How long can LA Rams HC Sean McVay defy this long-standing NFL tradition?

The LA Rams are not yielding to the fact that the team is 1-4. The Cleveland Browns, at 1-5, have accepted their fate. They have already thrown in the towel for the 2024 NFL season and traded WR Amari Cooper away. In almost all respects their hopes for 2024 are over. That is not to say that trading away a competing receiver does not hurt. But Browns HC Kevin Stefanik shared: ". . . We understand the business part of that and we’re excited what the opportunities will be for some other guys." Cooper landed with the Buffalo Bills (4-2).

So too, the Rams' next opponents, the Las Vegas Raiders (2-4) traded WR Devante Adams to the New York Jets (2-4). Adams leveraged a slight injury to sit out while his demands to be traded to other NFL teams were met. By all accounts, the season is over for the Raiders now. And yet, the Jets, also at 2-4, are still chasing the right key contributors to turn their season around.

In the NFL, the line between hope and despair appears to be entangled between 1-5 and 2-4 records. Right now, the LA Rams face that fork in the road.

Should the team win in Week 7, it will be 1-0 after their BYE and 2-4 on the season overall. But if the team loses in Week 7, the Rams fall to 1-5, then the reality of the situation could force the team to change strategy. Some call for the Rams to pursue trading Matthew Stafford if the team falls to 1-5. Others scoff at the idea and call it heresy. But is it really too far-fetched?

We know that this team uses NFL terms like 'business decision' and 'best for the team' to describe unpopular roster moves. But why cling to a veteran NFL quarterback if the team is simply not 'there' yet?

Rams HC Sean McVay has been down this road before. The team struggled to a 5-12 record in 2022, and as a result purged the roster of high-priced veterans. Now that the team is 1-4, how long can the team resist the urge to hold key veterans out for the highest bidder?

No, the Rams do not get great value when trading away players, and there is no reason to believe that can change if the team becomes a seller at the 2024 NFL Trade Deadline. Still, what is best for the team? The team believes that a berth in the 2025 NFL Playoffs is still within reach, and perhaps at 1-4, it is. But if the team falls to 1-5, with the Minnesota Vikings (5-0) left on the schedule to close out October, regrouping for next season may be the wiser course of action.

The team finally has the benefit of a Round 1 pick in the NFL Draft. On the current track, that selection appears to be headed for a Top 10 pick.

Two NFL teams continue the tradition of tossing the white flag weeks before the annual NFL Trade Deadline. For now, LA Rams HC Sean McVay is bucking that tradition. But for how long? I fear the outcome of Week 7 will play a huge role in how the team handles the trade deadline this season.

As always, thanks for reading.

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