After the Los Angeles Rams were linked to Christian McCaffrey, Brian Burns and Brandin Cooks, it seemed highly likely that they would make a trade before the trade deadline – even if it wasn’t a major blockbuster deal. They needed offensive line help, pass rushers, maybe a running back and they even looked at wide receivers.
But 4 p.m. ET passed and the Rams did nothing. Not a single trade. There were 10 deals made across the league today, an NFL record on trade deadline day, and the Rams were surprisingly not involved in any of them.
Sitting at 3-4, they can’t feel overly confident in the team they’ve fielded for the first seven games. But at the same time, they’re just a game and a half out of first place in the NFC West and the season is far from over.
But what does the decision to stand pat at the deadline say about the future of this team and how Les Snead and Sean McVay view the 2022 season? We can take away a few things from the Rams’ inactivity.
On one hand, you can see it as the team waving the white flag on the season. That’s not the right way to look at this. Again, they’re a game and a half out of first place in the West. The NFC as a whole is much weaker than it has been in recent years, which will make it easier for the Rams to make the playoffs.
Not acquiring a player such as Bradley Chubb or Burns doesn’t mean the Rams are giving up. They even tried to acquire Burns by offering the Panthers two first-round picks. They just weren’t willing to go all the way in by upping their offer to a level Carolina would accept.
That’s actually a good thing! Sometimes the best trades are the ones a team doesn’t make. Trading multiple first-rounders for a pass rusher in a year where the Rams don’t exactly look like Super Bowl contenders probably wouldn’t have been the best idea.
On the flip side, you can look at the Rams as feeling confident in the players they have. The offensive line already got Brian Allen back, Alaric Jackson is playing well at left tackle and Rob Havenstein has been steady on the right side. David Edwards and Coleman Shelton could also return at some point.
Kyren Williams is on his way back from IR after being designated to return last week, which will hopefully provide a spark for the running game. Van Jefferson just played his first game in Week 8, as well, giving the Rams their deep threat – even if he wasn’t utilized as such in his season debut.
If the offensive line can improve, if Williams plays as well as the coaching staff hopes and if Jefferson can open things up for the passing game, the Rams have a chance. There are still major questions about the pass rush because no one is coming back from injury to help Leonard Floyd, Justin Hollins and Terrell Lewis in a meaningful way, but they’ve had a worse collection of rushers in the past.
It’s easy to be discouraged and disappointed as a fan after seeing the Rams stick with the status quo at the deadline, especially in a season that’s been so rough. But don’t view this as them surrendering. Take it as the front office and coaches feeling confident in the players they have.
