter very clear and says the Rams know where he stands. Sean McVay said “there’s a lot of dialogue” between the team and Ramsey’s agent regarding a new contract, but the two sides haven’t come to an agreement yet.

After giving up two first-round picks and another fourth-rounder, the Rams would be foolish to let Ramsey leave after just a season and a half – which makes signing him to an extension all the more likely. But what might that contract look like? One thing’s for sure: It’ll reset the cornerback market and make him the highest-paid player ever at the position.

Here’s a look at the current cornerback market in terms of the highest salary, signing bonus and guaranteed at signing.

Highest-paid per year: Darius Slay, $16.68 million per year
Largest signing bonus: Denzel Ward, $19.29 million
Most guaranteed at signing: Byron Jones, $46 million

Assuming Ramsey wants to eclipse all of those numbers, his contract is going to be a hefty one for the Rams. Here’s a simple projection of what his extension with the Rams could look like.

  • 5 years, $90 million ($18 million per year)
  • $20 million signing bonus
  • $50 million guaranteed at signing

It’s unclear how long of a contract Ramsey wants, but five years would make sense for the Rams. It would fall right between the six-year deal Aaron Donald got and the four-year extension given to Jared Goff.

In this scenario, we’re assuming the contract gets done before the season starts. That way, it could replace his current contract and allow the Rams to lower his 2020 cap hit from $13.7 to something more manageable.

So in essence, it would be an additional four years on top of this coming season, keeping him under contract until he’s 30 years old through the 2024 season.

Now let’s get to the nuts and bolts of the deal.

The annual value of Ramsey’s contract will be somewhat difficult to project. He’ll certainly go above Darius Slay’s $16.7 million per year, being three years younger. But how much higher will the Rams go? Could Ramsey be the first $20 million-per-year cornerback? It’s possible, but probably only if he takes a shorter-term deal in the range of three or four years. At five years, it’s more likely to be around $18-19 million per year.

Because signing bonuses are prorated across the life of the contract, the Rams would be smart to make it a five-year deal rather than a three- or four-year extension, allowing them to spread the money out over a longer period of time. The $20 million signing bonus would be the most of any active cornerback – slightly above Denzel Ward’s $19.3 million – and tied with Earl Thomas among all defensive backs.

It would be $1 million less than Todd Gurley got from the Rams, and also less than Donald’s ($40 million) and Goff’s ($25 million). Ramsey’s camp might aim to go above Gurley’s signing bonus, but he won’t top Goff’s or Donald’s.

The $50 million guaranteed at signing would also top all cornerbacks, going above Byron Jones’ $46 million – which is $15 million more than any other cornerback. For comparison, Goff got $57 million guaranteed at signing, while Donald got $50 million, Gurley got $21.9 million and Brandin Cooks got $20.5 million.

The $50 million would include his $20 million signing bonus, leaving $30 million left as guaranteed salary – which the Rams could decide to spread out over Years 2-4 instead of front-loading it in 2020 when their cap space is limited. In order to lower his cap hit in 2020, the Rams could drop his base salary to about $5 million and tack on $4 million from his prorated signing bonus, putting his cap hit at $9 million next season instead of $13.7 million.

The Ravens did something similar with Earl Thomas last year, giving him a base salary of $2 million in 2019 with his prorated signing bonus adding on $5 million to bring his cap hit to $7 million. His salary spikes to $10 million in 2020 with a cap hit of $15 million, which increases by $1 million in each of the next two years.

This deal for Ramsey would obviously give the Rams three huge contracts to manage for the next five years, including Donald and Goff, both of whom are signed through 2024. However, the Rams knew when they acquired Ramsey that he would require a new contract, and the moves they made to dump Gurley and Cooks free up money in the next few years.

At $18 million per year, it’s manageable for Los Angeles. Combined, Gurley and Cooks were earning more than $30 million per year in base salary. Yes, it would reset the cornerback market, but the Rams knew that’s been Ramsey’s goal dating back to last year.

Los Angeles typically hands out extensions between July and September, so it’s possible nothing will happen on the Ramsey front until this summer. But needless to say, this is a situation worth monitoring throughout the offseason.

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Cooper Kupp not worried about lack of contract talks with Rams

Contract talks with Rams haven’t started yet, but Cooper Kupp isn’t worried.

Cooper Kupp’s value to the Rams increased after the team traded away Brandin Cooks, who was signed through the 2023 season before he was shipped off to Houston. The Rams’ willingness to trade Cooks and eat $21.8 million in dead money would seem to be a sign of their commitment to both Kupp and Robert Woods.

But while Woods is under contract through the 2021 season, Kupp’s deal will expire after the upcoming season. And despite that fact, contract talks haven’t begun between his agent and the team.

Kupp revealed that bit of news on a conference call with reporters Thursday, but he isn’t worried about the lack of negotiations.

Kupp said “it’s really not a priority at this time,” but that doesn’t mean it’s unimportant to him. Rather, he understands the current state of the world and knows there are bigger things going on than contract negotiations.

Although the Rams don’t seem to be in a hurry to extend Kupp, they would appear committed to the 26-year-old wide receiver. Last month, COO Kevin Demoff said the team is trying to leave room for Kupp, Jalen Ramsey and John Johnson, all of whom will be free agents in 2021.

“[We’re] making sure long-term that the Cooper Kupps, the John Johnsons, the Jalen Ramseys are all part of our future and that we leave room available for that as the salary cap emerges,” he said.

In three NFL seasons, Kupp has 196 receptions, 2,596 yards and 21 touchdowns despite missing nine games – including half of the 2018 season with a torn ACL. Last season was his best as a pro, catching a career-high 94 passes for 1,161 yards and 10 touchdowns. If not for a relatively quiet second half of the season, his numbers could’ve been much better; he had 58 catches for 792 yards in the first eight games.

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