Rams, free agents can’t afford to ignore offseason obstacles as they play final game

LOS ANGELES — Dante Fowler Jr. is like a lot of Rams players, going into the last game of 2019 on Sunday confident he has earned a rich new contract and hoping his team will be the one to give it to him.

He isn’t naive, but he’s an optimist.

“I feel like the money’s there,” Fowler said a few days ago. “It’s a billion-dollar industry.”

It might not be that simple, even if Fowler wants to stay with the Rams and even if the Rams want to keep the 25-year-old outside linebacker who has taken his entertaining game to a new level in his fourth season by climbing to fourth in the NFL in tackles for loss (16) and 10th in sacks (11 1/2).

It will be harder than normal for the Rams to afford to keep key free agents like Fowler, inside linebacker Cory Littleton and defensive tackle Michael Brockers, let alone acquire free agents to improve a roster that missed the playoffs a year after going to the Super Bowl.

That’s because the Rams’ top-heavy spending on contract extensions for quarterback Jared Goff, running back Todd Gurley, wide receiver Brandin Cooks and defensive tackle Aaron Donald over the past two off-seasons has left them cramped by the league’s salary cap.

The problem is compounded by the fact the team won’t find it easy to improve through the draft, having traded its 2020 and 2021 first-round picks to the Jacksonville Jaguars in October for cornerback Jalen Ramsey – another star who’ll want a contract extension.

When the Rams (8-7) face the Arizona Cardinals (5-9-1) on Sunday afternoon in a game without playoff implications, they’ll try to stay in the moment and win, knowing a 9-7 finish looks a lot better than 8-8.

They’ll also be looking back, marking the end of their second stay at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum before moving with the Chargers into SoFi Stadium in Inglewood next season.

But they can’t avoid looking ahead to a challenging offseason.

General Manager Les Snead hasn’t commented publicly on the Rams’ roster issues, preferring to let coach Sean McVay be the voice of the team during the season.

McVay was asked Friday if it’s frustrating for a coach to know that he might lose good players because of financial constraints.

“You’d love to see everyone get paid, you’d love to be able to keep everybody,” McVay said. “Unfortunately, that’s not real and that’s not realistic.

“Frustrating, but something that you have to deal with, and everybody has to deal with that.”

Some more than others.

Spotrac.com, a website that tracks sports payrolls, says the Rams are on the hook for four of the NFL’s 40 biggest salaries in 2020: Goff’s $36 million (that’s the amount charged against the team’s salary cap) is the highest in the league, Donald’s $25 million is 10th, Gurley’s $17.25 million is 38th and Cooks’ $16.8 million is 40th. Goff’s and Donald’s contracts run through 2024, Gurley’s and Cooks’ through 2023.

Spotrac and OverTheCap.com, which records NFL contract data, say that based on the current roster, the Rams are expected to have $24 million to $25 million to spend before reaching the per-team salary cap projected to be about $200 million next season. The Rams’ “cap space” would be the ninth lowest in the league, even worse than when they were 13th lowest this season.

That wasn’t necessarily a problem when Goff, Gurley, Cooks and Donald, all in their 20s, led a team that appeared poised to be a perpetual Super Bowl contender. But Goff’s passer rating slipped from 10th in the league in 2018 to 25th in 2019, Gurley’s rushing yardage fell from third to 19th, and Cooks’ receiving yardage went from 21st to 72nd in part because he missed two games following his second concussion of the season.

Donald maintained his reputation as the best defensive player in the NFL. And others in the Rams’ defense had big years individually even as the unit as a whole had a maddeningly inconsistent year.

That should mean long, lucrative contracts especially for linebackers Fowler, 25, and Littleton, 26, who head a Rams list of 18 players with expiring contracts, including offensive linemen Andrew Whitworth, 38, and Austin Blythe, 27, and kicker Greg Zuerlein, 31.

But that’s in an ideal world, in which the Rams had more money to spend on the rest of the roster after lavishing contracts on their stars. Decisions about how much to offer to whom are intertwined with choices about possible cuts and other departures that could free up salary-cap space.

One veteran who sounds prepared to depart is six-time Pro Bowl safety Eric Weddle, 34. He’s owed $4,250,524 next season, the final year of his two-year contract.

“I know how teams go, and it makes sense not to keep the old guy around,” Weddle said this month, noting the rise of rookie safety Taylor Rapp and the expected return of safety John Johnson from injury.

“I’m just enjoying these last weeks. Whenever the decision happens, whether it’s me or them (making it), it’s all good. I’m ready for the next step, being at home (in San Diego) with my kids. I’ve missed them dearly the last six months.”

Littleton said it would be “nice” to stay with the Rams but acknowledged wondering if they can pay what he’s worth. The undrafted Washington product continued his four-year rise with a career-high 131 tackles (eighth in the league) in the Rams’ first 15 games. Littleton played this season on a one-year, $3,095,000 contract.

“There’s a lot of guys no different than myself, who are looking to get paid themselves, and have to because it’s what people deserve,” Littleton said Friday. “The cap space is limited. I don’t know what they’re going to do. I knew that going into this year.

‘It’s OK – I’m still playing football.”

Brockers, 29 and in his eighth year with the Rams, said he’s thinking about the unknown after setting a career high in tackles with 61. Brockers counted for $10,750,000 against the salary cap this season, the last under a three-year contract.

Asked Friday what he hopes happens next, Brockers said: “I hope the best opportunity for me and my family happens. I don’t know if that’s here, I don’t know if it’s somewhere else. If it’s here, and they make room, then I’d love (to stay).”

Fowler has had a career year after coming to the Rams in a trade with Jacksonville in the middle of the 2018 season. He’d like to think he has found a home.

“It was kind of a prove-it year, and I’ve proved (myself),” Fowler said Thursday. “I love playing with Aaron (Donald). He’s the best player in the league. It’s like Kyrie (Irving) and and LeBron James, or (Dwyane) Wade and LeBron.”

Donald smiled at the thought.

“I would love for Dante to come back. We love him here,” Donald said. “But it’s still a business at the end of the day.

“Hopefully they figure things out and find a way to bring him back. He had a big year, and I think he’s got room for improvement.”

For now, they all have one more game to play Sunday against the Cardinals.

Said Fowler: “I just want to go out and have a good game (and) give them another reason to keep me around.”

RAMS FREE AGENTS

These are the Rams players whose contracts expire following the season, listed with their positions and 2019 salaries. All are unrestricted free agents except those marked with an asterisk (*), who are restricted free agents, giving the Rams the right to reply to other teams’ offers, or two asterisks (**), who are exclusive-rights free agents, required to accept a minimum salary from the Rams if offered.

OFFENSE

Andrew Whitworth, T, $16,659,000

Austin Blythe, C-G, $2,025,000

Blake Bortles, QB, $1,000,000

Mike Thomas, WR, $749,019

Johnny Mundt**, TE, $570,000

Coleman Shelton**, C, $495,000

Nsimba Webster**, WR, $203,823

Kendall Blanton**, TE, $116,470

DEFENSE

Dante Fowler Jr., LB, $12,000,000

Michael Brockers, DT, $10,750,000

Cory Littleton, LB, $3,095,000

Bryce Hager, LB, $574,412

Morgan Fox*, DE, $645,000

Dont’e Deayon*, S, $265,587

Marqui Christian, S, $720,000

Josh Carraway**, LB, $393,000

SPECIAL TEAMS

Greg Zuerlein, K, $2,575,000

Jojo Natson*, PR, $645,000

Source: spotrac.com