Will Rams' go-for-broke Super Bowl formula leave them bankrupt? Long-term challenges await | Opinion
The Rams have made a concerted effort to win the Super Bowl with their current group, but they might have mortgaged their future in the process.
sports.yahoo.com
Mike Jones, USA TODAY Sun, February 13, 2022
Ever since the completion of their first season in Los Angeles in 2016, the Rams have ranked among the most aggressive teams in the league when it comes to roster construction and the fight to win over the fanbase of a city that they share with the
Chargers.
Common practice has involved the dealing of premium draft picks in exchange for high-profile veterans to ensure that the team remains competitive.
But the last year has seen the Rams take on as serious a go-for-broke approach as ever. Blockbuster trades and aggressive free agent moves brought marquee players in
Matthew Stafford,
Von Miller and
Odell Beckham Jr. into the mix. Those acquisitions as well as the all-in moves of previous seasons have placed the Rams
at the doorstep of Super Bowl glory.
But as the franchise learned just three years ago, simply reaching the Super Bowl isn’t enough. Without a victory Sunday over the
Cincinnati Bengals, all of those splashy moves will have gone for naught.
The approach of the last five years has indeed represented a huge gamble, however. Win or lose, the organization could face significant challenges to remain in that upper echelon of NFL teams.
taying on top proves challenging for most teams, but that’s especially the case for a team like the Rams, who this offseason will have limited resources in terms of salary-cap room and draft picks.
A Super Bowl victory certainly would make the arduous road ahead more tolerable. But feelings of euphoria always prove short-lived in this ultra-competitive, pressure-packed league. And before they know it, Rams brass will have to turn attention to retooling and reloading for the next campaign.
If the Rams win, they still will find themselves both cash-strapped and short on high draft picks. All but $13 million of the 2022 salary cap already is accounted for, and that means L.A. officials could struggle to re-sign their 14 impending unrestricted free agents -- players such as Miller, Beckham, cornerback
Darious Williams and running back
Sony Michel, among others.
But winning cures many ills. As the
Tampa Bay Buccaneers and their players proved last offseason, the chance to defend a Super Bowl title sparks goodwill in that many veterans would settle for less to have a shot pulling off a rare feat.
Even so, the Rams front office will need support and a good deal of creativity to massage the books.
“It’s really a matter of how much cash does
(owner) Stan Kroenke want to keep spending each year,” a rival front office executive explained, speaking to USA TODAY Sports on condition of anonymity because he didn’t want to publicly weigh in on the affairs of another team.
“Cap space is a credit card,” he added, meaning that teams can find ways to borrow against future years to provide relief for immediate needs.
If the owner does give the green light, general manager Les Snead said in a recent interview with the Associated Press that he plans to remain just as aggressive and creative as ever going forward.
“We will always utilize whatever manner that’s available to acquire players to help us continue to be contenders,” Snead said. “We’ll try to use our picks in an innovative way, maybe a creative way.”
However, replenishing depth through the draft will prove challenging because, thanks to the Stafford and Miller trades, the Rams are without their first, second and third-round picks this offseason. They do have a compensatory third-round pick because former front-office executive Brad Holmes departed for the
Detroit Lions' general manager post. But after that, the Rams currently do not project to draft again until the fifth round.
This is where strong evaluations of the undrafted free agent class will carry high importance.
And the Rams will have to pray for good health in 2022, because if they lose key veterans to injury, quality replacement options will likely prove scarce.
Potential retirements -- whether expected or unexpected -- also could alter the Rams’ outlook.
Left tackle Andrew Whitworth is 40 and has a potential out in his contract following this season. Finding a top-notch replacement with limited cash and draft capital, however, could prove challenging.
However, given their track record thus far, and because the Rams have key building blocks in place, another rival front office executive likes their outlook following a potential Super Bowl win.
“As long as they have a good quarterback and a few good players on defense, this will last,” a second opposing talent evaluator, speaking on condition of anonymity for competitive reasons, told USA TODAY Sports. “The QB is the key.”
However, a Super Bowl loss could trigger even more uncertainty regarding the Rams’ future.
Snead and McVay have been in alignment when it comes to the aggressive acquisitions. However, multiple league insiders wonder whether another Super Bowl failure could cause Kroenke’s patience to run thin with Snead and thus lead to shifts in the current leadership structure. Such changes could prompt a number of those pending free agents to seek a new team with deeper pockets.
The Rams are obviously hoping that the latter scenario never comes into play and that a victory on Sunday helps things work out in their favor.
However, win or lose, challenges do await. Having endured a soft rebuild during a setback season following the Super Bowl 53 defeat, McVay knows that windows of opportunity close quickly in the NFL.
That understanding makes this return to the Super Bowl that much more special, the coach said.
“The expectations are you’re going to be right back there. I can remember how many people said, ‘Oh, you guys will be right back.’” he recalled this week. “But I’ve grown up in this business long enough to know that it’s really not just that seamless. … So the next year, we go 9-7 and miss the playoffs, and that was a really humbling and hard year, but it was a great year for growth and appreciation for how hard it really is to do the things our players and coaches had really done in those previous years. We hit the reset button and then the COVID year was such a different thing, but we were able to get into the playoffs, win a playoff game then lose a tough one to the Packers.
"And this year, there were a lot of highs and there’s been a couple lows that you appreciate as much as anything because of the ways our players navigated through a really tough month of November when we had some tough stretches, but guys delivered in a big way in December and January and ended up winning the division, and here we are on the verge of competing for a Super Bowl.
“All those things have been learning opportunities,” McVay continued. “It’s been a really great experience and I’ve loved every second of it and have really enjoyed being in the moment, and I’ve loved this team and have appreciated it more than any group that I’ve ever been a part of.”
Thus far, the Rams’ all-in approach has afforded them multiple shots at contention. But will it translate into that ultimate prize, and sustainable success?They’ll soon find out.
Snead sure changed my way of thinking & I am glad he is the Rams GM.