It was an eventful offseason for the Los Angeles Rams leading up to the 2021 NFL season. They kickstarted things once again by making a splash with their blockbuster trade for quarterback Matthew Stafford.
Although the move helped generate some Super Bowl hype for the team, they still found themselves in a tough predicament with notable voids on the roster and limited resources on how to fill them.
Fortunately, the veterans on the team banned together to fix this issue by restructuring their deals to secure some much-needed cap space. The result is the Rams putting together one of the most talented and deepest rosters in the NFL.
General manager Les Snead is well aware of the hype and is confident that there is some credence to it going into the regular season, via Stu Jackson of the team’s official website:
“Here’s what we do feel like, we definitely are confident and believe we can contend for our division, and if we accomplish that, we might have a chance to have a few home playoff games,” Snead said. “But at that point in time, it’s heavy-weight fights and we’re confident we’ll be ready to step into the ring and play those fourth quarters. We’re definitely going to start climbing. That’s the top of the mountain, but we’re at base camp and we’re ready to start climbing.”
The Rams have not been shy about embracing their high expectations this year. In fact, they doubled down on it by trading for Stafford and throwing themselves into the conversation.
L.A. has gone all-in on the current championship window they built under Snead and head coach Sean McVay. After all, they essentially mortgaged their future for the opportunity to compete for a title now while players like defensive tackle Aaron Donald and cornerback Jalen Ramsey are still in their prime.
Regardless, Snead’s comments indicate that the team is not looking too far ahead and are looking to take things one game at a time. This is certainly understandable since it is a long season and the Rams have already suffered some key injuries during the offseason.
McVay is all too familiar with the importance of staying healthy and has done what he can to keep it that way after sitting his starters out of the preseason. Fortunately, the Rams have some favorable matchups to start the season before facing their first major test in Week 3 versus the defending Super Bowl champion, Tampa Bay buccaneers.
