LA Rams: Still working on dollars and sense to sign a player?

The LA Rams raised some eyebrows today as ESPN’s Lindsey Thiry reported that the team has created salary cap space by restructuring the contract of veteran tight end Tyler Higbee. The Rams typically rework their finances at this time of the year in the interest of locking up vital veterans to long-term contract extensions. A year ago, the Rams employed that strategy to extend DB Jalen Ramsey, WR Cooper Kupp, and WR Robert Woods to long-term deals.

This year, the team faces the chance of losing a number of starting veterans to the 2022 NFL Free Agency market, so creating cap space would be the first step to resolving what appears to be a difficult financial picture that is forming for the Rams in 2022.

This could be part of a bigger picture strategy. Just days earlier, the LA Rams and Matthew Stafford were rumored to be working on renegotiating a contract extension that could free up about $12-14 million for the team this year.  So adding that to the current savings found with the Higbee restructuring?

Well, that could free up to $14 million from the 2021 NFL cap space. That is a pretty hefty nest egg. So what would the LA Rams be interested in freeing up so much cap space here and now? Well, right now the team has just $2.475 million. That is simply a good safe sum to handle an emergency signing should the roster need it down the road. That is if that is all this is.

Or is this the tip of the iceberg?  Are the Rams creating a war chest as a harbinger of the effort necessary to rework contracts of players vital to future success? That seems par for the course, particularly at this time of the year.

This could be nothing to get excited about. Or is there more afoot here? Are the Rams aiming to bolster their roster here and now? Stay tuned on this one, folks.