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Most Los Angeles Rams fans are already aware of the lack of cap space the Rams will have to work with as they enter the 2020 NFL Offseason (roughly $25m per Over The Cap), which is why it should come as no surprise that Head Coach Sean McVay recently stated it simply isn’t a realistic endeavor to pay every player that’s slated to head into the free agent market.
In the article above, McVay explicitly said:
You’d love to see everyone get paid, you’d love to be able to keep everybody
Unfortunately, that’s not real and that’s not realistic
You’d always love to be able to retain your own guys. As you’re continuing to kind of navigate through what’s the best way to shape out our roster, given the financials and all those types of things, those are things that you work through.
Frustrating, but something that you have to deal with, and everybody has to deal with that.
It’s important to note that the Rams are scheduled to lose multiple key players, most notably defenders EDGE Dante Fowler Jr., ILB Cory Littleton, and DT Michael Brockers, as well as LT Andrew Whitworth.... and more. Here’s the never-ending list of guys slated to reach free agency in March:
2020 LA Rams Free Agents
Player | POS | Type | Outcome |
---|---|---|---|
Player | POS | Type | Outcome |
Malcolm Brown | RB | UFA | Re-signed, 2-yr $3.25m |
Blake Countess | DB | UFA | Waived |
Jared Goff | QB | UFA | Optioned |
Tyler Higbee | TE | UFA | Re-signed, 4 yr $31m |
Troy Hill | CB | UFA | Re-signed, 2-yr $8.25m |
Marcus Peters | CB | UFA | Traded |
Aqib Talib | CB | UFA | Traded |
Austin Blythe | OL | UFA | |
Blake Bortles | QB | UFA | |
Michael Brockers | DL | UFA | |
Marqui Christian | DB | UFA | |
Dante Fowler, Jr. | EDGE | UFA | |
Bryce Hager | ILB | UFA | |
Cory Littleton | LB | UFA | |
Mike Thomas | WR | UFA | |
Andrew Whitworth | LT | UFA | |
Greg Zuerlein | K | UFA | |
Morgan Fox | DE | RFA | |
Jojo Natson | KR/PR | RFA | |
Adonis Alexander | CB | ERFA | |
Josh Carraway | OLB | ERFA | |
Kendall Blanton | TE | ERFA | |
Chandler Brewer | OL | ERFA | |
Josh Carraway | LB | ERFA | |
Marquise Copeland | DL | ERFA | |
Donte Deayon | CB | ERFA | |
Greg Dortch | WR | ERFA | |
Landis Durham | LB | ERFA | |
Dominique Hatfield | CB | ERFA | |
Jeff Holland | OLB | ERFA | |
Jeremiah Kolone | OL | ERFA | |
Johnny Mundt | TE | ERFA | |
Jachai Polite | EDGE | ERFA | |
Coleman Shelton | OL | ERFA | |
Nate Trewyn | OL | ERFA | |
Nsimba Webster | WR | ERFA | |
Ethan Wolf | TE | ERFA | |
John Wolford | QB | ERFA |
As you can see, the Rams have quite a laundry list of guys to take care of and a minimal amount of cap space to work with, meaning some guys are certain to be playing in different uniforms in 2020.
These quotes from McVay come right after both Fowler and Littleton stated they “understand it’s a business, but would love to be back” with the Rams:
Rams edge rusher Dante Fowler came up big after signing a one-year deal. What’s next? “I would love to stay here and see if something worked out. I know they have their hands full, so we’ll just see how it works out.” https://t.co/HoR1730veR
— Gary Klein (@LATimesklein) December 24, 2019
Sunday's game could also be the last as a Ram for LB Cory Littleton, who is a pending free agent and is expected to earn a lucrative deal. "I’ve spent four years here. I love being here," Littleton said. "If it’s possible that would be nice [to stay]. If it’s not, I understand."
— Lindsey Thiry (@LindseyThiry) December 28, 2019
Buckle up folks, it’s going to be a long and interesting offseason.