Grade the trade of an NFL expert scenario sending Rams elite player to Raiders

The LA Rams are not exactly making headway on the injury front just yet. And as we had noted in a recent article, the feverish interest to get this team 'on track' will inspire an unending stream of NFL trade scenarios that may or may not make any sense to the team. While I'm typically intolerant of these way-out trade scenarios that spring out from under rocks, I am far more patient right now.

The Rams are: (1) 0-2, (2) without their starting tight end, (3) without their top two wide receivers, (4) without two of their interior offensive linemen, (5) without two starting defensive backs, and (6) not getting much production from their inside linebacker position after trading away top defender ILB Ernest Jones. While there is still a path to success in 2024, that path has gone from a walk in the park to a climb to the top of Mount Denali.

The problems for the team have just begun. With so many injuries, the current configurations of the offensive line and secondary have had far too few reps together to play cohesively. And so, all of the offseason focus on bolstering protection for veteran QB Matthew Stafford is already a massive exercise in futility.

So the question now become: What should the Rams do with Stafford in the meantime? I mean, to send him onto the football field without his three favorite receivers and with dubious pass protection is a tough sentence. But that is where the Rams find themselves right now, and will remain for at least the next six weeks.

Is that the best use of Stafford's insanely proficient pocket presence?

For Rams fans, yes. No other Plan B option in the NFL has a better chance of leading this team back to the promised land. But at the same time, we have to admit the reality that thanks to the cascading effect of multiple injuries, the team has a shaky passer pocket. And Stafford's age is such that he cannot be expected to take a pounding.

After all, we know that the more desperate the times, the more likely the team is to abandon the run completely. That includes the first offensive possession.