3 LA Rams free agents who should sign one-year deals for 2021

The NFL Free agency market is going to be chaotic in 2021. And the LA Rams will do their best to baton down the hatches and steer true. 

This is an unusual year for both players and NFL teams, as the annual salary cap will likely recede by a significant amount as compared to 2020. That reduction will force both teams and players to consider new tactics.

One tactic that players seem willing to embrace for the 2021 Free Agency market is the willingness to sign a one-year deal for whatever they can get, and plan for a lucrative multi-year deal in 2022 when the NFL salary cap is anticipated to return to historic highs.

Of course, this strategy could be embraced by any NFL free agent. But it is particularly shrewd for younger improving players. After all, why bother to negotiate the best deal in 2021, when the starting point for negotiations next season is bound to begin at a much higher level of compensation?

What’s in it for the LA Rams? Well, a one-year deal may be viewed by many as a waste, a deal with more risk than necessary borne by the Rams organization. Still, necessity is the mother of invention. And for the Rams, a one-year deal may simply be the only option to retain some of the team’s key contributors in 2020.  Of course, there are upsides to a short-term contract that is easily severable as well.