LA Rams rumors of trade now reality: Michael Brockers to Detroit Lions

Yes the LA Rams may be under the NFL Salary cap as the team enters the 2021 NFL season. The buzzword of the day was restructuring. But as we stated many many times, restructuring would only take the Rams organization SO FAR. In the end, the difference between where the Rams were on the salary cap to where they wanted to be would be more than just the restructuring options.

So as always, the Rams’ options to reduce the salary cap were to cut a player, trade a player, renegotiate a player’s contract, or restructure a player’s contract. That’s it. No magic dust. No incantation. No printing counterfeit NFL salary cap bucks.  In order to restructure or renegotiate a player’s contract, the NFL team would need a fully cooperative agent and player to do so.

The only two options that do NOT require a cooperative process with a player and agent are cutting the player or trading the player. Per The Athletic’s Jourdan Rodrigue (Subscription may be required) that was triggered when Michael Brockers was unable to reach an agreement with the LA Rams as to restructuring or renegotiating his contract.

Listen, this is not a situation where a player simply dug in his heels. Michael Brockers knows how the NFL works, and the LA Rams may have proposed options where they did not guarantee his long-term employment. He, as we have pointed out as well, see the huge backlog of defensive linemen on the roster.  The Rams run a 3-4 defense, and yet are carrying nine defensive linemen on the roster.

The math simply did not add up for the Rams and Michael Brockers this round. Michael Brockers is a smart football player and a venerable NFL veteran. He knows that job security is more idealistic than realistic in the NFL.