The Rams "Fuck Those Picks" Approach Won Them The Super Bowl But Will It Work Longterm?
The Rams gambled and won, at least for now.
The Los Angeles Rams celebrated their Super Bowl LVI win today by riding shirtless and shit faced through the streets of Los Angeles. The jubilation will go on for a few more days and then the Rams will look to build a new roster to try and go back to back.
The Rams built a dominant and flashy roster this season that if they were able to retain, would be the Vegas favorites to win next years Super Bowl, but this will not be easy or even possible. The Rams are currently ten million over the salary cap and have just under twenty players that are projected to be free agents.
Some of those free agents include recently acquired pass catcher Odell Beckham Jr., who injured his knee in the Super Bowl, and pass rusher Von Miller along with running back Sony Michel, corner Darious Williams, guard Austin Corbett, and center Brian Allen. So either the Rams have to let two oline starters walk to keep Miller, or gas Miller and Williams to keep Beckham, Michel, Corbett, and Allen.
Along with those players hitting free agency, Eric Weddle is reretiring and it looks as if Andrew Whitworth played his last game in the NFL. Offensive line is a strong position in this free agent class, but the Rams won’t be able to sign a big time pass protector like Terron Armstead or Trent Brown because they won’t have the salary cap.
While free agency and attempting to resign key players is going to be a shit show for the Rams, the draft scenario is a whole new animal. The quick and easy way to describe their situation is, “They’re fucked.”
To bring in Matt Stafford, the Rams had to give up their 2022 and 2023 first round picks. For Von Miller, they gave up their second and third round selections in 2022 and to land Sony Michel they sent a fifth and sixth round pick in 2022 to the Patriots. They have eight draft picks with only one on the first two days in the third round. Los Angeles holds one third rounder, one fourth, one fifth, three sixths, and two sevenths.
You can always find gems in later rounds, but if you have a quarterback who is thirty four and key starters that are most likely going to walk, you’re screwed.
This feels a lot like when the Toronto Raptors won their lone title in 2019. They dealt a player that was loyal to their city in DeRozan for one year of Kawhi Leonard. Did they win a title? Yes. But the next season they lost in the Conference Semifinals and this season and are seventh in the East. Oh, and Leonard isn’t on their roster anymore.
One year of glory is great and all, and don’t get me wrong, I’d love for the Vikings to win a Super Bowl at all costs, but having a shaky and uncertain future is a scary thing and one that will make fans sick to their stomach. That’s if the Rams actually have any fans.