LA Rams must stop the dead cap death toll on their roster

[Malibu]

The article has some points that I agree totally with, but it is sometimes with dead money it is some circumstances are out of a teams control. For example Wentz, Watson, and possibly Wilson this off-season.

One poster comment how horrible Gurley's contract was and yes we could have waited another year to resign him, but as the luck of the Irish goes he became arthritic in his knee. Cooks was concussions - we could have kept him but they weighed the risk and felt gettibg something for him now before he is not valuable was more beneficial than the dead cap hit, otherwise we could end up stuck with a big contract and a damaged player. I probably would have kept him personally. Gurley I would have let go.

Goff was signed too early we didn't need to sign him as soon as we did. This was a reay bad management mistake pure and simple. He was not technically McVays guy he was drafted by Fisher. McVay had 4 years with him he should have known prior to this season what he thought of Goff - I totally blame McVay and partially Snead on this one. I have written about this before. Also management decided the OL was fine and it wasn't and they knew what Goff's strengths and weaknesses were. He is a true pocket passer he needs a good OL to be successful. We didn't have one. A true failure on Snead/McVays part thus contributing to the huge dead cap, but we supposedly got an upgrade.

So in conclusion some of the dead cap $ can be attributed to bad luck Gurley/Cooks. Some of the dead cap to too early resignings Goff and somewhat Gurley even though when we resigned Gurley he was killing it.

 

[RamFan503]

PIeople point to our record and saying it’s justified. Especially compared to pre McVay times. Yes that’s somewhat valid and correct. Better this than before and it’s all manageable while still being very competitive. BUT imagine how much better the past few seasons and next ones would be if we also had some extra funds to spend. Not losing saffold/Floyd/jj/etc, getting a true center, getting a decent MiLB, etc.

That might be the difference of being a playoff team with shot at SB....and a SB winner.

Hind sight is always 20/20 and there will always be fans that disagreed with moves made later to be "proven" right. But the common vein is that the positive decisions and moves will be left out of these discussions yet in reality, those are the decisions and moves that count most toward winning football.

We all hope lessons are learned that improve our ability to pay for FAs, keep our own, still have 1st round picks, etc... But the reality is that it's all about the scoreboard. We MAY have made it to a SB with more cap space. We MAY have even won it. With a different method and process, we MAY have taken on a culture that said we didn't do everything at the time to win now. We MAY have built a culture that said to FAs we aren't that into winning and being in the hunt every year.

Time will tell, but I like the urgency to win now and want them to go after it every year rather than hope that a rebuild and tons of cap space gives us a shot every five or ten years.

 

[Boston Ram]

I remember being a tad uncomfortable when we extended Kupp, Woods, and Ramsey.... bang, bang, bang.

Ramsey Sept-09, Kupp Sept-12, Woods Sept-18.... just days apart

You don’t see teams do that often.

At the time it felt like grocery shopping on an empty stomach. It all sounded good... and it was cool to see them signed... but it felt like... “how did we just do all of that”?

My fear with Kupp, after a few knee injuries... and watching him peel himself off the turf at times... I wonder if he’s the same player by the time he hits 30?

I love Kupp, but if I’m looking for value to trade.... I’d move Kupp.

2,100yds the last two seasons is a very productive player of value. And... we need to tweak the team with limited resources. This might be a place to consider resource trading.

Just my opinion.

Im a huge Kupp fan too! Love the player but like Woods a little more. I would of bet on Wood (which they did) and replaced Kupp.

 

[Boston Ram]

I truly don't remember but how was the Rams cap managed from 2006-2016? Were we always up against it or did we have room to sign free agents every year? Since 2017, we've either been up against the cap, strapped without first round draft picks or eating dead money. Lately, all of the above. Yet we've had as much success as any team other than the Patriots and Chiefs. Maybe the Eagles if we just count Superbowls but we haven't had a year near their 4-11-1 2020 season. And they took a bigger dead money hit than we did AFTER going 4-11-1.

I get that the cap is important but what's more important regardless of how much cap space or draft picks you have, is what you do with what you have. So I have to assume we've done more with less over the last 4 years than anybody. Sure it may come back to bite us in the arse but it hasn't yet. In another 3 years we'll have another 1st round pick to use (maybe), some more cap space (hopefully) and who knows what in the trophy case!!

43-21, 3-3 in the postseason with a Superbowl appearance. Amazing. So maybe this is the year we go 6-10?

Im not disputing the results! They are great. Disputing how long they can sustain it. Back to my original point. If the cap was managed better, we might still have Littleton, we might have depth on the oline. Shoot we might of had Saffold for another year or two. There are ramifications. Think about how great they have done drafting....imagine sprinkling a 1st rounder in there too lol.

The Rams have done amazing things with this roster and continue to do so, but cap management is not one of them and frankly could be the difference in them making another SB or not in the next 5 years. We were 1 or 2 players away this year. Dead money equals loss of 1 or 2 players.

 

[PARAM]

Im not disputing the results! They are great. Disputing how long they can sustain it. Back to my original point. If the cap was managed better, we might still have Littleton, we might have depth on the oline. Shoot we might of had Saffold for another year or two. There are ramifications. Think about how great they have done drafting....imagine sprinkling a 1st rounder in there too lol.

The Rams have done amazing things with this roster and continue to do so, but cap management is not one of them and frankly could be the difference in them making another SB or not in the next 5 years. We were 1 or 2 players away this year. Dead money equals loss of 1 or 2 players.

Your points are valid. No doubt. But I don't know if we were 1 or 2 players away this year. We might have been good enough as it stood but we just had a bad game against Green Bay, defensively. Would we have beaten Tampa? We did it once already.

We can deconstruct the cap management the last couple of years and show how we could have afforded Saffold and then Littleton. I believe not extending Gurley would have afforded us Saffold and not extending Goff, Littleton. And when his knee went south, we could have cut him with little penalty. After Goff had a crappy 2019*, he wouldn't have earned an extension so we could have let him walk after his crappy 2020*. (*Assuming he was the cause of our problems those 2 years....or was it not having Saffold and Littleton?). We still would have had a decision to make on his 5th year option before 2019 and I don't remember what that would have cost us. I'm sure Gurley's knee would have gone South whether we extended him or not (still, who could have known at the time?) but what if we had kept Saffold & Littleton and Goff had a better 2019 & 2020? Where would we have been then? Who would we have had to cut lose to pay his contract that would have been negotiated after 4 good years or the cap-unfriendly franchise tag?

It's a double edged sword. We get the benefit of hindsight but NFL front offices have to project and predict. In today's NFL, when you spend 2 first round picks to move up and grab the QB of your dreams, then after a bad 1/2 rookie year with a high school offense (clearly predictable) and two pretty damn good years with McVay's offense, do we not pick up his 5th year? Or do we do what we did and project what he would cost after 2 more good years and choose to sign him to a deal less than that? It's not easy which is why they get paid the big bucks and we pay for internet and discuss how they screwed up.

So you do what you think is best for the team and live with your decisions. Woulda, coulda, shoulda.

 

[Boston Ram]

Your points are valid. No doubt. But I don't know if we were 1 or 2 players away this year. We might have been good enough as it stood but we just had a bad game against Green Bay, defensively. Would we have beaten Tampa? We did it once already.

We can deconstruct the cap management the last couple of years and show how we could have afforded Saffold and then Littleton. I believe not extending Gurley would have afforded us Saffold and not extending Goff, Littleton. And when his knee went south, we could have cut him with little penalty. After Goff had a crappy 2019*, he wouldn't have earned an extension so we could have let him walk after his crappy 2020*. (*Assuming he was the cause of our problems those 2 years....or was it not having Saffold and Littleton?). We still would have had a decision to make on his 5th year option before 2019 and I don't remember what that would have cost us. I'm sure Gurley's knee would have gone South whether we extended him or not (still, who could have known at the time?) but what if we had kept Saffold & Littleton and Goff had a better 2019 & 2020? Where would we have been then? Who would we have had to cut lose to pay his contract that would have been negotiated after 4 good years or the cap-unfriendly franchise tag?

It's a double edged sword. We get the benefit of hindsight but NFL front offices have to project and predict. In today's NFL, when you spend 2 first round picks to move up and grab the QB of your dreams, then after a bad 1/2 rookie year with a high school offense (clearly predictable) and two pretty damn good years with McVay's offense, do we not pick up his 5th year? Or do we do what we did and project what he would cost after 2 more good years and choose to sign him to a deal less than that? It's not easy which is why they get paid the big bucks and we pay for internet and discuss how they screwed up.

So you do what you think is best for the team and live with your decisions. Woulda, coulda, shoulda.

You also make great points! But this is clear. Gurley deal was horrible. Nobody pays RBs never mind set the market on a contract. I said that day it was horrible. Cooks never taking a snap as a Ram getting a deal is also easy to poop on. Make him earn it.

Your right they get paid big bucks to project and they really need to do better. Some of us internet posters are pretty smart lol

 

[Mojo Ram]

They definitely need to do a better job with the cap. I’ve been mentioning this for a couple of years. It will catch up to us

Yeah but...when? This very argument has been stuffed down our throats for the last 5 years, yet the team remains very competitive and reinvents the cap every spring.

IMO the proof of irresponsible cap/team mgmt would have been if the Rams had to make a choice between retaining Goff or Donald for example. Or Kupp or Woods. Or Gurley or Goff...and thru all of that, having to put a bad product on the field after reaching say...a super bowl in order to reload.

Another thing that's weird is by talking to "sports people" you'd think the Rams would have no draft picks every year, yet every year we have multiple 2's 3's 4's etc etc and have the ammo to move all over the board and bring in solid talent.

Much ado about nothing. I can't stand this narrative. It's like scientists predicting the big one in Southern California once a year for the next 50 years until it finally happens.

 

[Boston Ram]

Yeah but...when? This very argument has been stuffed down our throats for the last 5 years, yet the team remains very competitive and reinvents the cap every spring.

IMO the proof of irresponsible cap/team mgmt would have been if the Rams had to make a choice between retaining Goff or Donald for example. Or Kupp or Woods. Or Gurley or Goff...and thru all of that, having to put a bad product on the field after reaching say...a super bowl in order to reload.

Another thing that's weird is by talking to "sports people" you'd think the Rams would have no draft picks every year, yet every year we have multiple 2's 3's 4's etc etc and have the ammo to move all over the board and bring in solid talent.

Much ado about nothing. I can't stand this narrative. It's like scientists predicting the big one in Southern California once a year for the next 50 years until it finally happens.

Well, since you took the quote out of context it must mean you didn’t read the entire post or any following ones.

As I mentioned, they have done a great job staying competitive and fielding a good roster. But we issues at LB and let Littleton walk for not huge money. We have oline issues and at the moment no way to fix either issue. Now yes, they may find a way around it and that will be great. I’m rooting for that too!

Based on your post you think they have done everything right. (I’m guessing). But the dead money in itself is proof they are not perfect. They were a team that made the playoffs, won a game and came up short in the final 8. Perhaps some depth at Dline for when Donald went down or a ILB or a center who could hold up could of been the difference between what we were and a SB appearance.

Yes, I agree they have done some great things, but disappoints me when we can’t fill a hole at LB or C or have to let a safety walk who QBs our defense because we have crazy dead money on our books which in fact effects how we build our roster....so yes they need to do better with the cap and I sincerely apologize if you hate that stuffed down your throat, because I really like you and like reading your posts.

 

[Mojo Ram]

Well, since you took the quote out of context it must mean you didn’t read the entire post or any following ones.

I took your words because i hear that narrative all the time and gave my opinion and ran with it. Would it have made any difference to you personally if i had NOT quoted you and posted the same thing?

 

[Mojo Ram]

As I mentioned, they have done a great job staying competitive and fielding a good roster. But we issues at LB and let Littleton walk for not huge money. We have oline issues and at the moment no way to fix either issue. Now yes, they may find a way around it and that will be great. I’m rooting for that too!

Every single team in the league has issues somewhere and may or may not have the ability to fix them due to cap. Things is, the Rams are winning every year with roster issues...roster issues that so many other teams have too...yet they're not winning.

I guess that's where i don't understand this being a problem.

 

[Mojo Ram]

When the Rams bottom out in the standings or are unable to resign one of their top 3 players because of the cap i'll be the first guy to eat crow. I promise. I don't see it. They know what they're doing. Personally i think it's more revolutionary than it is reckless.

I do agree that the premature big deals were a mistake, yet somehow it hasn't affected team building or success in terms of wins or playoffs.

 

[Boston Ram]

Every single team in the league has issues somewhere and may or may not have the ability to fix them due to cap. Things is, the Rams are winning every year with roster issues...roster issues that so many other teams have too...yet they're not winning.

I guess that's where i don't understand this being a problem.

i think that is where our coach comes into play. A good coach can cover things as well as good players. My point is we don’t have to be in that position. I don’t give two poops about the other teams to be honest. I care about our Rams! I want them to be better than everyone else.

 

[Mojo Ram]

Based on your post you think they have done everything right. (I’m guessing)

I'm speaking in relative terms to all the other teams in the league aiming for the same goal. Yes i think the Rams are doing almost everything right.

Lets assume we have a generation stud MLB and a pro bowl cornerback like Ramsey and no Donald. The Rams in that scenario are likely plugging holes in the DLine every year and fans are wondering why can't we get better there? We can't resign everyone no matter how carefully the cap is managed.

There will always be holes. We could have better LB's if we didn't have a grade A secondary and Dline. If fans want to worry about the cap mgmt being a big problem that's fine. It's a discussion board, i get it. I reserve the right even as a moderator(lol) to jump in and vehemently disagree, call bullshit and ask folks to look at the evidence since 2017 that we're fine doing it the way it's being done.

Cheers dude. Love ya Boston. Post more.

 

[Mojo Ram]

i think that is where our coach comes into play. A good coach can cover things as well as good players. My point is we don’t have to be in that position. I don’t give two poops about the other teams to be honest. I care about our Rams! I want them to be better than everyone else.

Owner, HC and QB. Yeah it's huge. Can't establish that winning culture i mentioned earlier without these things.

 

[PARAM]

i think that is where our coach comes into play. A good coach can cover things as well as good players. My point is we don’t have to be in that position. I don’t give two poops about the other teams to be honest. I care about our Rams! I want them to be better than everyone else.

That's what we're all concerned about. It's just that when we look at other teams....and their problems, it makes us feel a little better about our situation. That exercise is not going win us any games but it helps to see the Rams management aren't the only ones who screw up contracts and eat dead money.

Our own division for instance.

San Fran has 9.9 mil in dead money and they also are 12 mil under the cap. But take a look at their UFA's !!!! Wow!!! Their top 10 free agents were 51 million off their cap, so signing them back is IMPOSSIBLE. Trent Williams, Sherman, Solomon Thomas, Tartt, Juszczyk, Coleman, Bourne, Kawan Williams

Seattle has very little dead money 1.3 mil but if the Wilson problems are real, that's 39 mil pre-June trade, 13 mil post June....and Wilson no longer being there is worse!!

Arizona has 4.9 mil in dead money

And the Rams 34 but I don't fully understand that....Goff 22 mil, Gurley 8.4 mil and Leonard Floyd 3.3

But how about some other teams?
Philly has 40 mil in dead money and they're going to cut Jeffery (another 5.5 mil post June 1st).
Carolina has 22 mil in dead money and Detroit 20 mil. Houston has only 3.1 mil dead but they have the Watson problem (21.6 mil pre June 1st trade, 5.1 post June but like Seattle the most important factor isn't the money. It's NO WATSON.
Dallas has 9 mil but that could help in signing Dak (or Franchising him).
Kansas City just lost the Superbowl but they were there 2 years in a row. 4.9 mil in dead money but take a look at their top heavy roster. Their top 7 salaried cap hits total 135 mil. What are the chances they get back to the SB again? They've got some serious free agent problems. Not like SF though. However 1 injury to those top 7 and they're in trouble. They're already 25 mil over the cap.

Sure they're not the Rams and we shouldn't care but.....man a lot of teams are going to have to do some creative math in 2021. We just know so much more about the Rams issues so it seems dire. These guys haven't gone 43-21 with restrictions by accident. They'll field a good team.

 

[CGI_Ram]

San Fran has 9.9 mil in dead money and they also are 12 mil under the cap. But take a look at their UFA's !!!! Wow!!! Their top 10 free agents were 51 million off their cap, so signing them back is IMPOSSIBLE. Trent Williams, Sherman, Solomon Thomas, Tartt, Juszczyk, Coleman, Bourne, Kawan Williams

They have a BOAT LOAD of URFA. I count 28.

For comparison, we have 12.

2025 NFL Free Agents

Tracking the status and signings of all NFL free agents.

www.spotrac.com

 

[PARAM]

They have a BOAT LOAD of URFA. I count 28.

For comparison, we have 12.

2025 NFL Free Agents

Tracking the status and signings of all NFL free agents.

www.spotrac.com

Yeah, we are in nowhere near the trouble they are in, currently. And we get "worried" when Peter King or another talking head speculates SF trading for Cousins or Watson! Why? First it would cost them a shitload of picks and second, they wouldn't be able to surround either with enough talent to make them any better than where they are in Houston or Minneapolis!! So there are two scenarios for SF, both of which aren't threatening to the Rams. Garappolo is still their QB or Watson/Cousins is with even less talent surrounding them than Garappolo!! Either way AD is smiling ear to ear!! Maybe this is the year we sweep them?

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

People point to our record and saying it’s justified. Especially compared to pre McVay times. Yes that’s somewhat valid and correct. Better this than before and it’s all manageable while still being very competitive. BUT imagine how much better the past few seasons and next ones would be if we also had some extra funds to spend. Not losing saffold/Floyd/jj/etc, getting a true center, getting a decent MiLB, etc.

That might be the difference of being a playoff team with shot at SB....and a SB winner.

Imagine how much better it would have been if Gurley and Cooks were not injured?

Having Gurley would have lessened Goff’s troubles and Todd and Brandin would have allowed the offense to play better. Combine that with the defense this year and Super Bowl chances go way way up.

If Gurley and Cooks remained healthy and productive it would have removed the need to use two second round picks on Jefferson and Akers, allowing them to address other needs like Center and Inside linebacker.

Those injuries, Gurley’s knee and Cooks concussions had a big domino effect on the teams success.

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

I truly don't remember but how was the Rams cap managed from 2006-2016? Were we always up against it or did we have room to sign free agents every year? Since 2017, we've either been up against the cap, strapped without first round draft picks or eating dead money. Lately, all of the above. Yet we've had as much success as any team other than the Patriots and Chiefs. Maybe the Eagles if we just count Superbowls but we haven't had a year near their 4-11-1 2020 season. And they took a bigger dead money hit than we did AFTER going 4-11-1.

I get that the cap is important but what's more important regardless of how much cap space or draft picks you have, is what you do with what you have. So I have to assume we've done more with less over the last 4 years than anybody. Sure it may come back to bite us in the arse but it hasn't yet. In another 3 years we'll have another 1st round pick to use (maybe), some more cap space (hopefully) and who knows what in the trophy case!!

43-21, 3-3 in the postseason with a Superbowl appearance. Amazing. So maybe this is the year we go 6-10?

Being up against the cap is a management strategy. By leaving cap room a GM is not using the cap to its maximum potential. They should use every penny to put the best product on the field. I have no problem with it.

Putting themselves in a hole with bad contracts on the other hand sucks. I didn’t like the Gurley contract and had no trouble with Cooks’. But if both stayed healthy nobody would care by now. The bad one imo was Goff’s just because it wasn’t necessary at the time.

 

[CGI_Ram]

Yeah, we are in nowhere near the trouble they are in, currently. And we get "worried" when Peter King or another talking head speculates SF trading for Cousins or Watson! Why? First it would cost them a shitload of picks and second, they wouldn't be able to surround either with enough talent to make them any better than where they are in Houston or Minneapolis!! So there are two scenarios for SF, both of which aren't threatening to the Rams. Garappolo is still their QB or Watson/Cousins is with even less talent surrounding them than Garappolo!! Either way AD is smiling ear to ear!! Maybe this is the year we sweep them?

Good points.

Nice piece here on 49ers cap challenge;

49ers could have about $38 million in 2021 salary-cap space, but that number will quickly drop

Cornerback Richard Sherman doesn't expect to return to the San Francisco 49ers in 2021. He is one of 40 Niners playing on the final year of their deals....

www.49erswebzone.com

Cornerback Richard Sherman doesn't expect to return to the San Francisco 49ers in 2021. He is one of 40 Niners playing on the final year of their deals. Twenty-seven of those players will be unrestricted free agents.

"I know the salary-cap deal first hand, dealing with the [NFLPA], dealing with the league, and I know their salary-cap situation," Sherman recently explained. "... there's 40 free agents, and they'll probably have $30 million or less in cap (space). They've got to bring back Trent, who costs over $20 million. They have to pay Fred, who costs $18 million-plus a year. And anybody who knows the situation understands that."

David Lombardi of The Athletic wrote up an excellent breakdown of the 49ers' upcoming salary-cap situation. He examines how the team might wheel and deal to stay under a salary cap that is expected to drop from $198.2 million to what Lombardi estimates, for the purpose of his breakdown, might be around $185 million.

Where does this drop in available per-team spending leave the 49ers? They may find themselves with about $38 million in 2021 salary-cap space. That number comes from the $28.5 million they are estimated to have in 2021, plus about $6 million in carryover from unmet incentives due to injuries this season and about $3 million in 2020 cap carryover.

That comes out to $37.5 million, which Lombardi rounds to about $38 million in salary-cap space.

Below are the top five players when it comes to salary-cap hit. The list provides their estimated 2021 base salaries and estimated cap hits, according to Spotrac.

1. Jimmy Garoppolo, $24.1 million, $26.4 million
2. Dee Ford, $15.15 million, $20.79 million
3. Arik Armstead, $6.65 million, $12.5 million
4. Weston Richburg, $7.85 million, $11.4 million
5. Jimmie Ward, $8.4 million, $11 million

Right off the bat, Lombardi assumes two of the names above will not be with the 49ers in 2021. They are defensive end Dee Ford and center Weston Richburg. Releasing Ford would save $6.43 million, according to Spotrac's roster management tool. Parting ways with Richburg would save nearly $3 million. Going by another salary cap data site, Over the Cap, the offensive lineman's savings would be even higher. Either way, there is money to be saved there.

The most obvious name from the list above is quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo. However, while his deal was the richest ever at the time of its signing, his average salary of $27.5 million now ranks as the 12th highest among quarterbacks, so it's not an absurd amount if he figures into Kyle Shanahan's plans.

As has been reported over and over, the 49ers can part ways with Garoppolo without much of a salary-cap impact. However, the savings would likely be immediately eaten up should the team replace the quarterback with a big-name free agent.

A rookie quarterback would offer significant savings, but San Francisco's brain trust would need to make sure the team around him is good enough to overcome a rookie starter's growing pains. The 49ers might offset some of that by signing a bridge quarterback at a lesser cost than a bigger-name free agent.

Then, as Sherman pointed out, you have the necessary lucrative deals for Williams and Warner, which will quickly eat into any available money, and the 49ers must allot enough to sign their 2021 draft class.

It will be interesting to see how general manager John Lynch and EVP of football operations Paraag Marathe manage the upcoming offseason.