Can LA Rams afford to re-sign LB Cory Littleton?

LA Rams linebacker Cory Littleton played lights out in his contract year. Did he play too well? Can the LA Rams afford to re-sign him?

The LA Rams applied a second round tender offer in 2019 tag to sign restricted free agent linebacker Cory Littleton to roster for the 2019 season.  Of course, the good thing is that the Rams got an incredible bargain for Littleton by doing so, and kept him on the roster in a year where the team needed him desperately.

This year, the Rams cannot use a tender offer on Littleton. That’s due to the fact that Littleton is an unrestricted free agent. Right now the team has only three options: the non-exclusive franchise tag, exclusive franchise tag, or the transition tag. To understand what each means, there is a great article on NFL.com explaining their differences. For the purposes of this article, the use of any of these designations will cost the Rams precious salary cap space.

Salary cap space the team may not be wise to use on one player. Even if that player led the team in tackles with 134, added 3.5 sacks, two interceptions, and two forced fumbles.

You see, the team is faced with a chicken or the egg enigma this off-season. Did Littleton have an incredibly productive season because he is just that good?  Or would any linebacker playing behind 5 time All-Pro defensive tackle Aaron Donald put up outstanding numbers?  That is the question the front office is scrambling to answer.

Meanwhile, the team has parted ways with defensive coordinator Wade Phillips.  It may likely be that the new defensive coordinator favors the 4-3 defense, which may not be the best fit for Littleton’s skillset. And there is that 2020 NFL Draft, so deep in linebacker talent that savvy teams should be able to find NFL starters on day three of the draft.

We’ve analyzed the market value of Littleton and expect it to fall in the $12-13 Million / year range. That’s not bad for a guy who is an incredible fit for what the Rams do on defense. But it’s a huge investment in 3-4 inside linebacker if the team is switching to a 4-3.  It’s also a significant investment in a player whose production might be had by an inexpensive option playing in the shadow of All-Pro Aaron Donald.

This is an incredibly important decision for the LA Rams this offseason.  Can the Rams afford to re-sign linebacker Cory Littleton?  Perhaps a better question is: Can the Rams afford not to?