Random Ramsdom: ESPN believes the Rams had the 2nd-worst offseason in the NFL

ESPN ranks Rams’ offseason as 2nd-worst in the NFL (RamsWire)

“The Los Angeles Rams have undergone a bevy of changes this offseason as they’ll deploy a new-look roster entering the 2023 season. While there is still time for the team to make more moves, ESPN’s Bill Barnwell ranked the Rams’ current offseason as the second-worst in the NFL.

The only team that Barnwell believes had a worse offseason than the Rams thus far is the Tennessee Titans.”

Stetson Bennett Raves About Rams QB Matthew Stafford’s Mentorship (SportsIllustrated)

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“There is no question who the starting quarterback will be for the Los Angeles Rams this season, with Matthew Stafford fully healthy and looking great so far in training camp.

Not only is Stafford fully healthy physically, but he has been helping mentor rookie Stetson Bennett. Bennett, who the Rams drafted in the fourth round, opened up about how the veteran quarterback has made his transition to the NFL go a lot smoother.

“He remembers what it was like whenever he was me, a younger guy not really having a full concept of it,” Bennett said. “And so he dumbs it down for me and just says, ‘look here, look there, blah, blah, blah.”

“So that’s where listening to him and how he applies the simple stuff to the complex stuff (helps).”

The LA Rams have an uphill battle to land the top pick of the 2024 NFL Draft (RamblinFan)

“When the LA Rams ended the 2022 NFL season, the Rams 5-12 record stared back at the team, almost in defiance of the team that had opened the season with the mantra of “Run it back.” Instead, the LA Rams would flip their number of 2021 wins to 2022 losses, and 2021 lossed to 2022 wins. That would force the LA Rams to stop, look, and listen to what was happening with the team

What became of that self-introspection was a decision by the team to reset the Rams roster. Essentially, the Rams would swallow the financial poison pill of signing so many elite and highly regarded players, take hits to the 2023 NFL salary cap, and have an unfettered 2024 NFL salary cap to start anew.

That sounds logical, in theory. But in practical application, it meant the outright release of OLB Leonard Floyd and ILB Bobby Wagner, and trading away DB Jalen Ramsey and WR Allen Robinson for pennies on the dollar. While the overall philosophy was shared repeatedly with fans, the fact that the Rams roster shrank in free agency while the rosters of other NFL teams grew rapidly.”

Rams News: PFF Shows Respect to Matthew Stafford on QB Countdown (SportsIllustrated)

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“There will be many 2023 countdowns where Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford falls out of the top 20 after an injury-riddled second season with the team.

But while Pro Football Focus is often polarizing, they still ranked Stafford at No. 12 heading into 2023:

“Is Stafford physically able to be the player he once was? Last season was a nightmare for the Rams from start to finish, and Stafford wasn’t far different on an individual level. He went from throwing 50 touchdowns including the playoffs the season before to just 10 across nine games before being shut down for the year. The Rams and Stafford are likely on the far side of their Super Bowl window, but how much he has left in the tank is a big unknown.”

Rams to participate in NFL’s Diversity in Sports Medicine Pipeline Initiative (TheRams.com)

“For the second consecutive year, the Los Angeles Rams are teaming up with the NFL Physicians Society (NFLPS) and the Professional Football Athletic Trainers Society (PFATS) to provide a medical student with the opportunity to complete a clinical rotation with the team’s medical staff. Now in its second year, the initiative aims to increase and diversify the pipeline of students interested in pursuing careers in sports medicine to help make a positive impact in the medical field and, over time, help to diversify NFL club medical staff.

As part of the program, medical students interested in primary care sports medicine and orthopedic surgery have been selected to complete one-month clinical rotations with NFL clubs, presenting a unique opportunity to learn from and work directly with club medical staff as they deliver world-class care to players across the league. Last year’s inaugural class was comprised of 14 students from the four Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) medical schools who completed rotations across eight NFL clubs. The 2023 program has expanded to match diverse students from 19 medical schools with NFL clubs across the league.

This season, the Rams will provide Nonye Ikeanyi from Charles R. Drew University with a one-month clinical rotation working with the team’s Vice President of Sports Medicine and Performance Reggie Scott and his staff.”