How stable are the Rams right now?

[CGI_Ram]

I guess what I am asking… the Rams seemed like a model franchise through 2021. Then along came 2022… and things got wobbly.

The first nose wrinkler was the Akers situation. That whole situation was weird.

As we reached the off-season… we had another round of McVay retirement drama and the almost cryptic messaging as that unfolded. Was he burned out? Or, what was going on? Do we really know?

Now a piece by Jourdan Rodrigue suggests the Rams were skeptical of success in 2022, from the get go, and how Morris was acting as glue to the team struggles.

Lastly… yesterday’s surprise Bobby Wagner release. This might have been all cap related, but the comment “he wants to be on a winner” sort of jumps off the page.

Is there drama behind the scenes we should be concerned about?

 

[AvengerRam]

I guess what I am asking… the Rams seemed like a model franchise through 2021. Then along came 2022… and things got wobbly.

The first nose wrinkler was the Akers situation. That whole situation was weird.

As we reached the off-season… we had another round of McVay retirement drama and the almost cryptic messaging as that unfolded. Was he burned out? Or, what was going on? Do we really know?

Now a piece by Jourdan Rodrigue suggests the Rams were skeptical of success in 2022, from the get go, and how Morris was acting as glue to the team struggles.

Lastly… yesterday’s surprise Bobby Wagner release. This might have been all cap related, but the comment “he wants to be on a winner” sort of jumps off the page.

Is there drama behind the scenes we should be concerned about?

The comment about wanting to be on a winner was Schefter’s spin. I’ve seen no source that stated, or even suggested, that Wagner said anything along those lines.

 

[ottoman89]

I'm a lot less confident and high on the organization than I was 2-3 years ago. Some bad decisions with contracts and drafting, the Akers situation looked a fool, and Wagner "mutually parting ways".

Not to mention I've been worried and the worry is coming to light that Brad Holmes was the brains of the FO. Lions are really building something and we're being torn down slowly but painfully it seems right now.

 

[Ram_Rally]

The situation is weird to say the least. Unless he's going to the chiefs, Bengals, or bills, I don't see what guaranteed contender he's eyeing.

Whatever the Rams are doing though, we've seen them do it before. They basically tore down a lot of that 2018 Superbowl team and were right back in the thick of things by 2020. They seem to know how to move thorough the chaos.

 

[kurtfaulk]

 

[oldnotdead]

Yawn.....have you guys tracked the Ram's cap manipulation each year? Every year starts out like this one. Why the panic and firesale mentality? I still believe, and perhaps I'm wrong, but there is a tradeoff coming.. They signed Wagner to a huge contract last year, and will carry dead cap from it this year. Why? Because the situation player wise has changed. IMO they intend to make a move and need to clear cap space. I think it's because of Mayfield but it also could be for an edge.

Let's see how FA signings go in a few days. To do it now allows Wagner to shop himself. It could also mean they are finalizing a player on the roster who they don't want to hit free agency so they are extending his contract. They could also be pre-negotiating with a FA player to grab him up immediately.

IMO they are clearing cap for a specific reason. Something they had not expected when they signed Wagner to that contract last year.

 

[PhillyRam]

Get ready for a wild offseason

 

[Psycho_X]

Nobody remember the disaster 2019 was? Imagine how that season would have looked if we had even the slightest amount of injuries we had last year? A lot of doom and gloom about the Rams were said after trading Goff/Cooks and cutting Gurley and their huge dead cap hits. The Rams sold their future when they traded for player X (place who you want there). Yada yada yada. I'll wait to see what happens before I panic.

 

[bubbaramfan]

Rams have another season stinker like the last one, Donald will retire, McVay will head to the booth and Ramsey will be traded.

 

[thirteen28]

There is definitely a lot of change going on right now, but I still have faith in the organization. We all knew turbulence was possibly ahead the way they went all in for a trophy, but they did succeed in getting one, and that gives them a lot of leeway with me.

I look at it like this: would you rather have gotten the trophy (in our house!) and have lots of turbulence now, or not gotten the trophy but have less turbulence now?

Easy call for me.

 

[den-the-coach]

Rams have another season stinker like the last one, Donald will retire, McVay will head to the booth and Ramsey will be traded.

This^

 

[den-the-coach]

Not to mention I've been worried and the worry is coming to light that Brad Holmes was the brains of the FO. Lions are really building something and we're being torn down slowly but painfully it seems right now.

Have to relax on the Brad Holmes front as Snead is the one that empowered Holmes. Les built that front office from the ground up, I have not lost confidence in Snead, but the Rams need a huge draft and if he doesn't hit on many I might start to agree with you.

 

[Faceplant]

I mean, if they were a stock, they would be a sell, haha. I have to have faith in the FO and coaches to unfuck themselves at this point. I know AD doesn't want to go out on a shitty team, so we all know he will be bringing it as always. McVay and his offense are the real wildcard here. His offense has been kept in check (by good teams) for the most part since the end of 2018. Last year felt like watching the Bore Us Rams of 2016 (I know, I know, injuries).

Stafford is going to have to trust and throw to someone NOT named Cooper Kupp also.

 

[sjm1582002]

Rams have another season stinker like the last one, Donald will retire, McVay will head to the booth and Ramsey will be traded.

Add Stafford to the mix if the Oline can't open up some running room or protect him and he gets all smashed up.

 

[Allen2McVay]

Took a quick look at Over-the-Cap.

According to the site, right now, almost half the teams (15) in the NFL are over-the-cap; and half of them were playoff teams. Of the teams currently in good-shape ($20M or more under the cap) there are only three playoff teams ... Bengals, Giants and Ravens ... and they have Quarterbacks to sign.

Point being that there will be some quality veterans cut for cap savings. Some will be very marketable but others will have to take less to continue their careers. THOSE veterans will probably NOT sign early in free agency because they will wait and hope for better deals.

I think this Rams' off-season will be a process ... some early (and painful) roster deletions (releases and free agency losses), maybe a couple early quality additions ... Maybe ... a Draft Class (with perhaps just two reasonably high picks) and, finally, some post-draft, late roster additions.

 

[BonifayRam]

As about the same as the people posting on my grandaughter's "tock- tic" or "chat- snap" or "book-face' apps!

 

[OldSchool]

We shall see. Last year was an anomoly IMO. The high expectations coming off the Super Bowl made it seem all the worse. The cap is what it is, I'd love for us to be less of a dead cap accepting team but that's what they do and it's the trend in the NFL with good teams it seems. We upgrade a couple spots and reinforce a bit of depth I think health makes us competitive again and people will look back at 2022 and laugh.

 

[ottoman89]

Have to relax on the Brad Holmes front as Snead is the one that empowered Holmes. Les built that front office from the ground up, I have not lost confidence in Snead, but the Rams need a huge draft and if he doesn't hit on many I might start to agree with you.

I know he empowered him, but since he left it seems like the drafting has been poor, and the personell decisions have too is all I'm getting at.

 

[snackdaddy]

How stable right now? Depends on your outlook. I'm thinking there is some truth to the "The debt is now due" stuff. The 5-12 season was not because they mortgaged the future for a championship. They had pieces in place for another run. The injury bug hit and they weren't prepared for it.

Now it appears the "Eff them picks" is starting to catch up to them. No first round pick. Not much cap space if any. Holes to fill. When people predict them to finish with a losing season its understandable. We only won 5 games and its not looking like we rebuilt the line. We're losing guys to free agency who were contributors. On the surface it looks like a rebuild is needed if they want to return to their winning ways in the future.

But its the NFL. Everyone is 0-0 right now. Teams turn things around quickly these days. The two most important spots we are good with. Quarterback and head coach. Build around that and who knows?

 

[den-the-coach]

I know he empowered him, but since he left it seems like the drafting has been poor, and the personell decisions have too is all I'm getting at.

IDK, he's only been gone for a couple of years and he was replaced by James Gladstone who everyone had accolades for, so again, I like Holmes, but I need to see it play out more before I feel that Holmes was the straw that stirred the drink.