It’s too early to panic about state of Rams in 2023

Monday was a whirlwind news day for the Los Angeles Rams. We already knew they were “mutually parting ways” with LB Bobby Wagner and dangling CB Jalen Ramsey as trade bait, but news broke that the team is also planning to part ways with both OLB Leonard Floyd and WR Allen Robinson. Robinson has been granted permission by the Rams to seek a trade partner, but cutting him isn’t too realistic based on the cap structure of his contract. LA is hoping to trade Floyd but intend to release him if that route proves unsuccessful.

General manager Les Snead said earlier this offseason that the team was headed toward a “remodel” instead of a “rebuild”, but the early news with just over a week until free agency shows the Rams will undergo a significant amount of change. It’s too soon to know if LA will be competitive during 2023 or if the plan to get younger in certain areas of the roster will accelerate the team’s collapse.

But at Turf Show Times we know the fans understand the team better than anyone. You all watch the games with great intent and have a pulse on where the Rams are headed.

That’s why I found it so staggering—amidst the flurry of trade rumors and breaking news Monday—the fan base remained calm, cool, and collected. We asked if the Rams were trending in the right direction, and a resounding majority of you said it was too early to tell:

It’s difficult to watch the team lose veterans that played an important role in the Rams’ recent success, and it’s hard to imagine the team winning Super Bowl LVI without most of these players (save for Wagner). Ramsey was an instrumental part in helping LA transition from the Wade Phillips defense to the Vic Fangio, Brandon Staley scheme that has since been widely adopted across the NFL. The signing of Robinson last offseason was met with great optimism, and it’s tough to move on without knowing exactly why things didn’t work out.

But as the subtractions pile up, it’s important to understand that additions are also on the horizon.

We don’t know who the team is planning to bring in during the free agency period, if anyone, but we can at least look forward to the highest draft pick the Rams have made in some time. It’s also possible that trading away Ramsey nets LA their first pick in the first round since 2016.

It’s easy to get pulled into the daily news cycle and feel a sense of dread, and it’s equally as effortless to get excited or over-hyped about the good news. Keeping a level head and approaching the offseason with nuance is the more difficult path, and that seems to be the direction fans have chosen—at least for now.

Photo by Harry How/Getty Images