LA Rams player moves today designed to reset 2021 obligations

The LA Rams have released Gurley and traded Cooks, both of whom had huge contracts with the team. But what was the reason behind the moves? 2021 for starters

The moment the LA Rams executed huge and iron-clad contracts with their future stars QB Jared Goff, WR Brandin Cooks, RB Todd Gurley, and DT Aaron Donald, the team placed the future of the franchise into their hands. Tying up the 50 percent of the team’s annual salary allotment is more than just “getting paid”, it is a leap of faith by a team telling these players that they must make their teammates better around them.  After all, if the team can no longer pay the going rate for offensive linemen, then the quarterback, running back, and wide receiver who are paid among the NFL’s elite must certainly make up that difference.

Of that group, defensive tackle Aaron Donald does exactly that. He elevates the play of his teammates and seems to play better with each passing year. But there was no such benefit from the high paying contracts of Goff, Gurley or Cooks. In all honesty, the reverse occurred.  After signing lucrative deals, all three players took a step backward in their statistics.  That became a huge problem for the team.

And so, it forced the team’s hands this offseason.  In fact, the team was rumored to have already made up its mind by the end of the 2019 season. Gurley’s rumored uncertain future was intertwined with that of Minnesota Vikings receiver Stephon Diggs via social media. Ultimately, persistent rumors focused on the future of both RB Gurley and WR Cooks. But through it all, the Rams played their cards close to the vest. After all, nothing devalues a player in the NFL than the public confirmation by the team that the player is available for trade.

So it came to pass that no acceptable offers came for Gurley, so the Rams decided to cut him outright.  Offers did come in for the LA Rams WR Brandin Cooks, however. So the Rams waited until the team had an offer to move upon.  Finally, the Houston Texans offered one of two second-round picks to the LA Rams for Brandin Cooks and the Rams 2022 fourth-round pick.

We finally have confirmation that the Texans second-rounder is their 57th, so we can now represent the trade as follows:

While the Rams must now sort our their 2020 salary cap issue, the team has enough picks in the 2020 NFL Draft to restock the roster. Getting an additional second-round pick will help this Rams team tremendously. Adding that to the third-round compensatory pick will give the Rams four picks on day two, and potentially four future stars for the team.

Players who are chosen in the 2020 NFL Draft will be inexpensive players through 2023. Right now, that’s an important aspect of the Rams’ moves so far. In our analysis of how the Rams would handle this off-season, we alluded to the Rams forced into biting the bullet to salvage their future.  The team has now done exactly that. And in so doing, they have made 2021 much more doable in terms of freeing up cap space to re-sign players.

When grading the current exchanges of 2020, keep this in mind.  The LA Rams could not win. The contracts of 2018 were so awash with guarantees that players only needed to show up to earn massive bonuses.  The moves were not good moves per se. But the moves did propel the team out of two bad situations. And now, the 2021 salary cap situation for the LA Rams is restored to manageable.