LA Rams past sins complicates 2021 NFL Free Agency

LA Rams’ past sins complicate 2021 NFL Free Agency

The LA Rams lived for the moment, as so many of us do.  That moment was 2018, a defending NFC Champion, locking in the future of the team with corps players.  Highly productive veterans who carried the team past the competition and to fall just one game short of hoisting the crown. At that moment, the team focused both eyes on the second hand of a stopwatch and took their eyes off the calendar.

Had the team focused one eye on each, the team may have hesitated to commit so much of tomorrow’s dollars into 2018’s heroes.  Yes, the Rams were on top of the world at that moment. But they chose the wrong path. They put too much money at stake and rewarded too few.

It starts on the front lines

The 2018 LA Rams dominated because their offensive line dominated. But in 2018, the team failed to offer a contract to veteran center John Sullivan. Meanwhile, the team watched as left guard Rodger Saffold signed with another team   Ah, what might have been?

What happened next was a team “making do” with rookies promoted to an offensive line only to struggle, fall to injury, and collapse the entire house of cards the Rams front office had built.  It became clear that the Rams highly productive offensive weapons needed great offensive line play to produce. Goff needed a clean pocket. Cooks needed more than average time to run his deep routes. And Gurley needed holes to run through.

Little lies create big troubles

The Rams did not make huge sins. They simply made little ones. Little lies to themselves that the real work was made by the players who made the headlines and the highlight reels.  Rather than understand the sacrifice of half of the men playing offense who did so in order that the other half could win the admiration and applause of the media and fans.

In the end, the anonymous players in the trenches were far more important to the team’s success than many gave them credit for.  And truth be told, they still are. Unfortunately, Saffold is gone. And in his wake, the Rams offensive line is banking on health to be the main contributor to getting back on track.

A piece of the action

Go figure?

Players line up for “their share”. That’s right. Each player wants to be paid the most for their position. Some insist on it. Others will settle for what’s best for the team. Despite all the cliche’s, team players are the ones the Rams need to focus upon now.

The Rams need players who elevate the play of others. Players who invest in teaching younger players. Players who “get it” that their compensation comes at the price of the team’s ability to pay their teammates. Building a championship team is not about paying the best players, but rather about paying the right players.

Feeding the masses with seven loaves and two fishes

Now comes the moment of truth. The LA Rams 2021 salary cap will likely be the floor set via the NFL-NFLPA agreement of $175 million. The Rams wisely took tremendous salary cap hits in 2020 to fall under that number.  But remaining under that number is the difficult part.

The LA Rams have one of the most talented defensive secondaries preparing to play in 2020. 3/4ths of that group have expiring contracts this season. Similarly, the Rams have one of best pass receiving offenses for 2020. but four key players have expiring contracts for 2021 as well.
All want “their share”. But who warrants it?

Don’t make it top-heavy

Building a championship team is about setting a good foundation, locking in elite players at key positions, and then rounding out the roster with key niche players for specific roles. Even then, the entire process needs quite a bit of luck to develop. Well assembled rosters need to stay healthy.

So the sins of the past, leaning far too heavily into skill players who failed to deliver on their end of the bargain, will hamper the team’s ability to reforge a solid roster next season. The Rams are not in salary cap purgatory as many teams will be. But the realization of tomorrow is that some of today’s stars will be getting off this train at the next stop. But who?

Build a 2021 roster

With the LA Rams running up against 21 NFL expiring contracts in 2021, the team is already working hard towards how the team roster will shape up next year. We know of course that CB Jalen Ramsey will need to be re-signed. But what of the remaining 20 free agents?  Here they are listed in diminishing order:

CB Jalen Ramsey          WR Cooper Kupp
S John Johnson III          WR Josh Reynolds
DB Troy Hill                    TE Gerald Everett
OLB Leonard Floyd       IOL Austin Blythe
CB Darious Williams     LS Jake McQuaide
OLB Samson Ebukam  RB Malcolm Brown
CB Donte Deayon          TE Johnny Mundt
OLB Travin Howard.      IOL Jamil Demby

Some may not make it to 2021

The Rams have some players with expiring 2021 contracts on the roster now who may not make it to 2021. They are:

IOL Chandler Brewer
C Coleman Shelton
KR Nsimba Webster
RB John Kelly
TE Kendall Blanton

The LA Rams did not draft any cornerbacks and with all three starting cornerbacks with expiring contracts, the Rams will likely lean into the UDFAs heavily this season on the practice squad.

NFL Draft

2020 Draft decisions loom very large in light of the 2021 expiring contracts. With the exception of cornerback, the Rams addressed building depth on the roster where the contracts expire in 2021.  The Rams risking losing two wide receivers and drafted a wide receiver. The Rams risk losing two tight ends and drafted a tight end. The team risks losing two cornerbacks and drafted a cornerback. The team risks losing a safety, and the team drafted a safety.

Drafting for the needs of the following year seems to be a rather successful strategy for the Rams so far. So what do the Rams look like in 2022? Per Spotrac.com, the team faces 17 free agents in 2022, Of that number, five are defensive linemen, four are offensive linemen, and six are linebackers. Want to guess which positions the Rams will focus upon in the 2021 NFL Draft?

2021 decisions for 2023 championship

Of course, the projected money to spend in 2022 is nearly $75 million. That means that the Rams will have plenty of cash to ensure they can retain the players they seek. The team will also be able to draft in the first round in 2022, That will be a new experience, won’t it?  As of today, the LA Rams will pick in rounds 1-3 and rounds 5-7. The Rams traded their 2022 fourth-round pick to the Houston Texans with WR Brandin Cooks. Meanwhile, the team will get a seventh-round pick in 2022 from the Miami Dolphins from the Aqib Talib trade.

Building a championship roster takes patience, lots of research, and a bit of luck. For the Rams roster today, the real work occurred two or three years ago. For the Rams efforts today, they are seeds that won’t come to fruition until 2022 at the earliest. Who are you re-signing in 2021?  Keep in mind that it’s not about winning in the 2021 NFL season, but rather 2023 that you should really be looking at in your decisions.