The Los Angeles Rams are ahead of schedule with their retooling process after a quality 2023 campaign that saw them make the postseason behind a resurgent year from Matthew Stafford. General manager Les Snead was preparing for a less successful season, but the entire team rallied together to go above .500 and earn a spot in the postseason.
Not only were the Rams good at the end of the season, they were better than expected right away. Perhaps their only scary moment was when Stafford suffered an injury that caused him to miss a game right when the team was establishing their rhythm. The Rams turned to backup Brett Rypien and suffered a dismal loss to the Green Bay Packers, forcing the Rams to change their backup and go with former No. 2 overall pick Carson Wentz.
Because of how that went in 2023, Snead is looking ahead at possible injuries to Stafford and deciding if spending some of their cap space on a veteran backup is worthwhile.
“What we do want to accomplish this year is making sure we have … if we ever have to go play a game without Matthew in the lineup, we want to be able to win it,” Snead said. “And I think this year, different than last year based on salary cap, could allow us to maybe do a veteran QB. The flexibility with the cap does allow us to do that where last year, we thought, you know what, let’s try to be the most competitive team with our starting 22, but it did come back to hurt us definitely (in) one game last year.”
The Rams undoubtedly want to make sure they have their best players available in each and every game. But in the NFL, that is an impossible ask, and with Stafford suffering injuries in two consecutive seasons now, the Rams have to be careful with who they bring in as a backup.
With the team’s extra cap space and draft capital this offseason, there definitely is room to bring in a quality backup in case Stafford goes down, whether that be Wentz or someone else.
Rams meeting with Rome Odunze
The Rams are slated to pick at No. 19, and have met with prospective players at the NFL Draft Combine, including Washington wide receiver Rome Odunze.
Odunze, a four-year player who will be 22 when the 2024 season kicks off, has had a stellar last two college campaigns for the Huskies and was one of the best receivers in all of college football in 2023. As part of Washington’s path to the National Championship game, Odunze had 92 catches for 1,640 yards and 13 touchdowns. He is slated to be one of the first receivers taken in the 2024 Draft.
Plenty of teams have met with Odunze at the Combine, including the Rams, although their ability to land him may require some maneuvering.
