Aside from the Los Angeles Rams return out west, it has just been discovered that they will be traveling far more than any other team in the league this season. Among the promises made to relocate, one of them was the agreement that the Rams would play in an international game for the next three years.
According to John Breech of CBS Sports, the Rams are set to travel an astounding 32,072 miles for their eight road games, including the trip to London to play the New York Giants:
The Rams will travel a total of 32,072 miles this season, which is more than the Packers, Browns, Ravens and Bears will travel combined in 2016 (30,948 miles).
It is not a shock that the Rams will be the NFL’s most-traveled team in 2016; not only did they move to Los Angeles, but they will also be traveling to London in Week 7. A one-way flight from London to Los Angeles is roughly 5,440 miles, which is more than the Steelers will travel the entire season (5,138 miles).
Some may take the long-hauls this year with a grain of salt given that the five teams that traveled the most last season combined to go 14-26 in road games. Those teams included the San Francisco 49ers, Miami Dolphins, Oakland Raiders, Seattle Seahawks and San Diego Chargers.
This does not seal the fate of Los Angeles as they will look to get off to a solid start season with games in nearby San Francisco and Arizona. On a positive note, the Rams are now closer to their NFC West nemesis as opposed to when they were in St. Louis.
Another factor to take in is that the Rams had the youngest team in the league last year with the average age of players being 25. Though the effect of travel remains to be seen, fans can expect to see LAX more crowded than usual this upcoming season.
