As if they aren't already. For 2020 their cap hits are as follows. Jared Goff $36 million Aaron Donald $25 million Todd Gurley $17 million Brandon Cooks $16 million Jalen Ramsey (pre-contract extension) $13 million The NFL salary cap for 2019 was $188.2. It will go up as it always does but that's still approximately 50% of their cap tied into 5 players. And that's before they extend Ramsey. Their free agents are below LT Andrew Whitworth ILB Corey Littleton OLB Dante Fowler DT Michael Brockers By my count they only have ten draft picks in the next two years and $25 million in cap space with Spotrac's adjusted cap for next year and the top 51 under contract. Their interior offensive line is all young but Havenstein keeps getting banged up and Whitworth is old and a free agent. The boy wonder also pulled Ryan Gosling out to run a 3rd and 1 read option with the ever elusive bro Blake Bortles that got stuffed. Then had his punter throw a pick on 4th down, picked off by a runningback. Gurley is also nothing what he used to be but they decided to give him one carry in the 4th quarter on Sunday despite averaging 6 yards a carry. He's also pissed about not getting the ball. The whole thing is going to burn as the team deteriorates around Goff and his mega deal, while they try to win with 4 players among the highest paid in the whole league.
Guess they'll find out if the 'stars and scrubs' auction strategy works IRL. I wonder if they'll consider trading Aaron Donald for some cap relief and desperately needed picks.
It's going to be interesting to see what they do. The Ramsey trade was really surprising to me. It's not like they don't have to pay him and he isn't expecting a mega deal. With all the capital they gave up they have to resign him too. I'd imagine they make some big moves/cuts this offseason. Cooks and Gurley may be available. Moreso Cooks who will be on his 4th NFL franchise despite racking up thousand yard seasons where ever he goes. He's starting to become a concussion player too unfortunately. Goff just isn't good enough to do what Russell Wilson , Aaron Rodgers, etc. can do with less around them. It should also be noted that those franchises NEVER give up draft capital or sign players to big contracts. The Seahawks also always have tons of picks to restock. Tessitore made a good point. The Seahawks always seem to be rebuilding, but instantly.
the rams mortgaged their future for a SB run the past 2 years. lots of trading picks for players and lots of money spent. almost worked. they fell a little short but their window is pretty much done with goffs regression. also they jsut gave up a ton for ramsey who has been awful and they need to pay him and traded peters who was playing better and still is
Brockers is going to be the one guy they re-sign. They will allow the other guys to go, if they are smart they will focus on keeping the oline intact and filling in the defense through the draft and possible FA signing. They have a FQB which is the most important piece of the puzzle. Keep him upright and they will always have a chance to win.
Their number one problem is Goff is a mediocre QB (still better than any Jets QB since Pennington though). With an elite QB like Wilson, you can win even in the down years of your rebuilding cycle. You can't do that with Goff.
They might be, but they made the Super Bowl while Goff was on his rookie contract and an average QB performance likely wins that game for them. We, on the other hand, will have to wait until Sam is on his 2nd contract to see our team make it that far. Assuming Sam is the answer, of course.
It's pretty much the Tannenbaum tactic. We may have hated the salary cap purgatory we were in with latter-era Ryan/Sparano but at least we had a couple of good years. I think I'd probably take that risk again than go with the current 10 year rebuild (and counting)
There was nothin wrong with the salary cap hell jets were in, problem lies in how those positions are filled through the draft. Pittsburgh always drafts the same way, they prioritize OL, LB and WR. They don’t draft defensive tackles early in the draft, those spots are reserved for olinemen and LB. If jets drafted well they could have simply filled in the roster with good young players while still being successful. The Rams need to focus on keeping Goff protected by keeping a good offensive line in place and a skilled WR on the roster.
They take a lot of corners too and they're actually pretty bad at it because they all usually suck. You're definitely right in that drafting was the problem. The Jets tried to restock at their strengths, which good teams usually do when they're consistently picking in the 20's. It also becomes less of an overall issue what position you're taking, if you're getting quality football players and guys who stay on the roster for the duration of their rookie contracts. I would say part of our overall problem is draft pick development, but the majority of players we take are out of the league in 3-4 years anyway, or leave the Jets and spend one year with another team before retiring. It was just terrible talent evaluation all around. I think you're right though. If the Rams can consistently restock their offensive line and receivers they're going to be ok. I wouldn't be surprised if they move on from Gurley. Runningback with load management issues are not runningbacks you keep around for too long especially at that price tag.
You are correct about the CB for Pittsburgh, they don’t have too much success drafting CBs. However they make up for it in the more important area of play making LBs. I also agree with regards to Gurley, they can definitely find one in the draft somewhere in the third round to replace him, as long as they have a good oline in place.
I'd rather have a competitive team with cap issues than a scrub riddled team with 2 wins and money that never gets spent.
Agreed. But the league mandates that the money gets spent one way or another over a 4 year period. It's the point that if the Rams don't draft well in the limited picks they do have, they're just going to be a cap riddled team with 5 wins.
But at least they tried and are one of the best teams in the NFL thhe past few seasons...so Cap hell for 1, restructure make cuts, suck for a year and go at it again with A SB appearance and fans coming to see you. Total opposite of this bs mentality we have from the top down.
The biggest issue with the Rams is the lack of run game - or suspect OL for that matter. They lost 3 starters from that OL last year and I'm sure Whitworth is on his way out (He's 37+ IIRC). Last year Goff was incredible off the PA Pass. I believe he led the league in touchdown passes off of the PA, this year? He has none.
Definitely. But that's precisely the reason I'll argue that he didn't deserve the contract he got in the least bit. I know it's easy to say that now, but if your QB is making $36 Milly, you shouldn't need the leagues best running game to be better than he's been.
Its amazing to me that people still haven't realized collecting overpriced stars doesn't win Super Bowls.
As others mentioned, reminiscent of Mike T going all-in 2008-10. Lack of draft picks after that and completely whiffing on practically every pick in the last decade is why the Jets are where they are right now. Rams still have a window, but how large it is I'm not so sure. If Goff goes the way of Sanchez they will be fucked. They really blew it in that Super Bowl, just a retched performance.
