What makes the Rams’ rough 2022 season so much worse is the fact that they won’t reap the benefits of having an early pick in the first round. They traded their first-rounder to the Lions in the Matthew Stafford deal, so their earliest pick will be in the second round.
They are scheduled to pick in the first round in 2024, however, which would be the first time Sean McVay gets to make a selection in the first 32 picks as head coach of the Rams. Everyone hopes the Rams will bounce back in 2023 and have a much better season than the one they’re enduring right now, but NFL analyst Daniel Jeremiah wonders if they should tear it all down and rebuild.
During a new episode of “Move The Sticks,” Jeremiah threw out the idea of the Rams becoming sellers, moving some of their assets and turning their attention to the 2024 draft where a couple of marquee quarterbacks are expected to go early in the first round – led by USC star Caleb Williams.
“You could say, ‘OK, maybe we take a step backward,’” Jeremiah said. “I don’t want to say the word tanking, but maybe it is a rebuild opportunity and as we look one draft class ahead and you see Caleb Williams of USC who will be in that draft class, you look at the guy from your school in Drake Maye at North Carolina, who is a big-time big-time quarterback. Again, I’m not using the word tanking, but I’m saying maybe this is a sell-off, you’re trying to get some of these veterans in a new home and we have to see what happens with Aaron Donald, if he wants to play going forward. Obviously, Jalen Ramsey would be in that mix as well, would be a huge, huge asset if you wanted to move him. Let’s just tear it down, let’s rebuild it.”
Should the Rams pivot from the strategy that produced a SB title? pic.twitter.com/p5pXD11liA
— Daniel Jeremiah (@MoveTheSticks) November 29, 2022
Next year, the Rams are projected to have $5.97 million in cap space. They have five players with cap hits above $20 million in 2023, plus Joe Noteboom ($15.5 million) and Allen Robinson ($18 million) who will be costly, too.
Ramsey is probably the most valuable trade chip the Rams have right now, but trading him would only save them $5.6 million after taking on a $19.6 million dead cap charge. Donald probably wouldn’t want to be traded in what could be his last NFL season and his contract is unmovable; Los Angeles would eat $41 million in dead money if he’s cut, $15 million more than he’d cost to stay with the team.
Jeremiah made it clear that he isn’t questioning the way the Rams built their roster because it resulted in a championship, but his argument about rebuilding is valid to an extent. It’s just that trading stars such as Ramsey, Cooper Kupp and Leonard Floyd is easier said than done when the salary cap is involved.
It sure will be an interesting offseason in Los Angeles as Sean McVay and Les Snead decide how to turn this roster back into a Super Bowl-caliber one – and it might be as simple as getting some players back from injury after losing so many guys this season.
