The Los Angeles Rams had a championship-caliber roster in 2020, although they fell short of their ultimate goal when they lost to the Green Bay Packers in the NFC divisional round.
While the Rams exceeded expectations in 2020, it is clear that some changes need to be made if they want to reach the next step. The biggest change that could potentially be made is the quarterback position after Jared Goff struggled to take care of the ball in the second half of the season.
Goff signed a four-year, $134 million contract extension that included $110 million guaranteed before the 2019 season, and four years remain on that contract, which would make it tough to move him.
Recent reports indicate that his relationship with Sean McVay took a big hit this past season though, so L.A. may be in the market for a new quarterback this offseason.
Rams general manager Les Snead recently discussed Goff’s situation and was noncommittal about his future in the organization, via Lindsey Thiry of ESPN:
“Jared Goff, he’s a Ram right now,” said Snead, who was asked repeatedly about Goff’s status moving forward during an hourlong videoconference with reporters Tuesday. “So what’s the date? January 26th. That’s a fact. That’s obvious.”
In 15 games for the Rams in 2020, Goff threw for 3,952 yards and 24 total touchdowns with 13 interceptions. His 38 turnovers over the last two seasons ranks second in the NFL, which certainly isn’t a path to success.
The problem though is that the Rams would face $65.2 million in dead-money charges if they cut Goff this offseason, and $22.2 million is dead-money charges if they traded him.
While acknowledging that moving on from Goff would be tough to do, Snead did not completely rule it out:
“Moving on from Jared Goff, that’s … the money we’ve invested in him, that’s not easy to overcome,” said Snead, who added later that “anything can be done” in a cap-based system.
Finding a trade partner for Goff certainly would not be easy, although Snead has found a way to get other big contracts in the past such as Todd Gurley and Brandin Cooks.
With quarterbacks such as Deshaun Watson, Matthew Stafford and others available via trade, there are upgrades to be had if the Rams are willing to part with the draft capital necessary to get it done.
The Rams have very few holes on their roster other than the quarterback position, so it may be worth it to do a deal to upgrade over Goff in hopes of getting back to the Super Bowl next season.
