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- By Gregg Rosenthal
- April 11, 2018 at 01:26 p.m
No general manager had a busier, bolder spring than Rams general manager Les Snead. No decision maker has more work left to do in the coming months.
The Rams' trade tsunami resulted in a wave of incoming talent, diminishing salary cap space and only one long-term contract handed out, to little-known cornerback Nickell Robey-Coleman. The casual confidence Snead has in his coaching staff to assimilate all the team's new players is matched by his belief that he can make all the contractual puzzle pieces fit. "We have plenty of space over the next two years to lock up these guys long-term and have this core together, and that's the goal," Snead said at one of the Rams' seemingly daily press conferences earlier this month.
Rams' to-do list
1) Sign Aaron Donald: All signs indicated that Donald welcomed the addition of Ndamukong Suh to the Rams' formidable defensive line. That congenial attitude figures to disappear if Donald is forced to play for half as much money as Suh this season as currently scheduled. Donald, the reigning Defensive Player of the Year, is more likely to be playing on a contract closer to the groundbreaking pact Suh signed in Miami back in 2015. Snead has said repeatedly he has "budgeted" an extension for Donald and said this week Donald should become the highest-paid defender in football. That's been easier said than finalized for a year now. It will be a complicated contract that will presumably push a lot of salary cap pain into the future because the Rams have virtually no space at the moment.
2) Re-sign Brandin Cooks or LaMarcus Joyner to an extension: The Rams have three standouts from the 2014 draft class in Donald, Cooks and Joyner. Donald and Cooks are set to play this season on the fifth-year options of their rookie deals, while Joyner was retained with the franchise tag for more money -- $11.29 million. The Rams would love to free up the use of the 2019 tag by signing at least two of the three players.Cooks is the better bet to get a contract quickly, with NFL Network's Steve Wyche reporting that the Rams intend to sign him long-term before the season. The Rams have until July 16 to sign Joyner to a long-term contract. A contract for either player would likely be backloaded to lower the cap hit for 2018 and push money into the future. That could become a trend for the team as it builds toward moving into its expensive new stadium in 2020.
3) Budget for Todd Gurley and Marcus Peters contracts: There is a general misconception that the Rams are in "win-now" mode after all the recent transactions. To borrow the words of rival Pete Carroll, Snead is trying to orchestrate more of a "win forever" mindset. This is a relatively young team and the Rams' core players aren't even in their second contracts yet. After the 2014 NFL Draft class mentioned above, the Rams also have 2015 picks Gurley, Peters and two key offensive line starters Rob Havenstein and Jamon Brown. This is a roster built to last, but Snead will have to prioritize some contracts over others. Donald, Gurley and quarterback Jared Goff are the building blocks. Peters is under contract for the next two years for a total of just over $10 million. Considering his rollercoaster career so far, the Rams may let Peters play out his fifth-year option in 2019 and see where they stand after that. They just need to get Peters on board with that plan.
4) Evaluate if Aqib Talib and Suh are short-timers: Not every young Rams player is destined to get a long-term contract, and not every veteran acquisition figures to be around for long. Talib and Suh both are free agents after this season. It's hard to imagine Suh getting the guaranteed guap he'd like on a long-term deal in Los Angeles after the Rams presumably pay Donald. Talib, already 32, looks like an excellent one-year rental. These moves don't mean the organization is selling out to win now. They are just taking every avenue toward improving their roster, following in the footsteps of the last two Super Bowl champions who relied plenty on short veteran contracts.
5) Construct McVay-Goff 2.0: The Rams' fire show on the transaction wire shouldn't overshadow all the work that coach Sean McVay has to do on the field. He did an incredible job building an offense around Jared Goff last season, but building on a breakout year at quarterback is no easy task. (Just ask Derek Carr, Dak Prescott and Andy Dalton.) NFL defenses should be better prepared to attack Goff's weaknesses, including throwing on the move, after a year of gathering film. McVay has earned the benefit of the doubt that he'll keep the Rams one step ahead, especially after upgrading from Sammy Watkins to Cooks at receiver.
6) Somehow find tackle depth and edge rushing talent: Andrew Whitworth turns 37 years old this season, yet is one of the most irreplaceable members on the Rams' roster. Tackle depth is hard to find on nearly any team, but the Rams don't have any legitimate options behind Whitworth and right tackle Havenstein. While Snead has traded away his top two picks in this draft, he still has a third-round pick, three fourth-rounders and four sixth-round lottery tickets. The fourth round is where the Rams found outside linebacker Samson Ebukam last year, who is slated to play a huge role as an edge rusher this season. He's practically the only one on the roster. For all the Rams' defensive talent, that also remains a big area of need.
7) Make this buzz count: Two years into their Los Angeles adventure, the Rams are ahead of schedule. This season represents an incredible opportunity to bring new fans along for the ride with the move to the new stadium looming. If this Rams team doesn't inspire devotion and subsequent ticket sales, then no team will. All they have to do is win.
