LA Rams save a cool million by renegotiating Johnny Hekker deal

Monday seems to be money day today. So rather than fight the feeling, let’s just roll with that theme today. One of the developments over the course of establishing the 53-man roster was the neck and neck competition between long-time LA Rams punter Johnny Hekker and 2021 signed star punter Corey Bojorquez.  The competition was not just about two solid starting punters, but the fact that Bojorquez could match Hekker on the field at a fraction of the cost.

While Johnny Hekker remained in quarantine, Bojorquez put up one of the best punting displays seen in 2021 against the Denver Broncos. That game appeared to win Corey Bojorquez the starting spot for the Rams’ punting duties. But it all turned out to be a masterfully choreographed ruse to leverage Hekker’s overpriced contract and to showcase Bojorquez’s talents to pique the interest of other NFL teams.

The team simultaneously worked to renegotiate Johnny Hekker’s contract while negotiating potential trades with other NFL teams. Almost too close to the August 31st, 1:00 pm PT deadline, the LA Rams announced that they had negotiated a new contract with Johnny Hekker, and had traded Corey Bojorquest to the Green Bay Packers for the right to upgrade their 2023 seventh-round pick to a 2023 sixth-round pick.

Was trading Bojorquez the wisest choice? Time will tell. For all intents and purposes, it was the only real option available to the Rams front office. The Rams did their due diligence.

Both Corey Bojorquez and Johnny Hekker’s names were floated into various trade scenarios, and the feedback was significantly unanimous. NFL teams were not interested in acquiring a $5 million dollar pricetag punter. It became quite clear quite quickly that any trade option of shedding a punter would only be a trade involving Bojorquez. So what to do about that Hekker pricetag?