LA Rams Rumors: Trey Wingo says Tyrann Mathieu + Stephen Gilmore?

Finding the funds? Check!

Well, the first question for fans and non-fans alike is how can the team afford it? Well, per the Rams Free Agent Tracker, the LA Rams have $7,020,401 in available salary-cap dollars. That includes the 2022 salary cap hit of $4.3 million for WR Allen Robinson, and the $2.5 million salary-cap hit for Bobby Wagner.  That’s just $6.8 million for a top-notch wide receiver and inside linebacker.

The Rams cleared more than that amount by extending quarterback Matthew Stafford. The hope is to extend both Aaron Donald (currently at a $26.75 million cap hit for 2022) and Cooper Kupp (currently at an $18.675 million cap hit for 2022). In theory, the Rams can clear out another $13 million or more in the process, which allows plenty of room for more signings.

Some have argued that there is no salary cap in the NFL, that teams can continue to kick the can down the road into future years. That is partially correct. But if you examine what the LA Rams organization was forced to do in the past, essential cannibalizing their NFL Drafts to convert picks into affordable players, there has always been a trade-off, a price-to-pay.

The Rams have simply taken advantage of other NFL teams that had overvalued their draft picks in relation to the players who could deliver now, today. The Rams had been very spartan over their free agency dealings in recent years, primarily because they carried the weight of so much dead cap space on the books.