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

One year deal

So it may come down to the LA Rams signing players on for a single season, or not signing them at all. But there are some positives in going short-terms. As a matter of fact, a one-year deal has three distinct advantages:

On one hand, it creates a finite timeline for the LA Rams to create a plan of succession. And with an entire year, that can involve undrafted free agents as well, who receive focused coaching help to build the skill sets necessary to compete for a starting role the following season.

On the other hand, the one-year deal eliminates any overvaluation by the Rams over a prospect’s long-term production. Historically, the LA Rams have negotiated deals that are very player-friendly. The risk of that is eliminated with a one-year deal, and the Rams have done well with those contracts. OLB Leonard Floyd, DE Morgan Fox, TE Johnny Mundt are just some examples of bargain one-year deals that the Rams have signed players.

Thirdly, there is the matter of losing free agents who go on to sign mega-deals with other teams. Those events can trigger the awarding of compensatory draft picks to the LA Rams, draft picks that eventually are quite valuable indeed. So if the Rams elect to sign a player for one-year and he signs for a huge payday, the Rams will be the recipient of a compensatory draft pick the following year.  So a win-win scenario is possible? Seems like it. Let’s proceed.