As feared, Rams face opening the 2024 season without 2 key players

We are bringing a very busy month of March 2024 to a close. Yes, this has been one of the busier NFL Free Agency markets for the LA Rams in some time. It's been so busy that it is unlikely that the team will be awarded any compensatory picks in the upcoming 2025 NFL Draft, beyond the Round 3 awarded compensatory pick for losing DC Raheem Morris to become the new head coach of the Atlanta Falcons.

But it's all worth it if the team can navigate the 2024 NFL season and emerge as one of the top teams in the NFC Division.

And yet, there have been questions and whispers among Rams fans at some of the roster moves made this offseason. There is nothing unusual about that. The same disgruntled murmurs were present when the Rams drafted Tennessee OLB Byron Young with the 77th overall pick in Round 3 and NT Kobie Turner with the 89th overall pick in Round 3 of the 2023 NFL Draft. Both Young (8.0 quarterback sacks) and Turner (9.0 quarterback sacks) led the entire 2023 rookie class in terms of bringing down opposing quarterbacks last year.

I suppose the lesson here is to reserve judgment until you have history and facts, eh?

Offseason perspectives are speculation at best

It's easy to fall into the hype of the NFL Draft and NFL Free Agency market. After all, the goal of so much hype and data is not necessarily aimed at being factually correct. If that were the goal, reports would read as exciting as clinical trials, or NFL rules and regulations. If you have ever tackled one of those without falling asleep, my hat is off to you. That is all pretty boring stuff.

ESPN's Mel Kiper elevated the boring NFL Draft from the back office to center stage. He nearly single-handedly infused speculation, controversy, ranking, and second guessing into a process that was rather well-insulated from public scrutiny. Thanks to Kiper holding NFL scouts and personnel executives accountable, the entire process has changed dramatically over the years.

The NFL Free Agency market quickly followed suit. What was once a period of the NFL season that was void of any meaningful news has now blossomed into fertile ground for speculation and optimism. With each free agent signing, fans have the opportunity to weigh in to approve or disapprove of the player before a single snap. But as time passes, we learn more about the team that helps to connect the dots.

Let's examine how two Rams free agency signings have improved the team, and yet leave the team vulnerable to the start of the 2024 NFL season: