NEWSLETTER
The NFL offseason is upon us, and teams will begin working to craft their 2023 rosters in the coming months. In this series of offseason previews, we will look at what each team has to work with and their biggest needs. Today we continue with the Los Angeles Rams offseason preview.
As a reminder, here are dates to keep in mind for the 2023 NFL offseason:
You can find previous team’s offseason previews here: Bears | Bengals | Browns | Lions | Packers | Steelers | Vikings | Ravens | 49ers | Broncos |
2022 Summary
On September 8, the Los Angeles Rams raised their Super Bowl champions banner at SoFi Stadium.
“I think it’s great to unveil the banner,” coach Sean McVay told reporters leading up to the Rams’ opening night game against the Bills. “We’ve moved on. I think I’ll always have great reverence for that team, but this is about 2022, being ready to roll.”
Spoiler: they weren’t ready to roll. Buffalo came into SoFi Stadium and rolled the Rams 31-10. That was the start of a disastrous season and the first of 12 losses in 2022. Los Angeles finished 5-12, one game better than the last place Cardinals in the NFC West.
Injuries were a factor, indeed. Los Angeles finished the season without Matthew Stafford and Cooper Kupp. Still, this team wasn’t competitive much of the time when they were healthy.
Now, the Rams must figure out where it all went wrong this offseason.
Key Positional Needs
Here’s where the Rams need to find help this offseason:
Key Free Agents
Here’s a look at the Rams upcoming key free agents:
Salary Cap & Draft Capital
Here’s a look at the salary cap room and draft capital that the Rams have to work with this offseason:
Offseason Outlook
Los Angeles’ roster was always built to win now. Rams GM Les Snead traded first-round picks like he was giving away Halloween candy. But instead of being the coolest house on the block for years, the Rams were the best house on the block for one year.
Say what you will; Snead’s gambles paid off in a Lombardi Trophy last February. But now the Rams have an aging roster, no first-round pick, and are $9.3 million in the hole. That, even after parting ways with Bobby Wagner, who totaled 140 tackles and six sacks for Los Angeles last season.
The Rams robbed Peter to pay Paul, which worked for the time being. Now Snead has to retool this team on the fly with limited resources this offseason. It should be interesting.
If you’re looking for more offseason reading, Sam Hoppen at 4for4 (our sister company) is previewing each division:
