LA Rams rumors: Steelers fleece Rams, leaving Rams O crippled for 2023

Rams will struggle even more in 2023

The departure of Robinson throws the Rams depth chart at the receiver position into a bit of chaos. While the Rams have a clear WR1 in veteran wide receiver Cooper Kupp, who falls in the ranks behind him? That's a huge question that will need to be answered in the Rams 2023 training camp.

The Rams roster boasts talented players even after trading away Allen Robinson. The team can tap WR Van Jefferson, Ben Skowronek, Tutu Atwell, Lance McCutcheon, and Austin Trammell. It seems clear that this move will definitely place wide receiver on the Rams shopping list for the 2023 NFL Draft.

But in terms of the Rams offense in 2023? Well, the parting of ways here suggests that the Rams are not exactly targeting an offensive renaissance this season. While Robinson was not a huge contributor for 2023, trading him reduces the number of Rams offensive weapons, offers little to no salary cap relief to spend on a viable replacement, and pulls even more veteran experience off the team's roster.

What about the terms of the trade? Well, you'd better sit down for this one.

Rams get fleeced in this trade

While there was never a risk of the Rams getting top value in this trade, the Rams continue to underwhelm in terms of negotiating when trading away veterans. Is this purposeful? The reported terms of the trade are ugly:

What is worse yet is the fact that the LA Rams have gotten next to nothing in terms of 2023 salary cap relief, which is often what NFL teams seek in a salary dump trade. The high points of this trade are as follows:

Steelers get:
WR Allen Robinson (at a salary cost of just $5 million)
251st overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft

Rams get:
234th overall pick
Rams must pay:
$10.25 million of Robinson's salary

That equates to the fact that the Rams are paying Robinson to play for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Does anyone else see this as a huge problem?

The LA Rams roster is now lessened by one more player. The Rams' dead cap for 2023 has grown to incredible heights. Per Over The Cap.com, the Rams' dead cap money for 2023 has ballooned to over $74 million. Is it time for the LA Rams to start over? With these results, yes. But let's hope starting over comes with new strategies, as the Rams cannot afford to repeat this scenario again.