LA Rams face wide open NFC West in 2023

The LA Rams may not have had a very good season in 2022, but that could all change with the arrival of the 2023 NFL season. Each team in the NFL faces the same challenges after the Super Bowl is played: Reinventing the team. After all, some players retire. Some coaches take promotions to coach elsewhere. Some new coaches are added to the coaching staff. Finally, about 3 dozen or so new players are added to the roster, each seeking to perform well enough to catch the eye of the coaching staff to ensure that they will remain and have a chance to perform throughout the season.

The LA Rams, perhaps more than most team this time of year, have two very distinct advantages that many NFL teams do not have the luxury of enjoying. For starters, the Rams will essentially have the same brain trust running the offense and defense. While that may or may not excite anyone right now, the advantages are there if you look. In essence, the Rams have already skipped past the 'learn a new system,' and 'meet the new coordinators,' part of OTAs and training camp, and can dive right into correcting the may problems that surfaced throughout the 2022 NFL season.

The other advantage for the LA Rams is the fact that, for the most part, the Rams core players are returning healthier than ever. That's QB Matthew Stafford, WR Cooper Kupp, DL Aaron Donald, and you can throw TE Tyler Higbee, RB Cam Akers, ILB Bobby Wagner, and DB Jalen Ramsey into that mix as well. That's huge when you compare this team to other NFL teams that have no firm handle on who will be their quarterback, their top receiver, their best defensive players, or even if they can afford to bring any of their key contributors back for another season.

You don't need to roam too far across the NFL to witness what I mean. While the NFL West Division arguable had a down year in 2022, the San Francisco 49ers and the Seattle Seahawks both played well enough to earn a playoff berth. But will they be able to do so in 2023? That's where I have my doubts. Let's take a quick survey to the other teams in the NFC West and size up their chances in 2022?

Arizona Cardinals

The Arizona Cardinals completely fell apart in 2022, as feared after re-signing quarterback Kyler Murray to a monster contract. That was a move that had danger written all over it, as the team committed significant financial resources to a quarterback who many questioned over his maturity and leadership abilities.

One year later, the team fired their head coach and hired Philadelphia Eagles DC Jonathan Gannon as their new head coach. While that may mean good things for the Cardinals eventually, it does little to address the glaring problem, namely hiring an offensive minded coach who can both develop as well as reel in the sometimes out of control Murray. The Cardinals struggled in 2022, not just from injuries, but from the idea that if they kept giving Murray everything he wanted, their offense would turn around.

It didn't.

Now the Arizona Cardinals must start over. That's a curious perspective, because when the team hired former head coach Kliff Kingsbury, he was touted as the ideal head coach for Kyler Murray. Now, a new offensive coordinator will take up the arduous task of trying to optimize Murray's skill sets into an NFL caliber offense. I don't think that is an easy task, nor do I believe that it happens instantly. While Murray has proven to be productive, he needs to have specific care applied to the offense he runs.

Right now, the Arizona Cardinals are projected to have 48 players under contract for the 2023 NFL season, with 30 players contract expirations. That's a pretty tall order for a team with just $13 miillion in available salary cap space for next season. And with their early draft picks, the Cardinals already have $14 million tied up in their rookie draft class of 2023 before any of them take a single snap, In short, salary cap dollars are not in unlimited supply for the Cardinals in 2023.

Seahawks have a difficult choice to make in 2023

The next team to consider in the NFC West is the Seattle Seahawks. The Seahawks were a team that were far better than expected, finishing with a 9-8 record after dealing away their franchise quarterback, Russell Wilson. Not only that, but this was a team that did not bring back All-Pro inside linebacker Bobby Wagner, a player who eventually signed with the LA Rams. Despite their willingness to divest of their seasoned veterans, the Seahawks proved to be a far more resilient team than originally expected.

But before we praise the Seahawks too highly, let's point out some inconvenient facts. Four of the Seattle Seahawks nine wins came against the LA Rams (5-12) and the Arizona Cardinals (4-13). In fact, it was the easy schedule that ultimately paved the way for the Seahawks success, as the team benefitted from an NFL fourth-place schedule in their 2022 NFL season schedule.

Seahawks offseason strategy is not as simple as you may think

The Seahawks were led by a surprisingly effective quarterback Geno Smith, who significantly outplayed his contracted price of $3.5 million. That will be corrected this offseason, as Smith is projected to hit the NFL Free Agency Market, and is expected to fetch somewhere in the market of ten times that amount, or $35-40 million per year. That will significantly impact the Seahawks ability to re-sign a host of contributing players whose contracts have expired. Right now, the Seahawks are projected to have $31 million of available salary cap space in the 2023 NFL season. Extending Geno Smith will all but exhaust that surplus.

The Seattle Seahawks are loaded for bear in the 2023 NFL Draft. Per Tankathon.com, the Seahawks enjoy nine draft picks, and two of those fall in the first round. But here's the fun:
While the Seahawks will likely end Day 2 of the 2023 NFL Draft with five rookie additions to their roster, the Seahawks will be forced to cough up over $14 million in the first year of salary cap space for those rookie additions. The trick is, that is the cost whether or not any of those rookies take the football field in their first season.

Right now, the Seahawks have 48 players under contract with $31 million of available cap space. But even to extend their quarterback and to sign their 2023 rookie draft class, the Seahawks are likely looking at a commitment of nearly $50 million. Barring some accounting tricks of the trade, they will want to weigh free agent signings carefully. Their success in 2022 has created a bit of a challenge for the team. Originally, this was a team that was committed to rebuilding. Now? The lure of trying to compete for the NFL Playoffs may prove to be too tempting, which could derail their present plans as well as the quality of their future as well.

The San Francisco 49ers will not have an easy 2023 NFL season

The last team on this list is the San Francisco 49ers, a team that has proven to be the nemesis of the LA Rams and head coach Sean McVay. Invariably, when the LA Rams struggle, the 49ers seem to be that team that is ideally positioned to exploit that opportunity. In 2022, the 49ers had the right players in the right positions to succeed. But for the second time in two years, the San Francisco 49ers made it all the way to the NFC Championship Game, and fell short. But this time feels a bit . . . different.

The San Francisco 49ers greatest concern is over their quarterback position. Right now, the 49ers believe that the starting quarterback position belongs to rookie quarterback Brock Purdy. But there could be a wrinkle in that strategy. You see, Purdy is slated to have reconstructive surgery on his injured elbow, with the expectation that he will rehab and be medically cleared in time for training camp. That is pretty optimistic in my view. The healing time to be medically cleared for his procedure is an impressive four months. But that simply opens the way for him to begin football throwing motions. Getting up to NFL playing strength takes more time, and the medical staff and trainers will have plenty to say about his workload and progress throughout the process.

That could open the door for now 49ers third-year quarterback Trey Lance to pry his way into a starting role. Lance was the quarterback who the San Francisco 49ers traded a boatload of draft picks to move up and select, but who has yet to make any meaningful contributions for the team so far. Finally, the team reiterates once again that they will not extend veteran quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo in 2023, but that is a similar 'he won't be back,' message that the team used in 2022. And yet, Jimmy G played in 11 games for the 49ers in 2022. So much for taking the 49ers at their word, eh?

49ers face a difficult offseason too

Much like the Seattle Seahawks, the San Francisco 49ers offseason is littered with land mines and pitfalls. Despite the fact that the team has two relatively cheap quarterbacks who will compete for playing time, neither is 100 percent healthy. Purdy will be coming off elbow surgery, Lance will be coming off ankle surgery, and long-time veteran quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo will be selling his wares to the highest bidder in the NFL Free Agency Market.

As far as free agency, the 49ers have 48 players under contract for the 2023 NFL season. Right now, 25 players are projected to hit the NFL Free Agency market, included seven defensive linemen, four offensive linemen, five defensive backs, a placekicker, two quarterbacks, two linebackers and more. Keep an eye on those defensive free agents, as many had a very close relationship with defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans, who has since agreed to become the head coach of the Houston Texans. Many of his former players would love to follow him to the Texans, and I believe that he will be more than happy to welcome several of the key contributors to his new team.

In the end, all NFC West Division teams face significant challenges for the 2023 NFL season, and in some cases, more than those of the LA Rams. Unlike other NFC West Division rivals, the Rams have a pretty solid confidence level in the players who will be back in 2023, and the production that can be expected from their healthy return. The Rams simply need to address the weaknesses that surfaced in 2023. Since the Rams have a proven track record for doing exactly that, I'm very optimistic over the team's chances this season.