LA Rams likely will see return of NT A’Shawn Robinson

The LA Rams roster has been constructed by assembling a complementary group of young energetic players with wise and very talented veterans. Even though the LA Rams are one of the youngest teams in the NFL, they have continued to be one of the most successful

And they hope to continue enjoying that success.

One characteristic of the LA Rams so far has been their decisiveness. They are the anti-waffle team, a team willing to wade right in and take on any problems that they face. Perhaps they would be well served by pausing a moment when constructing contracts. The problem? In an uncertain time, the Rams have lavished certainty upon players. The result? Contracts that have significant guarantees embedded within them despite underperformance.

NT A’Shawn Robinson’s contract is a good example. The Rams added Robinson in free agency to assume a vacant roster spot.  At the time, the Rams needed to replace veteran DT Michael Brockers spot on the roster, who reportedly worked out a new deal to play for the Baltimore Ravens. As it turned out, Brockers returned to the Rams, and Robinson never really got out of the gates until the season was half over.

Rework contract, same guaranteed money

The LA Rams were able to rework NT A’Shawn Robinson’s contract into a far more user-friendly deal than originally negotiated. That initial contract was for two years at $8.5 million per year. Robinson’s agent renegotiated the Rams contract into a three-year deal with $4.5 million as a signing bonus (spread over all three years) and a guaranteed payout of $9.5 million.

This year, Robinson is due to clear $2.75 million, but thanks to the cap numbers and guaranteed dollars, create a cap hit to the team for $4.25 million. If the Rams time his cut until after June 1, they can push off some of the pain of the contract into the new year (2022). That will save the team over $2 Million over the life of the contract.

But the current year, 2021? It will cost the Rams more to cut Robinson than to play him, thanks to a small guaranteed clause of $9 million. So the cost to play him in 2021 of $4.25 million balloons to a $6 million salary-cap hit to release him.

It’s cheaper to the Rams in 2021 to play Robinson than to release him. Perhaps the team needs to invest another $100k into a negotiator’s salary to aid team executive Tony Pastoors in writing more team-friendly contracts with potential players.  As a result, the Rams will likely see the return of Robinson in 2021.