Full list of Rams outgoing free agents: Does GM Les Snead have money for extensions?

The LA Rams football team has to be pleased with the way they ended the 2023 NFL season. After 29 games from 2022 through the first half of the 2023 NFL season, the team could only muster a record of 8-21. But after the Week 10 BYE, the team suddenly got red hot and finished out the season with a 7-1 playoff push that propelled the team to the NFC sixth-seed in the 2024 NFL Playoffs.

Now comes the tough part. The front office must decipher which players are worth retaining, and which players are due to be upgraded. That is more complex than it sounds, as many of the players who competed on the Rams roster in 2023 were willing to do so for the league minimum, in hopes that they would be due a better contract in 2024.

Rams GM Les Snead has hinted all along that the team would be willing to spend money, and perhaps negotiate trades, in 2024. But money will only go so far, so the team has to measure up to a standard of most bang for the buck. After all, the key to the roster this season is not just bringing everyone back, but re-signing players at salaries that allow the team to pay other players as well.

The LA Rams have 15 unrestricted free agents, five restricted free agents, and two exclusive rights free agents. Who could depart this offseason? Let's break it all down.

Complete list of LA Rams free agents 2024

Unrestricted free agents

The Rams' unrestricted free agents can sign with any team on March 13, the start of the new league year.

• IOL Kevin Dotson
• QB Carson Wentz
• S Jordan Fuller
• WR Demarcus Robinson
• C Coleman Shelton
• ILB Troy Reeder
• S John Johnson III
• CB Ahkello Witherspoon
• RB Royce Freeman
• K Brett Maher
• TE Brycen Hopkins
• IOL Tremayne Anchrum Jr.
• DT Larrell Murchison
• CB Duke Shelley
• LS Carson Tinker

The team has the option to impose either a franchise or transition tag on a player to prevent them from signing with another team. The Rams have not used that tool in the past, as GM Les Snead views tags as obligatory contracts that taint the relationship between the player and the team. Over the Cap has projected 2024 costs of tags for each position

Restricted free agents

Restricted free agents offer the team some protection, but requires action from the Rams to ensure that protection. To trigger the protection, the Rams front office must submit a Qualifying Tender Offer to each RFA before the deadline. There are three options: a first-round qualifying tender, second-round qualifying tender, or right-of-first-refusal qualifying tender.

As you may guess, better protection is more expensive. Right of first refusal is the least expensive, and simply gives the Rams the right to match any offer sheet. First- and second-round tenders give the Rams the added bonus of being awarded that pick from the team that successfully negotiates a contract with the RFA. So if the Rams submit a Second-Round Qualifying Tender Offer to a player, and that player signs with another team, the Rams will receive a second round pick from that team as compensation.

• OT Alaric Jackson
• OLB Michael Hoecht
• DE Jonah Williams
• ILB Christian Rozeboom
• WR Tyler Johnson

Exclusive rights free agents

The Rams will almost certainly re-sign ERFAs. The team can make a one-year exclusive-rights tender offer to any of these players, which prevents them from negotiating with other teams.

• KR/PR/WR Austin Trammell
• RB Ronnie Rivers

Who could the Rams bring back in free agency?

There is a lot of interest from fans in re-signing RG Kevin Dotson, QB Carson Wentz, and to a lesser degree DBs Jordan Fuller, Ahkello Witherspoon, and John Johnson III. But the team may not pursue extensions, particularly if the market value of these players exceeds the team's budget. In the past, some Rams free agents have been signed by other teams for less than their projected value, and that could be the case this season.

Still, the Rams front office is unlikely to stand by and allow three starting offensive linemen to depart via free agency. The cost to resign Dotson is far more than what the Rams are likely to pay. With that in mind, I suspect that the priority for the Rams in terms of extending offensive linemen is as follows:

1. LT Alaric Jackson - Submit a Second-Round Qualifying Tender Offer ($4.6 million)
2. C Coleman Shelton - A multi-year contract averaging $6.0 million / year
3. RG Kevin Dotson - A two-year deal averaging no more than $12 million / year

The wildcard for free season involves the potential exodus of three of the team's starting defensive backs. That may be too many outbound players at one time to suit the team's front office. But who will the Rams re-sign? With nothing more than a gut feeling, I would expect the team to make the hardest push to keep DB Jordan Fuller on the team in 2024. One of our 10 bold predictions for the 2024 offseason is that the Rams will allow all four DBs to test their value in the 2024 NFL Free Agency market.

As for the other RFAs, the Rams may not offer all qualifying tender offers, but will likely try to re-sign them on team-friendly contracts. I look for the team to extend both ERFAs this offseason.

The Rams have enough money to extend priority free agents. But if the team hopes to shop or trade for upgrades, the team will need to free up some salary cap space to afford additonal player salaries.

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