After three-plus months of battling and trying to right the ship, the Los Angeles Rams came up short of their primary goal this season: making the playoffs. In a year where the NFC was littered with Super Bowl contenders, the Rams’ 9-7 record wasn’t enough to get them into the dance.
After making the Super Bowl last season, heading home at the end of December is certainly not something the Rams saw coming. But, it’s the reality of not playing up to the standards and failing to find any sort of consistency over the course of 17 weeks.
Now, the Rams enter the offseason with endless questions. Will Wade Phillips be back? Will they trade Todd Gurley? What is Gerald Everett’s future? Can Sean McVay find his magic again?
No matter what happens this spring, the Rams will likely be considered one of the more dangerous teams in the NFC just based on the core they’ve built with Aaron Donald, Jalen Ramsey and Jared Goff. If they want to get back to the Super Bowl again, though, here’s a list of moves they should consider making.
Re-sign Cory Littleton
The Rams will probably have to decide between keeping Littleton or Dante Fowler Jr. If they can find a way to keep both, they absolutely should. But given their top-heavy roster with Jalen Ramsey still to pay, it’s hard to imagine them coming up with the funds to extend all of them. Quality pass rushers like Fowler are hard to find, but so are linebackers in the mold of Littleton.
He can do it all for the Rams, from covering running backs to defending the run to blitzing off the edge or up the middle. He finished the season with 134 tackles (six for a loss), 3.5 sacks, two forced fumbles (four recoveries), two interceptions and nine passes defensed.
Here are all the players with at least 130 tackles, 3.0 sacks, two forced fumbles and two interceptions this season: Cory Littleton.
That’s it.
He’s a unique linebacker who can do everything in the middle of the field for a defense, and someone the Rams must find a way to keep. They just have to hope Ogbonnia Okoronkwo, Samson Ebukam and their other young pass rushers can step up in Fowler’s place if he leaves.
Release Eric Weddle
Moving on from Weddle is one of the easiest decisions for the Rams to make. They can save $4.25 million in cap space by releasing him this offseason, and after he said he won’t return as a backup, it’s pretty clear he’s ready to move on. John Johnson and Taylor Rapp are the future at safety and should quickly become one of the best tandems in the NFL next season.
Weddle was a valuable addition to the locker room and helped the Rams’ young defensive backs on the field, but he simply didn’t make enough plays and was a step too slow at times. The Rams need an upgrade at that spot and already have one on the roster with Johnson returning in 2020.
Sign OLB Vic Beasley to a short-term contract
If/when Fowler signs elsewhere, the Rams will probably need some help replacing him. Beasley hasn’t been the player he was when he led the NFL in sacks in 2016, but he still has the potential to be an effective pass rusher. He put up eight sacks this season with 12 QB hits, the second-most he’s had in a season. He fits best as a stand-up edge rusher in a 3-4 scheme, which the Rams will continue to run if Wade Phillips returns next year.
Beasley probably won’t command a big contract in free agency after regressing the last few seasons, but the Rams should take a chance on him with a short-term deal. Something in the range of 1-2 years for $8 million per season would be a reasonable price for the pass rusher if the Rams can get him at that cost.
He’ll be much cheaper than Fowler in free agency and still possesses the potential to record double-digit sacks. In the right situation, he can have an impact on a defense.
Hire an offensive coordinator/assistant
The Rams had co-offensive coordinators this year with Aaron Kromer being the run-game coordinator and Shane Waldron leading the passing game. That structure didn’t work out as the offense took a step back from its 2018 form. Sean McVay will almost certainly continue calling the plays next year, but having someone in his ear to assist with his awareness and play-calling tendencies wouldn’t hurt.
Jedd Fisch is already an offensive assistant, but he doesn’t carry the responsibilities of an offensive coordinator. The Rams should hire someone to fill the void left by Matt LaFleur a few years ago – someone who isn’t calling the plays, but works closely with McVay on the sideline.
McVay made it seem like he’d be open to giving up play-calling duties if necessary, but simply adding another voice on offense would do the trick. Kellen Moore should be in consideration if he’s let go by the Cowboys, as should Jay Gruden, who worked with McVay in Washington.
Sign OG Quinton Spain
The offensive line is going to undergo a major overhaul in 2020. Andrew Whitworth is a free agent and probably won’t be back, while Austin Blythe’s contract will also expire in March. Bobby Evans, Brian Allen, Joseph Noteboom and David Edwards are all in the mix to be starters, as is Rob Havenstein if he isn’t traded.
It’s possible those five players could be the starting lineup next season, but A) That leaves very little depth and B) It doesn’t inspire much confidence for the offense as a whole.
Signing Spain in free agency would be a move that doesn’t break the bank or cost the Rams a ton of money, yet he’d come in as stiff competition at left guard. It would allow the Rams to move Noteboom, Edwards or Evans to left tackle, inserting Spain at left guard with Allen at center. Havenstein could assume his post at right tackle with either Edwards or Evans at right guard.
Austin Corbett is also in the mix, but he was just average as a starter this year. Spain would be an upgrade and allow some flexibility up front.
Restructure Jared Goff’s contract
Goff has a cap hit of $36 million next year, the highest of any player in the NFL. No matter what, he’s going to cost the Rams a lot of money after signing that massive extension before the season. However, the Rams can restructure his deal to free up some cap space in 2020 by spreading out his roster bonus over the rest of the contract.
According to Spotrac, that would create $16.8 million in cap space for the Rams.
That’s a big chunk of change in a year when the Rams could certainly use the money. They could turn around and use that newly found cap space to re-sign Ramsey, add a free agent or make up for potential dead money incurred by trading Brandin Cooks or Todd Gurley.
Restructuring Goff’s deal would decrease the Rams’ cap space in 2021 and beyond, but it would help in 2020.
Trade Todd Gurley or Brandin Cooks
Gurley and Cooks were two of the Rams’ most disappointing players in 2019 with respect to their contracts. Gurley only averaged 3.8 yards per carry and had 1,064 yards from scrimmage, the lowest total of his career. Cooks played 14 games and suffered two concussions, but he caught just 42 passes for 583 yards and two touchdowns.
Cooks only had two games with more than four catches and one 100-yard game, struggling to get on the same page with Jared Goff throughout the year. Trading him will incur a $17.8 million dead cap charge – $1 million more than it will cost the Rams to keep him in 2020 – which makes this a difficult proposition. The benefit, of course, would be recouping a draft pick or two for the receiver to help make up for the Rams’ losses in recent trades.
With Gurley, the Rams would actually save $4.65 million in cap space by trading him elsewhere. Like Cooks, it’s not likely to happen, but if the Rams are desperate for cash and can recoup a Day 2 pick, they might pounce.
Cooks’ role on offense simply isn’t clear, especially with the Rams giving Josh Reynolds playing time down the stretch and with McVay utilizing more two-tight end sets. Gurley was ineffective and Los Angeles spent a third-rounder on Darrell Henderson in 2019.
Moving Gurley and gaining some explosiveness with Henderson is a reasonable move to consider.
Keep Wade Phillips
Phillips caught a lot of heat this season when the defense was struggling, but he wasn’t to blame for the Rams’ issues or their failure to make the postseason. He’s endured a lot of personnel changes on defense over the last two seasons, specifically in the secondary. Once the Rams swapped out Marcus Peters and Aqib Talib for Jalen Ramsey and Troy Hill, the entire defense began playing better.
It would be wise for the Rams to keep things as-is on the defensive staff, allowing Phillips a full offseason to work with Ramsey and Hill, as well as others such as Taylor Rapp and Ogbonnia Okoronkwo.
Phillips’ defense has been called stale and predictable, but the Rams’ primary issues were on offense, not defense this year. Give him another year in L.A. with some stability in the secondary.
