How should LA Rams handle their RFA and ERFA players this offseason?

The LA Rams may not have any salary-cap space at the moment, but if and when the need arises, the team will most certainly take the necessary steps to come in under whatever that final amount may be. What type of steps?  Well, a series of actions to defer, reduce, or transfer salary cap expense from the 2021 season to another team, to future years, or simply to rework a contract or waive players to remove some of the expense. What type of events will trigger such a ‘need’?

Well, the Rams are rapidly approaching the first day of the new NFL season. And a lot of things happen when the new NFL year begins on March 17, 2021, at 1:00 pm PT. That date is important in many ways, but one of the most important reasons for circling that date and time is that it signifies the start of a new NFL Free Agency market.  But other events happen before we get there.

We know that tomorrow, February 23, 2021, at 1:00 pm PT, the LA Rams may designate one of their players with either a Franchise or Transition tag. While that will certainly be a rather involved discussion among coaches and the front office, it won’t all stop there.  This is the start of an ever-quickening pace in NFL events.  And with the Rams already hip-deep in changing quarterbacks and a majority of coaches, this is an even more hectic time for the organization.

The rapid pace has certainly slowed down some feature articles we had wanted to publish by now. But we have certainly not been wrangling over too few events. Still, the deadlines for some significant events for the Rams are rapidly approaching, so it’s a good time for us to push everything else to the side (for the moment) and discuss this business about Exclusive Rights Free Agents and Restricted Free Agents.