Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports
With the Matthew Stafford trade making them a preferred destination, the Rams should make room for these three free agents.
No matter what side of the Matthew Stafford deal you sit on, and particularly if you think the Detroit Lions got a haul, there’s no denying the Los Angeles Rams have a better quarterback now. Apparently, that idea is helping behind the scenes.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, players have texted Stafford expressing desire to join him with the Rams. It doesn’t seem he did any recruiting, he has simply gotten texts from other players’ end in the wake of the trade.
Being consistently in all-in mode as the Rams have been, trading first-round picks like it’s going out of style, has consequences. Over The Cap has adjusted its 2021 salary cap projection to $180.5 million, in line with where it’s line to land. But the Rams are still $26.77 million over that projection. Spotrac has things a bit different, accounting for 2020 rollover, etc., but the Rams are still more than $25 million over the cap there.
In any case, players want to play with Stafford. And the Rams should make room for these three free agents.
3 free agents the Rams should make room for after Matthew Stafford trade
3. WR Marvin Jones
Schefter mentioned just one player specifically as a fit to join Stafford with the Rams–Jones. The veteran wideout will be a free agent. Given the success to two had together in Detroit, with nine touchdown connections in three of the last four seasons, there’s surely some mutual interest in continuing to play together. Jones grew up in Fontana, California, and he played collegiately at Cal.
The problem for the Rams will be meeting what Jones could get on the open market. Spotrac has his market value at $10.5 million per year, on a three-year deal. So unless he takes a big discount, which is possible, the Rams won’t easily be able to form a pretty nice wide receiver trio of Robert Woods, Cooper Kupp and Jones.
Under a different cap circumstance, Jones would be No. 1 on this list. He lands here based on the relative uncertainty of his market in a deep wide receiver class, and a possible desire to keep playing with Stafford that drives him toward making it work with the Rams.