It's only Day 1 of minicamp, but Rams hard halt trade rumors in just 1 move

Throughout the 2025 offseason, speculation over the Los Angeles Rams' rumored interest over trading for former defensive back Jalen Ramsey has been a hot topic. It got even more traction when Rams HC Sean McVay confirmed the rumors. But interest and contacting teams is a far cry from agreeing to a deal. Both teams must be motivated to do so, and both teams must feel that they are emerging with a winning scenario.

A mutual win-win scenario can be quite difficult to achieve.

Of course, there are reasons why the Rams may still be in pursuit of trading for Ramsey. That was the conclusion of many Rams fans when the team outright released cornerback Derion Kendrick. The move was a bit surprising, as Kendrick was returning in Year 4 of his rookie contract, and showed some signs of development and progress in 2023 before suffering an ACL injury that shut him down for the entirety of last season.

Just days later, the team reversed the decision and re-signed Kendrick to a new contract. So the questions are running wild right now, but the basic questions fall into one of two basic categories. They are:

(1) - Is this about the Jalen Ramsey rumors?

The timing of the Rams' release of Kendrick, the position that he played, and the fact that his release freed up both salary cap dollars and a roster spot drew the focus to the still buzzing rumors of the team trading with the Miami Dolphins for Jalen Ramsey. But the release of a player typically falls as the immediate precursor to a trade happening.

Now, 72 hours later, no progress has been made in any pending trade talks. Did the Dolphins balk? Did the Rams think better of a trade? Or was this simply not something that was actually in play?

Without video footage that spells out the decision, it's impossible to know for certain. But the evidence is mounting that suggests the Kendrick release is not directly related to any trades. Were it related, one of several NFL Insiders would be more than happy to share progress in trade talks between the two teams. No such update or breaking news has occurred.

(2) - Is this about the Rams salary cap?

The Rams are not squeezed for salary cap space, but they have learned to be frugal early because injuries and roster needs exhaust remaining cap space once the season starts. And the team had to sign OT DJ Humphries unexpectedly as soon as the team learned that starting LT Alaric Jackson is once again suffering from a medical condition that could sideline him for the early weeks of the 2025 NFL season.

The release of Kendrick reportedly saved the Rams $3.4 million in projected salary cap space. Well, that does not factor in the replacement value of using the Top 51 contracts to figure out the team's current available cap space. Nor does it factor in the cost of signing Derion Kendrick back to the team.

No details are available for the cost of signing Humphries or resigning Kendrick, but you would be on safe ground to believe that the savings of Kendrick's two transactions offset that of Humphries' signing.

Whatever else you may choose to read into this, the return of Derion Kendrick restores the Rams roster to the 90-man training camp limit. If you hoped the team would trade for DB Jalen Ramsey, you are out of luck. The team will need to free up a roster spot if that trade is to happen.

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