6 LA Rams players who could be playing their last season in horns

The LA Rams are undoubtedly preparing their Big Board for the upcoming three-day 2022 NFL Draft event by now.  Did I say preparing? By now, the front office is more likely going over the list for the umpteenth time. While there are certainly a host of positional needs that need added depth for the upcoming 2022 NFL season, there is also that specter of the 2023 NFL Free Agency market looming just one year away. A free agency market in which the LA Rams will not have unlimited amounts of funds to spend.

If you hadn’t noticed the pattern that the organization takes in the offseason, let’s refresh our insights while they are still fresh. The LA Rams will extend offensive linemen who start and are viewed as meeting expectations. The team will extend offensive skill players who are playing well. And the team will try to sign bargains to replace a position viewed as particularly thin or difficult to draft.

All other players? Prepare to sell your wares in the open market.

While things can and will likely change, these are the positions currently projected to lose 23 players in the 2023 NFL Free Agency market due to expiring contracts per Spotrac.com. The formulary for Restricted Free Agents (RFAs) and Exclusive Rights Free Agents (ERFAs) designations are cited as per Spotrac as well.

Of course, the Rams will swell their ranks to the 90-man roster limit for training camp, but that is only a temporary increase. Before the 2022 NFL season gets underway, the team will need to reduce its active roster to 53-players, and the practice squad to 14 players. Many of the players whose contracts expire in 2023 will not make the trek through the 2022 NFL season. That’s the Rams’ way, reinventing themselves constantly.  So the numbers won’t be as daunting when all of the dust settles. But as of right now, this moment, the Rams stand to lose or extend, 23 players.