Los Angeles Rams Blog: How can Rams keep their championship roster together?

THOUSAND OAKS CA — It didn’t take long after the Los Angeles Rams Super Bowl LVI was won for the front office trio: Les Snead, Kevin Demoff, and Tony Pastoors, who were VPs of football and business administration. Now it’s time to tackle the challenge ahead: Keeping this championship team together.

Signing a quarterback was the first major move. Matthew Stafford He was granted a contract extension in March that will tie him to the team through the 2026 season. The Rams then reworked their defensive tackle Aaron DonaldContract to give him a big raise And signed wide receiver Cooper Kupp You can also visit our website at three-year contract extension This reunites him with Stafford for five additional seasons.

According to reports, the Rams have $7.6million of cap space even after the Donald and Kupp transactions. Over the Cap.

These are just the three deals that the Rams made this offseason. But there’s plenty more talent. The Rams have two players in the NFL, Donald and Stafford. Their average annual salary is $30 million. Cornerback Jalen RamseyThe cap hit for this season is $23.2 million. Wide receiver Allen Robinson II This offseason, he signed a $36.5 million contract for three years.

How did they manage it?

The Rams are dependent on their draft picks for cheaper talent, as they have a star-laden roster. They have needed to find younger talent to replace the top players in order to make this work. Despite not having a first-round pick since 2016, the Rams have done well. The Rams have 11 projected starters They’ve picked on the second day or third day of drafts since 2017, with Kupp as the third-rounder in 2017.

Recent contract extensions have also increased the Rams’ cap space this season. OTC reports that Kupp’s cap number fell from $18.3 Million to $17.8 Million with the extension.

The Rams also had some flexibility in this year’s cap by extending Stafford in March.

Stafford’s salary is $40 million annually, but his cap hit for 2022 will be $13.5 million. This is 6.71% of Rams’ salary cap, and a significant reduction from the $23million cap hit that he would have before the extension. Stafford’s contract does increase to $20 million in 2023, and then to $49.5 million in the next season. This is when many league members expect the cap to explode due to the possibility of major TV deals.

It’s still a great deal right now. The comparison is the Green Bay Packers‘ Aaron Rodgers The cap is $28.5 Million in 2022. Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick MahomesIt is estimated that the’price is $37.8million and the’cost’at $37.8 million. Buffalo Bills‘ Josh Allen‘s $16.4 million.

OTC says that the Rams are $2.5 million above the 2023 cap and $7.8million below the 2024 cap. But, those numbers won’t become final until after each previous season and could be drastically changed.

Outside linebacker was the one player that the Rams didn’t retain. Von MillerIn free agency, he signed a six-year contract worth $120million with the Buffalo Bills. The Rams have also not signed wide receivers. Odell Beckham Jr., who ruptured the ACL in the left knee during Super Bowl.

Beckham could be signed by the Rams. attended head coach Sean McVay’s wedding This month, earlier this month. McVay joked with Beckham that he knew what the expectation was. “You come to a wedding, you have to sign for the Rams.”

Donald signed his contract after he had said it. was not his top priority to be the highest-paid NFL quarterback. He stated that one of his “most important things” was to feel that the pieces we brought in were still going to be there.

The Rams extended their Super Bowl window by keeping the core together for at least three more seasons.