Very doable: LA Rams roster and retaining 2022 free agents

Discretionary spending (2)- $9.5 million

The LA Rams have made some significant “splashy” moves to add recognizable names to the roster. While it’s still far too early to determine that those players will pan out, we’ll proceed as though they do and that the Rams have a sincere interest in retaining them.

So who might the LA Rams be interested in adding, and what salary expense are we looking at? Now that is a very good question, isn’t it? While it’s very difficult to project how well the team, and the players, will do in the remainder of the 2021 NFL season and (hopefully) into the playoffs.

Von Miller – 2022 estimated cap hit $4.5 million

When the LA Rams traded a 2022 second-round and third-round pick for veteran outside linebacker Von Miller, the idea was not to rent the guy for the remainder of the 2021 NFL season, but rather to land a veteran player who can contribute to the team for a number of years. Von Miller is the defensive equivalent to offensive tackle Andrew Whitworth.

Using Leonard Floyd’s 2021 contract as a template, the Rams could give Von Miller a 4-year deal worth $30 million.  That could be managed into a 2022 salary cap hit of $4.5 million.

Odell Beckham Jr. – 2022 estimate cap hit $5 million

Another player added to the LA Rams roster is wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. While he is currently on a highly-incentivized one-year deal , the LA Rams could be very interested in getting him signed to a multi-year deal in the off-season

To do that, the Rams would likely try to get him on a four-year $25 million deal that would have a reasonal cap hit in 2022. Let’s assume that the numbers work, so the Rams could set the deal to be a $5 million cap hit in 2022.

Adding up the figures, the Rams will need to come up with an estimated $22.2 million of available funds to extend 10 players next year, plus the funds necessary to round out the 53-player roster. Let’s set that number at $30 million.  Right now, per Spotrac.com,  the LA Rams have just $7.2 million to play with. So where can the team free up the necessary $22.8 million?  Let’s find some spending cash: