The Los Angeles Rams came into the week more than $14 million over the salary cap for 2023, needing to get under the limit by March 15. On Thursday, they took the first step toward freeing up some money.
Surprisingly, they’ve decided to move on from veteran linebacker Bobby Wagner, who they just signed to a five-year, $50 million contract last offseason. The deal was structured to allow the Rams to get out of it after just one season, and they’re doing exactly that.
So what’s the salary cap impact of this move for Los Angeles? It doesn’t save the Rams as much money as they probably wish it did. Wagner was set to have a cap hit of $12.5 million in 2023, but by releasing him, the Rams save $5 million.
His cap charge now will be $7.5 million in the form of dead money. If the Rams designate him a post-June 1 cut, they will save $8 million this year because his dead cap charge will be spread out over the next two years instead of all coming in 2023.
It hurts to lose a player of Wagner’s caliber, but the Rams need cap space badly as they attempt to “remodel” their roster, as Les Snead called it.
The Rams still have Ernest Jones at linebacker, which helps, but Wagner was a second-team All-Pro who had 140 tackles and six sacks last season. It’ll be hard to replace a player with his talent.
