LA Rams snub Leonard Floyd in naming 8 as 2021 team captains

Are the LA Rams stocked with too many leaders and not enough rank and file on the team’s roster?  Well, the team is certainly not short of seasoned veterans who have been there, done that. Adding elite players seems to be a phenomenon that is becoming an LA Rams trademark: Acquire elite NFL talent. Pack the roster with another half dozen or so quality veteran players. Round out the roster with young high-ceiling players and develop them to their fullest potential.

That seems so simple to do. And yet, if it were that simple then 31 other NFL teams would be doing it. Since they are not, that has allowed the Rams to corner the market at adding elite players to the roster. The Rams have two All-Pro defensive players and could benefit from more this year if everything goes as expected.  The Rams boast some very talented players.

That removes most of the guesswork when it comes to naming team captains, which translated into only one surprise as the team announced their eight-player team captains for the 2021 NFL season.

The picture didn’t come with names, so did you recognize them all? If not, I can help you out:

Top Row – P Johnny Hekker, DB Jordan Fuller, WR Cooper Kupp
Middle Row – QB Matthew Stafford, LT Andrew Whitworth
Bottom Row – WR Robert Woods, DB Jalen Ramsey, DL Aaron Donald.

The LA Rams have two newbies as team captains in second-year Jordan Fuller and teammate Jalen Ramsey. Another newcomer to the list is just acquired quarterback Matthew Stafford. Stafford had served as team captain for his former team, the Detroit Lions, previously.

One player who did not appear on the list and was a bit of a mild surprise is outside linebacker Leonard Floyd. Floyd recently signed a multi-year contract extension to remain with the Rams for the foreseeable future. Most of the other players on the list had all signed multi-year deals with the team with the exception of Fuller (rookie contract) and Stafford (just arrived from Lions). In fact, Leonard is the only player who recently signed an extension not named to the team captains list.

It’s not a major controversy. After all, eight captains are certainly plenty for this team. Perhaps Leonard Floyd declined the opportunity for consideration? I feel fairly certain that Floyd will be just fine not being a team captain this year. Perhaps the bigger story is how last year’s 199th pick of the 2020 NFL Draft is one of the team captains one short year later? Jordan Fuller has certainly proven that finding gems late in the NFL Draft is still possible.

But I think that’s a story that has already been told.