Los Angeles Rams COO Kevin Demoff penned a letter to season ticket holders this past week, explaining the team’s offseason and future plans.
I think by now, everybody is aware of what is going on with the Rams this offseason. But Demoff gave a detailed explanation from the organization’s point of view.
After a five-year run of mostly being great, capped off by winning the Rams Super Bowl in 2021, LA took a big step back in 2022.
Injuries were a huge factor in that, but the Rams still went 5-12 and missed the postseason. So with that, the Rams made the difficult decision this offseason to remodel their roster to give themselves a better future outlook.
“We always knew that there would be a time when we would have to pull back on our typical approach to help continue our sustained run of success,” Demoff said.
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Going into the offseason, I expected the Rams to give their Super Bowl core one last shot, hoping they can return to greatness in 2023 with better health. While it would be cool to see them have one last run though, it would have been costly for the Rams’ future.
What Kevin Demoff said
They would have needed to restructure contracts, pushing more money into the future. Demoff explained that they did not feel that was the best option for the Rams which is why they went the other way:
“As a result, we faced a choice this offseason. We could once again restructure contracts to give ourselves one last shot with our core roster but that would mean a total rebuild would be necessary over the next few seasons. Or we could focus on replenishing our draft capital and improving our long-term salary cap situation, clearing the way for us to compete both now and in the future.
“Collectively as an organization, we chose the latter path, believing in the talent on our current roster and the skills of our coaching staff to return us to the playoffs.”
As a result of this strategy, the Rams no longer have key players such as Jalen Ramsey, Bobby Wagner, Leonard Floyd, Taylor Rapp, Nick Scott, David Long Jr., Greg Gaines, David Edwards, Brandon Powell, Matt Gay and Riley Dixon in the organization. And there likely will be more departures to follow.
While that doesn’t sound great, there is some upside that comes with it.
Demoff stated that the Rams are expecting to have more than $60 million in cap space next offseason. The Rams haven’t had that much space to work with in a very long time, and it should go a long way in putting together a roster that compete again in the near future. Additionally, the Rams have 11 draft picks this year and a full complement in 2024, so some more young talent is also on the way.
All of that is in addition to still having a great head coach in Sean McVay, stars like Aaron Donald, Cooper Kupp and Matthew Stafford, as well as some other young, talented players.
Demoff still expects Rams to compete
Even though it appears the Rams will be taking a step back in 2023, Demoff doesn’t seem to think so
“Let me be clear – our goal for 2023 is to win the NFC West and make a deep playoff run. Change doesn’t mean that we expect to take a step back,” he said.
I’m not sure I agree with that, I expect 2023 to be more of a developmental year for the Rams. But hey, considering how weak the NFC is, crazier things haven’t certainly happened.
Regardless though, I actually respect Demoff writing this letter and being up front with fans about the organization’s plan. It’s not something you see often in sports, and it actually gives Rams fans some light at the end of the tunnel even if the 2023 season will be a dark one.
