Los Angeles Rams: Tavon Austin trade helped clear cap space for rookies

Turns out, the trade that sent Tavon Austin to the Dallas Cowboys helped clear salary cap space for the Los Angeles Rams to sign rookies.

As exciting as it was to see the Los Angeles Rams select all of their new rookies during the 2018 NFL Draft, one of the biggest surprises from the weekend was the team finally finding a trade partner for Tavon Austin. In exchange for the former first-round pick, the Rams only acquired a sixth-round pick from the Dallas Cowboys, but as true fans know, the most important factor behind the deal was Sean McVay and company saving all that money that had been going to waste over the last two years.

Before the 2016 season, Los Angeles decided to make the questionable decision to reward Austin with a four-year, $42 million extension with the hope that he was finally coming around as a dangerous No. 1 threat on offense. Instead, the Rams finally learned the hard way that Austin may not be made to be a reliable receiver in the NFL, and it will be interesting to see how the Cowboys end up using him since the team has already made it clear they hope to use him in a similar way to Lance Dunbar a few years ago.

Only time will tell when it comes to whether this will actually happen, but as mentioned before, the important factor is he off the hands of Los Angeles, and they will save a little money in the process. In fact, thanks to the Cowboys agreeing to this deal, this trade involving Austin was more important to the Rams than fans realize, as it will help clear the way to signing some of this year’s rookies as well.

From adding depth to the offensive line with players Joseph Noteboom and Brian Allen to from filling needs at linebacker with Micah Kiser, Los Angeles has plenty of reasons to be thrilled with their selections from this year’s draft. Even if some of the new rookies take a little time to develop, the important factor is the Rams are continuing to build for the future with young talent to give them a better chance of being Super Bowl contenders for years to come.

Next: 3 reasons to love Joseph Noteboom selection

Not to mention, this whole situation with Austin seems like a hugh weight off their shoulders when seeing how long Los Angeles has been trying to get rid of him since realizing their regrets over that hefty extension. Things may not have worked out for Austin with the Rams, but hopefully a fresh start with a new team like the Cowboys is just what the speedy wideout needs so this scenario works out well for both parties.