Rams' Roger McCreary trade is a clear Les Snead message to NFC contenders

The L.A. Rams didn't waste much time after their bye week in prepping for their second half of the season. Les Snead quickly made a move Monday morning to acquire cornerback Roger McCreary from the Tennessee Titans, who officially began their fire sale.

To Rams fans, this was far from unexpected. Snead loves himself a few pre-deadline moves.

McCreary comes to the Rams at a time where they might just need to switch things up, defensively. He is mostly a slot corner, but also has the ability to line up outside depending on how Sean McVay and the coaching staff believes he fits into this scheme.

One thing is clear, though: entering a portion of their schedule where the Rams are going to face some fellow NFC contenders, this was a necessary move and a message sent loud and clear.

The Rams' trade for Roger McCreary comes just at the right time

Los Angeles faces the New Orleans Saints next, and while they aren't much of a threat, McCreary could aid in this defense giving rookie quarterback Tyler Shough his "welcome to the NFL" moment in what should be his first start.

Beyond the Saints, though, the Rams' next three games will be against NFC contenders: San Francisco, Seattle and Tampa Bay. This 3-game stretch could very well define the Rams' season. If the defense is able to take care of business against Mac Jones/Brock Purdy and a Kyle Shanahan offense, Sam Darnold and Baker Mayfield, they'll be in excellent position going into the season's stretch run.

Now, as for where the 2022 second-round pick will slot in, we'll have to see.

One of the more likely candidates to see less playing time has to be Emmanuel Forbes, who has allowed an abysmal passer rating of 153.0 on the year, per Pro Football Focus. He has given up 14.4 yards per reception and played 198 coverage snaps.

McCreary, on the other hand, has played for arguably the league's worst franchise in Tennessee. It's hard to truly encapsulate his impact playing for such a bad team, but he already has more pass breakups and interceptions, this year, than he did all of 2024. Spoiler: he had zero in both categories last year.

Going forward, it won't be a surprise to see McCreary take some of Forbes' playing time, but again, we'll have to see exactly how Chris Shula sees it unfolding.

At the very least, we can say the Rams are making necessary moves before the November 4 trade deadline and, for this, fans should be thrilled.