LA Rams face more salary cap struggles in 2021 NFL Free Agency

The LA Rams are definitely showing signs of stinginess, finding bargains in 2020 NFL Free Agency. But the Rams face salary cap struggles once more in 2021

The LA Rams may not be known for driving a hard bargain, but perhaps that is changing in 2020. While the team has not been making a large number of signings in the 2020 NFL Free Agency market, a deeper analysis indicates that the team has been consistently signing players below their “blue book” value. Why is that important?

Well, for starters, it reverses a serious and crippling flaw the Rams have suffered from for several years. The Rams have tended to pay players at the high end of the pay scale. With the exception of All-Pro Aaron Donald, those contracts have almost immediately come back to bite the Rams hard.

This is not to say that players who do well do not deserve fair compensation. They do, much more than I or any non-athlete can say. The problem is the nefarious team salary cap, which creates the gruesome reality that dollars in one player’s pocket must come out of the pockets of the other players.

Hard case in point, we know that quarterback Jared Goff‘s season is very dependant upon the quality of the offensive linemen who are paid to protect him, block for him, and give him enough time to make plays.  But while Goff now stands as a cap hit of $36 million, and a dead cap hit of $94 million,  the offensive line responsible for his protection is one of the lowest-paid offensive lines in the NFL.

Balanced budget

So I am not rooting against an individual getting paid. But I am rather advocating a more balanced approach to the Rams’ roster in terms of compensation. The team continues to trade away draft picks (the best source for inexpensive NFL talent) to land highly talented pros.  But the team can only do so many “highest-paid players” before more situations like that of running back Todd Gurley‘s contract surface next offseason with WR Brandin Cook, or even QB Jared Goff.

The real problem begins in 2021 when a new group of highly productive players needs to get paid. That new group included cornerback Jalen Ramsey, WR Cooper Kupp, and S John Johnson. Added to that group is the second wave of players like Leonard Floyd, Austin Blythe, Johnny Mundt, and Coleman Shelton. All told, the Rams will be looking at a minimum of $55 million needed to re-sign the 2021 free agents. The team will also have approximately $5 million of 2020 draft rookies, plus a new crop of 2021 drafted players as well.

There is hope that the new CBA will improve the team’s 2021 salary cap from the current estimate of $210 million up to $240 million based on new television revenue earned by adding a 17th game in the season plus an additional playoff game. But that is not certain.

What is certain is that the LA Rams have been adamant about not restructuring 2020 contracts because, quite frankly, they have already spent their current 2021 allotment. If you felt that 2020 was bad, it will not get any better in 2021.