The Los Angeles Rams are in a different spot than the general public thought they would be in through five weeks. Despite a 2-3 record, Sean McVay’s team has looked more than competent, hanging tough with some very good teams and taking care of business against lesser opponents.
If they play their cards right, the Rams could absolutely be in contention for a wild card spot come December. And if when the trade deadline rolls around on Oct. 31, the Rams are nearing playoff contention, they may need to make a decision on if they want to be buyers, sellers or stand pat.
At the beginning of the season, it felt that the Rams being sellers was the likeliest outcome. But things have changed through five weeks, and it’s possible McVay and general manager Les Snead may want to push for a spot in the postseason.
Despite the Rams’ past history, McVay recently quieted any ideas that they would be buyers in a significant way at the deadline.
“No, we don’t really have the available–– you kind of have to have some resources and different things like that for those to be options so I don’t know that those conversations will be as prevalent as maybe in years past,” McVay said with a smirk.
The Rams have been known throughout the Snead and McVay era to be overly aggressive when it comes to making trades and adding talent. This season was intentionally meant to be a reset on the team’s draft capital and assets, as they traded away several top players in the offseason and did not make any major free agent signings.
However, the aggression from McVay and Snead can never be overlooked. McVay has said similar things in the past about not wanting to be aggressive with trades, only for the team to turn around and make deals. By his tone, it certainly seems that if the right deal was available, L.A. would make the move.
If they do stand pat, it would ultimately be a continuation of the plan they started in the offseason.
Rams trade Van Jefferson to Falcons
The Rams may have not decided yet on being buyers at the deadline, but they have been — on a small scale to this point — sellers in the early part of the season. They traded Cam Akers to the Minnesota Vikings, and have now traded wide receiver Van Jefferson and a seventh-round pick to the Atlanta Falcons in exchange for a sixth-round pick.
