LA Rams: 2021 roster is set to get the Max benefit

The LA Rams take pride in creating opportunities for players to make their 53-man roster regardless of when or where that player arrived on the team. But that can be viewed as both a blessing and a curse. It’s a blessing because the LA Rams generate more value than they acquire in the draft or by signing rookies after the draft.

But that same standard has been used to shame the LA Rams at the same time. The opportunity on the roster is interpreted by detractors as a deficiency. In that counter-argument, the LA Rams roster weakness at either a lack of depth or a lack of talent encourages the Rams to try to reach for competition beyond the NFL draft. The argument goes on to say that if the LA Rams were good at managing their salary cap, they would not be forced to shop for bargain-basement talent in the post-draft dollar store.

Perhaps the truth is the path between the two, a bit of this and a dash of that. While it’s an undeniable fact that the LA Rams carry a tremendous burden of their dead salary cap that has indeed limited their options in the NFL Draft (paying top dollar for unproven rookies) and NFL Free Agency market, it is also true that the Rams have transformed that handicap into a far more acute sense of discovering overlooked NFL talent.

The less-discussed narrative through all of this is the heartwarming nature of cheering for an underdog story. That magical realization of what seems like an impossible dream, and yet becomes a modern-day Cinderella story. Much like the upcoming cinematic Cinderella story – American Underdog: The Kurt Warner Story will share the story about Saint Louis Rams star quarterback Kurt Warner who rose from the ranks of grocery clerk to Super Bowl-winning quarterback.

Tales of hope are vastly undervalued right now. This is a weary world, fatigued by sensationalized headlines that need positive messaging to restore the balance.  Those stories about beating the odds, winning the battle as an underdog, or longshot help to reinforce our own hopes for success in our personal lives.  The NFL is full of longshot stories, tales of persons who overcome personal challenges or losses that would trigger surrender in the lives of many of us. But they chose to press on. Here are the tales of two such players: