The inevitable final roster cuts are coming in the next 24 hours or so as teams will be forced to trim their rosters to 53 players. Over the next day, several trades are likely to be made. They won’t involve star players – other than maybe Jadeveon Clowney – but rather backups who might be cut.
Teams will often flip late-round picks for players who could be cut in order to secure them before they’re subjected to waivers.
The Rams probably won’t make any deals, but knowing Les Snead, nothing should ever be ruled out. Here are five players they could consider trading before final cuts are made.
RBs Malcolm Brown/John Kelly
It might seem illogical for the Rams to trade someone like Brown, but consider this for a moment. They already have a clear-cut starter in Todd Gurley and an explosive rookie in Darrell Henderson, who coaches have made clear will have a role this season. If Gurley plays 75 percent of the snaps, that leaves Henderson and Brown to split the other 25 percent. Regardless of how the share works out, that’s not a lot of playing time.
A team like the Texans, Vikings or Dolphins could use a quality backup like Brown, even if it only nets the Rams a late-round pick. The same goes for Kelly, who will probably make the 53-man roster but will almost certainly be inactive each and every week.
According to Over The Cap, trading Brown would save the Rams $2.075 million in 2019 and another $1.1 million in 2020.
The Rams love Brown and are high on Kelly, but flipping one for a draft pick or offensive line depth wouldn’t be a bad idea. They could easily get away with having Gurley, Henderson, Brown or Kelly, and Justin Davis on the final roster.
S Marqui Christian
Christian is a reliable defender who played well for the Rams last season. However, he only played 34 percent of the snaps, which is not exactly a significant amount. That number will be even lower in 2019 now that Taylor Rapp is in the picture. Keeping Christian and Rapp might be redundant, and we all know the rookie isn’t going anywhere.
Rapp outplayed Christian this preseason and can do everything Marqui can – from playing deep to lining up as a linebacker to covering tight ends. If the Rams can get a fifth-round pick for Christian, it wouldn’t be a terrible idea. It would open up a roster spot for preseason stud Steven Parker, or potentially another cornerback like Darious Williams or Dont’e Deayon.
CB Darious Williams
Speaking of Williams, it’ll be a close call for him making the 53-man roster. Right now, it seems like he’ll be among the players waived on Saturday. He played well in the preseason, but with Kevin Peterson probably sliding in as one of the last players on the final roster, Williams could be on the outside looking in.
Teams are always looking for cornerback depth and Williams might not make it through waivers. Trading him for a late-round pick would at least give the Rams some compensation in return for him leaving.
It might be difficult to trade a player who teams are expecting to be cut, but dangling Williams might be worth considering. The Rams just have so much depth at cornerback to the point where they can’t keep everyone.
WR KhaDarel Hodge
Hodge has been a fan favorite for the last two years, and it’s easy to see why. He stood out every step of the way, but with the Rams in line to keep JoJo Natson and Mike Thomas, Hodge will be left on the outside looking in.
Unfortunately for Los Angeles, he’s a prime candidate to be snagged off the waiver wire on Sunday, thus preventing the team from signing him to the practice squad. So rather than losing him to waivers, the Rams might want to consider trading Hodge.
What he would fetch in a deal is unclear, but some team might be willing to take a chance on him with a Day 3 pick rather than leaving it to waivers.
