After a 5-12 season, the Los Angeles Rams have a lot of work to do this offseason. They’ve never been a team that tears things down and rebuilds – not under Sean McVay, at least – but that sort of approach could be on the table this year.
Needing cap space and draft picks to round out a top-heavy roster, the Rams could explore making some blockbuster moves that don’t involve them acquiring talent. Rather, they’d be trading it away.
Former Rams defensive end Chris Long was on Peter Schrager’s podcast last week and he pitched the idea that the Rams should trade Aaron Donald and Jalen Ramsey in an attempt to reset.
“I do think the LA job is not as far down as you think if – and this is what I would do – I would trade Jalen Ramsey and Aaron Donald and I would start over,” Long said. “I would take the year with the bridge, see how close to Caleb Williams I could get and then that job in a year looks a lot better than it did a week or two ago. I’m not sure how much capital you could recoup for two pieces like that, but it’s gotta get you close to back on track.”
Donald is nearing the end of his career, flirting with retirement last year after the Rams won the Super Bowl. His contract should commit him to Los Angeles for at least one more year – and he’s indicated that he’s playing in 2023 – but he could change his mind and decide to walk away if he sees the Rams as a team in rebuilding mode.
Long doesn’t believe Donald deserves to go through that process at this point in his career,
“I don’t think a rebuild, because at least in the immediacy, it is a reset. I don’t know about a rebuild, but it is a reset. However you want to separate those two words, I don’t think he deserves that at this stage in his career,” he said. “I would love to see him on the move. I would love to see him go back to Pittsburgh. It would have to be some, ‘Hey, I’m going to win’ or some nostalgic reason. Pittsburgh would be fun. I don’t know what Fletcher Cox’s deal is gonna be in Philly, but you can never count Howie Roseman out of making a move for somebody.”
Long isn’t reporting anything and doesn’t have any inside knowledge on the Rams’ plans, but he’s excited about what could be a wild offseason with some big-name players on the move.
“It’s such a cool offseason because of stuff like this,” he added. “I’m not saying Jalen’s gonna get moved or Aaron’s gonna get moved. But all of this is on the table. Aaron Rodgers, Lamar Jackson, Tom Brady.”
