The Los Angeles Rams didn’t have the splashy offseason this year that they did in 2018. There were no blockbuster trades for All-Pro cornerbacks or breaking the bank for a free agent like Ndamukong Suh, but it was a productive few months for Les Snead and Sean McVay.
The Rams signed Eric Weddle and Clay Matthews for relatively cheap contracts, while also getting Blake Bortles for only $1 million. Dante Fowler Jr. was re-signed to a one-year deal – albeit, for a hefty $14 million – fortifying the pass rush outside.
There were, of course, key departures. Lamarcus Joyner and Rodger Saffold both left early in free agency, signing with the Raiders and Titans, respectively. Ndamukong Suh landed with the Buccaneers after Tampa Bay released Gerald McCoy, and C.J. Anderson signed with the Lions – a move the Rams could’ve prevented by simply signing him themselves.
As a whole, it’s difficult to gauge whether the Rams actually got better this offseason. ESPN isn’t a huge fan of what Los Angeles did, handing out a sub-par grade for the team’s moves.
The Rams earned a C-plus from ESPN for their offseason transactions, which seems fair considering the balance of additions and losses.
Keeping Dante Fowler Jr. on a one-year, $12 million deal was another plus, but is the net talent change positive without Lamarcus Joyner, Ndamukong Suh and Rodger Saffold?
The piece from ESPN included quotes from executives, one of which said this offseason was “a little bit of a reset” for the Rams. One exec said getting Matthews and Weddle for the low cost that the Rams did is “sort of cheating the system.”
Time will tell if these moves pay off for Los Angeles, but with extensions coming for Jared Goff and possibly Marcus Peters, it’s easy to understand why Snead didn’t go on a spending spree.
