3 reasons to love LA Rams acquiring veteran CB Troy Hill

Reason I – He’s easy on the wallet

Perhaps one of the more confusing matters about the departure of defensive back Troy Hill in free agency in the 2022 NFL Free Agency market was the fact that the Cleveland Browns were able to sign him to a two-year deal worth $9 million. While that averaged out to $4.5 million per year, that’s not how it impacted the Brown salary cap.

Thanks to the way bonus monies act in the NFL salary cap, the LA Rams will only see a salary cap impact of $2.5 million for one year of Troy Hill’s service. To place that into the proper context, that is in the ballpark of just drafted cornerback Kyler Gorden will earn in 2022 for the Chicago Bears.

So this is a fundamentally financial matter. Not entirely, mind you. But the LA Rams squeeze every drop of benefit out of that annual NFL Salary cap and a chance to get a veteran defensive back who can start in your defense opposite Jalen Ramsey for a cost of less than that of an unproven, untested, and unfamiliar rookie seems to be a perfectly sane and logical choice, purely from the dollars and cents.

But here is the bonus: He is on a one-year deal, folks. That means that the LA Rams have given an extra year to the mix to develop defensive backs in his wake. Even as the LA Rams stare into the abyss of the 2023 NFL Free Agency market, they now face losing both Troy Hill and David Long Jr. On the back end of the secondary, the Rams face losing Taylor Rapp, Jake Gervase, and Nick Scott.

But if the Rams played their cards right, Troy Hill will play very well for the team this year, and be eligible to sign another lucrative contract in 2023. That could mean that the Rams will be awarded compensatory draft picks for losing Troy Hill to free agency in 2022 and in 2024.  Now that is cheap.