This offseason is shaping up to be a disappointing one for the Los Angeles Rams as they seem to be opting for a rebuild or a “reboot” as opposed to giving their Super Bowl core one last run.
After a 5-12 season in 2022, the Rams may be realizing that this current window is coming to a close, even if injuries were a key factor in that poor record.
The Rams have already parted ways with Bobby Wagner, and according to various reports, Jalen Ramsey, Allen Robinson and Leonard Floyd may not be on the team when the 2023 season starts either.
L.A. may not be stopping there as NFL insider Michael Lombardi reported on the Pat McAfee Show that the Rams have also been calling teams about quarterback Matthew Stafford:
“Oh, Matt Stafford is fully available. Matt Stafford, they’re trying to trade, they would love to trade him, but they can’t do it because he’s got $57M guaranteed… His contract, he’s got I think $26 million of an option bonus on the third day of the league year and he’s got $31 million in paragraph five on the third day of the league year. All of that is guaranteed. When I say guaranteed, that’s for skill and injury. It doesn’t matter if he can’t play or not. He’s got $57 million coming to him no matter what. The Rams, what are they going to do? They’re trying to get out from it. I don’t want to hear the bullshit that, ‘we’re not trying to trade him.’ Yes you are! You’ve called teams. I know this. I don’t really care what they say. They all lie about it.”
Even though the Rams have called teams regarding Stafford, it’s still unlikely that he will be traded this offseason. Due to the nature of his contract, the Rams would take on $54 million in dead cap money according to OverTheCap if they trade Stafford, which would make it awfully tough to field a team.
There are still a ton of teams that need quarterbacks though, so it makes sense for the Rams to see what’s out there and if any team would be willing to trade them a package of their liking for the veteran.
At 35 years of age and coming off an injury-plagued season, it remains to be seen how many good years Stafford still has left in the tank. If the Rams aren’t gonna be competing in 2023 then maybe they feel it’s best to move on from Stafford to acquire draft capital.
Again though, there would be serious financial consequences of trading Stafford a year after signing him to a big extension. Not to mention that he is the man that brought a Super Bowl championship to L.A., so trading him a year later would be a tough sell to the fanbase.
The way things are trending this offseason though, anything is possible, so this will be something worth monitoring moving forward.
