Why should LA Rams watch the waiver wire of other NFL teams?

Step three

Now for the tricky part. Compensatory picks are awarded to teams who lose the most valued free agents whose contract has expired and subsequently sign with another team. And if you investigate how compensatory pick awards are calculated, the NFL will offset a potential compensatory pick award if the team signs a free agent for a similar amount.

So it works like this. If the Rams lose OLB Leonard Floyd to free agency but sign his replacement from free agency, they offset and the Rams will not receive a compensatory pick. That offset is why the LA Rams will likely not receive a third compensatory pick in the 2021 NFL Draft for the loss of placekicker Greg Zuerlein to the Dallas Cowboys. So how to prevent that?

The trick is to sign released players, not expired contracts. Since released players do not count towards a compensatory pick calculation, they do not offset one either. So in the NFL Free Agency market, teams that have one eye towards their compensatory pick calculation will value released players far more than players coming off an expired contract.

So the LA Rams simply need to keep an eye on the waiver wires for players who may fit their needs. The expectation is that some of the best and most talented NFL players will become available for the right price in 2021.

Okay, step three – Shoppers paradise.