Where are LA Rams paying the most money on positional groups?

Offensive outlays ($115.7 million – Sixth most)

Quarterback            – $23.8 million  (13th most)
Running backs        – $  6.2 million  (19th most)
Wide receivers        – $40.7 million (  3rd  most) *
Tight ends                – $11.7 million (   8th most) *
Offensive linemen  – $36.8 million ( 19th most)

Some takeaways from the LA Rams offense is the fact that the team is spending well above the norm for wide receivers, as well as tight ends. Of course, the Rams certainly got their money’s worth out of Cooper Kupp in 2021, and are happy to meet his 2022 salary obligations. But was the team as thrilled with the play of second-year WR Tutu Atwell? If the Rams were to drop spending at the WR position by some $10 million (restructuring and cuts), that would drop the Rams spending at wide receiver to Tenth place in the NFL.

So too should the Rams give some serious consideration to restructuring the contract of TE Tyler Higbee, who is due for over $8 million in 2022? That is about twice what the position has delivered for the team in 2021. And for that matter, the team has carried Brycen Hopkins on the roster for two seasons, and only gotten a return by giving him an emergency start in Super Bowl LVI. Will he be a true contributor, or simply sit on the bench once more?

Of course, if the Rams OT Andrew Whitworth retires, the spending on offensive linemen will drop to just $20 million for 2022.

Defensive debits and credits ($105.8 million – Sixth most)

Defensive linemen – $44.8 million ( 7th most) *
Linebackers             –  $23.2 million (15th most)
Defensive backs     –  $35.6 million (12th most)
Special Teams         –  $  4.2 million  (20th most)

Even as the LA Rams are reworking Aaron Donald’s contract, the team has the secondary goal of freeing up salary-cap space in the process. While the Rams are thrilled with Aaron Donald’s play, the team will be spending a pretty sizeable investment, some $9.5 million, into the play of A’Shawn Robinson in 2022. Is that a fair return?

He certainly showed up big in the team’s post-season play. Right now, the team is likely counting on a starting defensive line of Aaron Donald, Greg Gaines, and A’Shawn Robinson. One item of note, Spotrac categorizes both OLB Chris Garrett and Justin Hollins as defensive ends, but they are both outside linebackers for the Rams. Reclassifying them to linebackers shifts nearly $2 million from defensive linemen to linebackers. That drops the LA Rams DL to ninth-most spent in the NFL and raises linebacker to 14th most in the NFL.