The Los Angeles Rams offseason has been turbulent to say the least as a number of key players such as Todd Gurley and Greg Zuerlein have departed from the team. Luckily, the Rams were able to bring back Michael Brockers after it originally appeared that he was signing with the Baltimore Ravens.
Although a major chunk of offseason turnover has completed, there’s no telling how the rest of the Rams’ offseason will turn out. The Rams still have most of their key players on offense and Aaron Donald on defense, and now just need to surround them with solid pieces.
Although the team has lost a number of veteran players, Rams COO Kevin Demoff believes that turnover like this was to be expected, via Lindsey Thiry of ESPN:
“Each year, your players change, your team changes and we knew walking into this season there would be tough choices,” Rams chief operating officer Kevin Demoff recently told ESPN. “It’s going to be a different-looking team than the one that left the field in 2019, but I think everybody knew that was going to be the case.”
In addition to Gurley and Zuerlein, the Rams lost Dante Fowler Jr., Cory Littleton, Clay Matthews and Nickell Robey-Coleman, all members of the defense. Additionally, safety Eric Weddle retired.
The Rams did add linebacker Leonard Floyd and defensive tackle A’Shawn Robinson through free agency though. Although that certainly helps ease the blow, the Rams defense is going to look considerably different this upcoming season.
Of course, the Rams still have the 2020 NFL Draft to look forward to. The team is once again employing a strategy of hoarding as many top 100 picks as possible, even if it means sacrificing their first-rounder.
Last year’s draft picks did not see much playing time, but Demoff does expect them to step up this season due to the amount of roster turnover:
“If you look at our team, we drafted a lot of young players who, ultimately, in a salary-cap era when you have stars who have been paid, are going to have to step up,” Demoff said.
A youth movement is certainly growing in Los Angeles. Even if the Rams do not depend on young players, many of their coaches are young. Brandon Staley is beginning his first season ever as a defensive coordinator, while offensive coordinator Kevin O’Connell joined the Rams for just his second offensive coordinator job. Perhaps the influx of youth into the Rams will bolster the team and their record in 2020.
