Offseason Roster Insanity

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Merlin

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I know some of you are willing to go down this rabbit hole with me. And maybe a shitty candle on one of those old candle holder things. Or maybe a flashlight with shitty batteries. There is of course a ton we don't know but something like that cannot stop us.

Here's the top cap hits for 2023 courtesy of Sportrac. By the way they have a very cool "manage roster" function that you can move or cut players and see the impact, if you're worried about things like numbers. Which I obviously do not concern myself with from my evil lair and reclining easy chair. I will allow my underpaid minions like @OldSchool to correct me when I'm making outlandish assumptions about cap.

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Loading up the 2023 Salary Cap for the Rams it says we're at -$1.9M...

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The calculated market values listed above are the FAs. Of that group Gay is a key signing, Mayfield is likely to cost a ton more than that $6.5M listed, and Aboushi I think they may get inked before the offseason since he's been solid for us and is 31 so it's reasonable to think he's got a couple years left and let him compete for a job next year in camp. If any of them hit FA they are gone I think, simply because of our cap situation.

So the best place to start is the performance vs pay equation. Who's getting paid but delivering a steaming pile of excrement on the field?

Performance vs Pay low producers:

1. Robinson. If anyone is begging to be cut it is Robinson, who has been an enormously unsuccessful signing. But of course his contract looks like it keeps him here for year two, which is not the worst thing. This has after all been a shitty season all around, and Robinson is a catch radius guy, so there is still a chance we recoup value on the field with him.

2. Floyd. I suspect Leo's been playing hurt and from what it sounds like he does that a lot. But in terms of overall performance since the Rams ponied up the bucks for him, he has put the Rams in the red. We certainly have not garnered the value of what he is paid on the field. Hoecht coming out of nowhere demonstrates that you can find rotational strong side types without too much problem, so Floyd represents an easy way to reduce our PvP issue. I think he is a 100% certainty to be on the trade block, question is whether there are any takers.

3. Ramsey. I will say first off that Ramsey does some good things. He is a good starter still, just not the eraser he used to be. The problem is he is being paid as an eraser. So I think one of two things will happen this offseason. Either he will restructure to more closely equate his pay to what he is, or he will be traded. He has lost quickness without a doubt in my mind. He is only 28 still as well. So now is a really smart time to trade him. We can get out before the floor drops out from under him so to speak. Expectation is Rams put him on the market quickly if he balks at the restructure. If it was me he would be a 100% trade block option.

4. Stafford. I feel shitty even typing this one. He took a non-greedy contract to allow the team to stack things around him. He won us the Lombardi, I mean he was our best player in the crunch and that playoff run was Hall of Fame quality IMO. But the dude is old and beat up and had elbow surgery and looked shitty for chunks of this season. He did some good things too, granted. He was punished by that shitty OL too. But age is undefeated and the team has to ask that hard question of how much time does he have remaining. Do we realistically have two years left in him? I don't know the answer to that. So I'll say he may be a situation where they clear him out. Now if that happens the Rams would undoubtedly only move him to a place he wants to go. Not that it makes it any better, but he might get a better shot to win another ring with another team if this offseason is anything less than a slam dunk. Note: best option of all is the Rams get Baker inked on a short termer and having a fantastic 1-2 at QB but it's hard to imagine him doing that at this point, going off the film he is putting out right now.

5. Noteboom. This one seems similar to Robinson in that they just signed him so moving him I presume will be difficult. I seriously doubt a LT of the future slides to them in round two. So the only way we end up with a young buck who has legit LT upside is if we move up in the draft or if the guy has red flags and shit. So we're going to need Boom as a hold it down option at a minimum and who knows maybe he does a great job for us next year. I would just feel a ton better if they can find an upside type for the depth chart.

6. Allen. Using the Sportrac Manager to cut Allen nets us a $2.6M gain which, when coupled with his injury unavailability and general inconsistencies seems like a positive. So he looks like a cut to me. Best of luck to you Brian. Shelton will be penciled in as the starter at center this offseason and the team will draft a pivot midrounds. Or maybe they'll just draft a receiver midrounds instead just to watch RoD implode.
 

Merlin

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AD is a special case. I think with him it is all about what he wants. He is AD. If he wants to play closer to Pittsburgh or in Pittsburgh only then the team will make it happen. So didn't include him in the above and we'll wait and see what he's thinking.
 

Merlin

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Merlin

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Could it be that this youtube deal is ideally timed to save McVay/Snead? Maybe so. :beer2: :woozy2::trophy:
 

So Ram

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Sad to see the Way The Rams have structured the team.Saying that because the 4 O’Lineman signed.
The The Rams need a LG. Bruss is one of the highest paid of the young players as well.
Then thinking of the future & there is a Big Sting that will
Be felt from this 2022
Season.
 

Riverumbbq

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I'd move Higbee, Van Jefferson & Brian Allen before any of those previously mentioned. If the Rams are 'all in' for 2023, guys like Donald, Stafford, Kupp, Wagner & Ramsey will remain safe, ... carrying over their dead money alone makes me reluctant to even consider their losses, although moving them in 2024 becomes a very different discussion.
 

Mojo Ram

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As usual Merlin, you and I are on the same page.

One note I would add regarding Ramsey, AD and the defense. The Rams cannot lose both in one offseason and expect to contend…so my plan would be to get AD figured out asap(committed) and when he returns I’d absolutely move Ramsey out of here to free up some cap flex. Leadership goes to Wags and AD. Ramsey is no leader. I’d prefer that scenario.

A scenario where AD retires or is traded(a mistake IMO) means Ramsey probably needs to stay so we aren’t awful and we continue to manufacture a pass rush using JAGS. Not ideal.

If both get moved, whatever we do on offense won’t matter much in ‘23 because the D will be shit. Wagner will have 900 tackles and retire.

If fans want picks for their mocks, trade Ramsey not AD. Those same fans will throw shade at AD or the organization later for not playing his entire career here, going(wherever) and not retiring a Ram.
 

ArkyRamsFan

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Merlin,
I'm going out on a limb here and say that the word for today is "shitty."
How'd I do?

~ArkyRamsFan~
 

Merlin

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Higs isn't an issue in pay vs performance. He is inconsistent but not overpaid so I am fine adding to that room vice creating a hole that would be difficult to fill.

Jefferson should have trade value but we may need a cheap depth option and moving him we lose speed. Which as it stands we need more of not less.
 

So Ram

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And that's with only 43 players signed. Add in 10 more and the practice squad to that :D

Looking at that list at first glance there's not a lot of cap relief outside of restructures and trades either.

Once again & the garbage of not building The Offensive line through the draft.

BRIAN ALLEN should have never been resigned. The example of passing on Creed Humphries or 2 other Centers in 2021. Even a RG like Bruss a season earlier for depth & the future would have been nice.
 

Elmgrovegnome

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I only move on from current weaknesses like Brian Allen, Taylor Rapp, David Long, etc..

Trading Ramsey is a net loss. They might as well trade all major assets if they move Ramsey because without him the secondary would be trash.

I think they try to make another run and that means not trading any key pieces. Maybe they let Gaines move on because they won’t be able to afford what he gets offered.

The defense is very good. Allen Robinson needs an off-season with a healthy Stafford to get on the same page. Akers will be healthy in the summer. So it will get McVay excited.

McVay will look at this team as still having a shot as it stands. So aside from Oline picks and a new backup QB, I don’t think they make many moves.

If they figure a way to sign Mayfield as a backup then a big move will have to happen to clear space. I doubt that happens.
 

dieterbrock

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3. Ramsey. I will say first off that Ramsey does some good things. He is a good starter still, just not the eraser he used to be. The problem is he is being paid as an eraser. So I think one of two things will happen this offseason. Either he will restructure to more closely equate his pay to what he is, or he will be traded. He has lost quickness without a doubt in my mind. He is only 28 still as well. So now is a really smart time to trade him. We can get out before the floor drops out from under him so to speak. Expectation is Rams put him on the market quickly if he balks at the restructure. If it was me he would be a 100% trade block option.
Not sure what a re-structure is going to do, they already will have 32 mil in dead cap to deal with, but in a year the dead cap drops to 11 mill. Much more manageable to trade or release him in 2024
 

Allen2McVay

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Not sure what a re-structure is going to do, they already will have 32 mil in dead cap to deal with, but in a year the dead cap drops to 11 mill. Much more manageable to trade or release him in 2024
Agree.

Re-structures rarely reduce a player's compensation, they just reduce the short-term cap hit to the team. However, that just pushes a higher cap-hit to the team into subsequent years. Floyd's 2023 cap-hit ($22M) is high in large-part due to his re-structure prior to 2022 that reduced this year's cap-hit to $8M.