The Los Angeles Rams were one of the biggest surprises of the 2023 NFL season. Most expected them to be one of the worst teams in the NFL, but they caught fire down the stretch of the season, ultimately finishing with 10 wins and making a postseason appearance.
Now this offseason, the Rams have the opportunity to build off their success from a season ago and that especially goes for the defensive side of the ball. The Rams have discovered a number of young contributors on defense, but whether they will be able to keep them all is unclear.
According to Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic, the Rams are not expected to offer tenders to linebackers Christian Rozeboom and Michael Hoecht or defensive tackle Jonah Williams, though they could still return to the team in free agency:
After speaking with league sources, I do not expect inside linebacker Christian Rozeboom, defensive tackle Jonah Williams or outside linebacker Michael Hoecht to receive tenders. The former UFAs could still return after testing free agency, but a tender would have been about $3 million for one year.
These would be some major holes to fill on the Rams defense should they be lost and all three are coming off career-best seasons. Hoecht finished third on the Rams in total tackles with 81 and fourth in sacks with six while also adding 11 quarterback hits, seven tackles for loss and a forced fumble.
Rozeboom, meanwhile, was fourth on the Rams with 79 total tackles while adding four passes defensed and two tackles for loss. Williams started 16 of 17 games for the Rams and finished with 49 tackles, two sacks, four tackles for loss and four quarterback hits.
What kind of market each of these players command in free agency will surely play a large role in whether or not they return to the Rams. They would surely love to bring them back but it will have to be at the right price. The Rams want to build off last season and that would be difficult if they can’t retain these three key contributors.
Kevin Demoff looking forward to being aggressive again this offseason
One thing that is for certain about the Rams this offseason is that they won’t be hamstrung by a lack of draft picks and salary cap room as was the case last year. Kevin Demoff made it clear that the Rams plan to be aggressive once again.
In a recent interview, Demoff spoke about the frustration of not being able to be as aggressive as they had been in the past due to lack of resources. But now armed with multiple picks and plenty of cap space, Demoff and the Rams will be back to their normal aggressive selves.
