The Los Angeles Rams are going into the 2023 season with a completely different look to their roster.
Gone are several of their key veterans, meaning the Rams will likely lean on rookies and second-year players to help them compete. The roster remodeling was written on the walls given Los Angeles’ cap sheet, and now they must face the realities of their financial choices.
Sean McVay admitted that the decisions to part ways with their more experienced players this offseason were unavoidable, via Stu Jackson of TheRams.com:
“I think when you have those conversations, as well as with (Vice President of Football and Business Administration) Tony (Pastoors) and (Chief Operating Officer) Kevin (Demoff), you kind of understand what’s down the road,” McVay said last week at the NFL Annual Meetings in Phoenix. “It’s something that you got to have the necessary agility, but it is something that we knew was inevitable, and ‘How do we really figure out how to have a more disciplined approach?’ is the way that you look at it.”
McVay added that the team has always found ways to find players but also emphasized that his focus is on winning with the players they currently have:
“We’ve always figured out different avenues to be able to acquire players or try to be able to create the most competitive roster that we possibly can,” McVay said. “But it was something that we knew was coming down the pipe. And it’s always challenging, because we talked about Jalen, but there’s a lot of other great players that have been instrumental in a lot of good things that have gone on here that you’re seeing sign with other teams, we’re not able to resign them, or we’re we’re moving in a different direction, and those are tough conversations. But I think it’s about reassessing, making sure that we do a great job with the players that we do onboard.”
The upcoming 2023 NFL Draft marks a pivotal point in the franchise’s future as the players they select will need to be able to complement Aaron Donald, Cooper Kupp and Matthew Stafford sooner rather than later. The Rams have committed to building around their three stars for the foreseeable future, so surrounding them with competent help is of the utmost importance.
Most are writing Los Angeles off next season, but depending on the draft and the offseason goes it wouldn’t be surprising to see McVay and company make waves.
