Rams must earmark cap dollars to pay for this vital player's upcoming extension

The 11-4 Los Angeles Rams have benefitted financially in recent years from fantastic drafting with an emphasis on the defensive side of the ball. They have supplemented those draft picks with shrewd free agent pickups that have not broken the bank.

In short, LA has gotten more defensive bang for the buck.

Currently, the most expensive player on their defense is nose tackle Poona Ford at $8.75 million. But that is going to change and soon. Two of the Rams' talented defensive linemen - Byron Young and Kobie Turner - are extension eligible in 2026. Los Angeles would be wise to lock them up.

Rams Financial Considerations

While most people concern themselves with the salary cap, I am here to tell you it is not the most important factor teams consider when making financial decisions. What ownership cares about above all else is how much cash they must actually dish out. And because of that, they set cash spending limits for their front offices to adhere to.

That number is what often limits teams from making the bevy of moves that fans clamor for, and why they leave salary cap space on the table.

So while fans may be salivating at Los Angeles' projected $81 million of salary cap space, I can assure you they won't use anywhere close to all of that.

Since 2021, the Rams have not been a high-spending team when it comes to cash. On average, over the past five seasons Los Angeles' cash spending has averaged 92% of the league salary cap. Using that number as a benchmark, and assuming a 2026 salary cap of $305 million, their 2026 cash spending limit is likely around $280 million.

With 39 players currently under contract for 2026, the Rams' cash commitments stand at $219 million as is. That leaves them with $61 million to fill out the remainder of the roster, sign their 2026 draft class, add free agents, and provide raises to their current players looking for extensions.

It All Starts With Matt Stafford

Everything will start with Matt Stafford and whether he wants to play in 2026 or not. He is under contract for the season and due $40 million in cash. After earning $44 million this year, while putting up one hell of a case for the league MVP, Stafford will likely want, and deserve, a raise.

A one-year extension for Stafford at $57 million with even cashflows would raise his 2026 salary to $48.5 million. That would be a 10% raise on his 2025 salary and make him the 8th-highest paid quarterback (in cash).

That move would take the team's available cash down to $52.5 million without many priority free agents to lock up. This is where an extension for outside linebacker Byron Murphy could help them meet league-mandated spending minimums while also saving money in the long run.

Byron Murphy Projected Extension

Murphy is an older player entering his third season in the NFL. Because of that, the team will likely want to limit his extension to three years. Extrapolating his current 2025 production to the rest of the season, here are some of his production comps over various time periods.

Three-year comps: Shaq Barrett (2018-2020), Yannick Ngakoue (2020-2022), Josh Sweat (2022-2024).

Two-year comps: Matthew Judon (2018-2019), Dante Fowler Jr. (2018-2019), Robert Quinn (2018-2019).

Platform year comps: Markus Golden (2019), Danielle Hunter (2024), Haason Reddick (2020).

These players signed contracts with APYs that averaged just over seven percent of the salary cap in the year signed. Using that as the benchmark for an extension for Murphy, and again assuming a $305 million salary cap next year, Murphy's deal could be three years and $64.5 million.

Add in the year left on his rookie contract, and the total deal would be four years $66 million.

If Rams general manager Les Snead structures that deal with even cash flows of $16.5 million per year, Young would receive a $15 million raise and reduce the Rams' available cash to $37.5 million.

At $21.5 million per year, Murphy would be just the 16th-highest paid edge rusher in the NFL, just behind George Karlaftis in Kansas City. If they can get their young-ish outside linebacker to agree to this kind of deal, they should jump at the opportunity.

It would reduce their annual cash outlay to keep him under contract, which would only help the following year when they have to pay even more for Jared Verse and Braden Fiske.