5 moves to free $80 million – LA Rams path to more salary cap space

The LA Rams projected 2020 salary cap now projects under $15 million for 2020. How can the Rams afford players in the free agent market? Here are 5 moves to free up to $80 million

The LA Rams have yet to enter the 2020 NFL free agent market, and the team has watched their estimated salary cap wane from approximately $25 million down to the current projection of just under $15 million by the OverTheCap.com experts.  How can this happen?  Estimating available salary cap space is meticulous work, and involves interpreting player contracts, NFL salary ceiling estimates, and of course, bonuses from the previous season which were deemed unlikely which then become salary cap hits the following year.

Right now, Spotrac.com estimates the Rams 2020 available salary cap at $19,546,684, but the Spotrac folks have not yet factored in four Rams qualifying for Proven Performance Escalators.  While it’s impossible to set the right number until the NFL declares the exact 2020 ceiling, the point is that the Rams are entering a free agent market with limited dollars and facing losing more than a handful of incredibly productive veterans.

As of today, unrestricted free agents DE Michael Brockers, OLB Dante Fowler Jr. ILB Cory Littleton, LT Andrew Whitworth, ILB Bryce Hager, G Austin Blythe, K Greg Zuerlein, QB Blake Bortles, S Marqui Christian, and WR Mike Thomas will all be testing free agency to sign with the NFL team who offers them the highest bid. That’s how the NFL free agency market works, and the Rams haven’t sufficient salary space to intervene and re-sign any players.