Now that its June 1, one NFL team will land Falcons Julio Jones very soon

Basic Math: Three-thirds equals one

It was rumored that the Atlanta Falcons wanted, and got a first-round pick offer. That’s unlikely, and both Pro Football Talk columnists Peter King and Mike Florio are skeptical as well.  That same rumor was used by many to cite that the LA Rams were ‘out of the running’ because the Rams do not have an available first-round draft pick. But let’s look at why this information was leaked?

Los Angeles Rams

That type of information, by its very nature, is leaked by the benefiting team to pressure other teams to up their ante.  And it’s like the purchase price of anything.  If something is for sale at the store for $50, that does not mean that only a $50 dollar bill will work to buy that product.  The expectation is that the total value at the checkout point of sale will be $50. That could be 5000 pennies.

So no, the LA Rams are never out of the running just because an asking price is a first-round pick. In fact, any NFL team can assemble a valuable package worthy of consideration. So the holdup of any swift news over an actual trade involving the LA Rams was by no means a rejection of some unworthy trade package.

The LA Rams have proven to be a very resourceful team at finding ways to enhance trade offers as well as find the available salary-cap space to make even the most unlikely trade scenarios occur. Contracts can be restructured, and if that fails, be renegotiated completely.

Where money is involved, the accounting rules are fairly wide open when it comes to cash that has yet to be paid out.  Where salary caps and dead cap space come into play is when a player is no longer with the team but there is still money on the books that had been paid out previously. That money is instantly recognized and has become labeled as dead cap.