The 3 easiest cuts after the Rams preseason finale are painfully obvious

The Los Angeles Rams may have a difficult task ahead, as the team must pare down a 90-man roster to the 53-man limit. Some decisions will undoubtedly be excruciatingly difficult. But some are not as challenging. After all, the team was not assembled in mid-March and preserved intact throughout the entirety of training camp and the preseason.

The roster has been a work in progress, an ever-changing assembly that was formed to optimize the needs of the team and coaching staff at any given point in time. And it's that changing set of needs that has dictated a changing sense of which positions were needed. For the final preseason game, the front office added one additional offensive lineman, and then another. Before training camp, the front office pivoted to add a fourth quarterback.

All of these roster moves were prompted by immediate needs. This was not about some future-leaning strategy as much as a response to the lack of depth at positions that faced a shortage in the immediate future. So which players signed on to this team, with the understanding that the role was only temporary at best? The team boasts at least three such additions that will likely lead the list of released players.

Rams have simple decisions to make, starting with QB Dresser Winn

With the end of preseason, the Rams' commitment to field a competitive team for the fans' benefit has ended, and the coaching staff can pivot to the 2025 regular season. Well, almost. Before that can happen, the team must part ways with up to 37 players. To get the party started, here are three players who will likely lead the list of players who will be released.

OL John Leglue

It was clear that the team signed veteran offensive lineman John Leglue to have adequate depth for the third preseason game. The Rams sit starters and practically all players who made the roster, and that meant that as many as nine or ten offensive linemen were not suiting up for Game 3. To counter that, the team reached out to John Leglue to help out. So why would he agree?

It's a long 17-game season. Any familiarity and experience Leglue can stockpile now in the preseason can only help his chances to be re-called and re-signed if the teams suffer injuries along the offensive line. It's a short-term deal that could lead to a long-term relationship.

OL Mike McAlister

Along the same thought process that led to signing veteran offensive lineman John Leglue, the team first signed former Rams offensive lineman Mike McAlister for the very same reasons. McAlister is familiar with the team and the coaches, and the coaching staff and players are familiar with him. While signing on with any NFL team is not easy, signing up and suiting up just days later is a particularly difficult task.

Much like Leglue, McAlister's incentive for doing so is twofold. He gets a solid paycheck for a limited amount of work. Meanwhile, the short stint breathes new life into his NFL career. Should the Rams need an offensive lineman later in the season due to injuries, Mike McAlister has ensured that his name will be on that short list of players to consider.

QB Dresser Winn

Some casual websites tried to sound the alarm over the Rams quarterback room as soon as the team announced that the team would start QB Dresser Winn for Game 3 of the preseason. Unfortunately, the reason he was added to the roster was for that very purpose, suiting up and playing in Game 3. The team followed the same preseason schedule in 2025 as in 2024. Stetson Bennetter started the first two preseason games, and Dresser Winn started the third and final preseason game.

Winn re-signed with the team, knowing that he was brought back for a similar role. That is, he was a camp arm added to keep all the many receivers busy in drills in training camp, and as a mop-up QB to finish out the preseason. Rather than pay a quarterback camp to elevate his football skills, he shrewdly signed on with the Rams and got paid to enhance his football skills. But the summer is ending, and so is his usefulness with the team.

Many players will be released in the next 24 hours or so. This simply gets the process started. As always, thanks for reading.

You will find other enjoyable reading among these Rams selections