Out of nowhere, the Los Angeles Rams waived two players who have been starters for them this season. They cut their leading rusher, Darrell Henderson Jr., and outside linebacker Justin Hollins, who has played half the defensive snaps.
Henderson’s release was particularly surprising, especially after he mysteriously played just four snaps on Sunday – which Sean McVay says was due to him feeling “a little something in his knee” pre-game.
As with every move, there are salary cap ramifications of these two releases. Being this late in the season, it won’t make a huge difference financially for the Rams.
According to Spotrac, the Rams will save $412,460 by waiving Henderson, which is the remaining money left on his contract, none of which is guaranteed. With Hollins, he had a salary cap hit of $965,000 this year and will now only take up $589,772 in cap space as dead money the rest of the year. That means the Rams save $375,228 by waiving Hollins.
Both players were set to be free agents this offseason, so there’s no impact on the 2023 cap.
- Darrell Henderson Jr.: $412,460K savings
- Justin Hollins: $375,228K savings
- Total savings: $787,688
The Rams now have two roster spots open, and if Matthew Stafford and John Wolford are both sidelined in Week 12, they’ll need to sign a quarterback. They could also use some running back depth with just two on the 53-man roster.
