in Google Peter, you would definitely get some results
that take us back to years
to when the Rams swapped Jared, Goff
two first-round picks and a third round, pick for Matthew
Stafford
but you would also get some more recent items speculating
on the possibility of the Rams
re trading Matthew Stafford after only two seasons. Here's
general manager. Les Snead.
From Thursday,
talking about the question of whether or not Stafford,
definitely will be the team's starting quarterback in 2023.
We're going to definitely rely on
Matthew. He's definitely one of our pillars. So with that being
said,
I think as we, as I said, step one of this thing is is getting
under the cap unfortunately, to get under the cap. That usually
means,
you're trying to
figure out it using mean,
Deletion right with
some of your better
veteran players who are making higher salaries. And it can
also mean, maybe there's an unrestricted, free agent or two
or three or four that you can't necessarily re-sign to get
under the cap. But there are some players
that have been here that have done that
that have shown they can
write change the math in a football game.
Matthew Stafford being
one of them, unfortunately, last year
Right, he went through a tough time with the injury so
right the recency bias, the last year's staying consistent
for him other than the fact that
there was injuries and there was a lot of injuries around
him, but he's definitely someone we're going to rely on
them. We're going to have to rely on
as we do a remodel this
That's a new Twist on, rebuild regroup, reload remodel, I like
that, I like that.
And you know the problem is Peter last year. The injuries
from Matthew Stafford, predated the commencement of the season
because of injuries from 2021.
He couldn't throw,
he couldn't participate in the offseason program. There were
issues that hovered over the team in training camp and then
all of a sudden it just kind of went away, but you throw
Bad offensive line not nearly as good as it was the prior year
guy who's not Fleet of foot gets bagged up and there are
questions about the long-term durability
availability and also
willingness of the Rams to keep Matthew Stafford around. The
problem is the way, his contract is structured mean
they really can't do anything. He's got 57 million, that
becomes fully guaranteed next week,
but if they try
to trade him,
they're looking at a 48 million dollar
cap acceleration.
For 2023. Now, they already have 12 million accounts under
the 60 million dollar signing bonus he got last year
but it's another 36 million that hits this year. If they
trade him before June 1 and I can't imagine them in trading
him after June 1 at based upon what's need said. Yesterday, it
looks like they're not going to trade him at all
but you know, they
they
they got so drunk on
their success in 2021 and they started handing out all these
big contracts. They've really got there. Hands tied Peter
on multiple guys that even if they did want
a fresh start at quarterback,
even if they really are concerned that Stafford's never
going to be consistently healthy.
And it's time to move on. They just can't they just can't
without doing serious damage to their salary cap?
And plus
Mike, I don't think right now that Sean McVeigh when he looks
at a the quarterback market and be his own team, I just simply
don't think he sees an alternative
that can make his team remotely competitive
other this year, 2023, and Sean McVeigh is not going,
not going to go through another 5 and 12 season.
He's not doing In that.
And so I think he knows that there is
a line in the sand right now and it's going to be very, very
difficult to cross the line B,
which is between an also-ran
and a significant Contender.
But the only way they have a chance
to get two significant Contender status
is if they have Matthew Stafford, there's no other
quarterback that they can get financially. Or otherwise, they
can't say, hey let's get rid of
Matthew Stafford and go get Jimmy Garoppolo,
even that would be
ridiculously prohibitively
expensive. I mean Jimmy Garoppolo probably, I would
think at the at its at its base
he's going to be a 30 million dollar player in this market
for someone. So, there's no way the Rams could even get
involved in that. I don't think they want Baker, Mayfield.
Field except as an insurance policy,
even though there was that moment, you know, one of the
one of the coolest moments of any recent NFL season,
the Thursday night game. Where
after about 6 minutes of practice,
he went out and beat the Raiders on Thursday night
football with an incredible final drive but they're they've
whatever it is they're going to say and I do think they
legitimately still like Matthew Stafford. He's their guy this
year. We're
so it's almost fruitless to talk about it.
Well,
it
I agree with you. There's nothing they can do at this
point and even if they could manage the cap hit, think about
what they would have gotten out of Stafford and what they would
have given up
to get it to ones in a three
and Jared Goff which at the time was please save us from
Jared Goff
the thinking in some circles is they gave up an extra
first-round pick just to unload the awful contract, they gave
him but Peter This is just the latest example of this string
of bad contracts. The Rams, do
they really do some bad contracts and I'm looking at
Stafford's numbers for next year.
Let's say that they give him one more year. Let's say it
doesn't work again this year and they want to change next
year. Next year, the pre June 1 cap charge for trading him
is fifty, five point five million
so it doesn't get any better
in 2024 if they haven't gotten any better. And they're ready
to move on to someone else.
So and his cap, number goes from 20 million this year to 49
five next year, based upon the way this contract is
structured, so
that they've put themselves into a spot here and a lot of
it is and look, they knew and they traded from Matthew
Stafford, they were going to have
to give another contract at some point, they gave me one
hell of a contract. And now, the salary cap chickens have
come home to roost for the LA Rams and they're just in
a weird spot right now.
Snead also said, Peter, that they're not going to To trade
cooper cooper, Aaron Donald but you've got other guys. Like
Jalen Ramsey
who seems destined to be on the way out the door. Leonard Floyd
while in Robinson it real yeah
yeah. It really is a team that's in
a weird sort of flux and I still can't recall
and yes they have a brand-new
relatively speaking Super Bowl trophy
to make up for it. But still
that price came do
dramatically. And steeper than, I think, any Super Bowl
champion
has ever had to pay it. This is the
back side of f them picks,
and this remodel,
they're going to have to gut the house as part of this
remodel that Sneed referred to
I think what you're going to see the rims do Mike, okay, so
talking to people at the scouting combine. This is
the this is the very strong impression I got and I wrote
about this a couple of weeks ago and then found out a little
bit more
at the combine. So the Rams right now have the 36th pick in
the draft
and I believe they will not use that Thirty sixth pick in
the draft. I believe they will use that pick to
base. Quickly turn it into three picks,
let's say, and I'm totally inventing this. Sixty ninety
five and 180,
okay?
But I think the reason why you're going to see that is
the Rams. Believe
you remember, Ernest Jones, the quarterback who may are
the linebacker rather who made some big plays against quarterback.
Joe burrow in the second half of the Super Bowl.
Really, until Bobby Wagner got there, a year ago,
was a rising star inside linebacker in the NFL.
And we'll continue that trajectory this year
with the departure of Bobby Wagner.
Well, he was a fifth round draft pick and I believe that
the Rams think
along with guys, lower picks, third day, picks like Nick
Scott. The safety. They are going to go all in
on day, three picks, and Maybe even load a to picks because as
of right now my
if you look at where the Rams are, they've got nine picks
in the last 100 of this draft and I believe they're going to
have more.
And next year, they're going to have even more
draft choices. And I project over these two drafts, they'll
have about 25 pics. Now look, we all know they don't all make
the team.
But the Rams have changed and are in the process of changing
their overall organizational philosophy
because most likely a year from. Now,
Aaron Donald will be retired, Hooper cup will keep playing.
But you know the
the great players will keep marching out the door
and what they're going to do is need that scouting Department
needed desperately
to hit on, let's say
8 to 10 of these.
These players over these next two, drafts to come in and be
immediate contributors.
That's their only path
to Contender again,
at least with Matthew Stafford as quarterback.
So pluck them picks
would be the next t-shirt that's correct. Need is wearing
a pluck pluck. I said, love it. No, need to bleep
in the UK unless it's some obscure curse word there that
I'm not aware of. And there are some random terms that
that we use without any real thought that are indeed. As we
have learned over the four years or so that we've been on
Sky Sports that they are frowned upon
and certain establishments in the UK. So
so Peter, there is wisdom in this, and
I answered this question yesterday, on a radio spot in
Seattle is released the Bears trading down, because I can see
a scenario. We're going to talk about this coming up. I think
the Bears could trade down. One, two, three. Four times in
the top, 10 and
just keep compiling pics. And the idea is
the more lottery tickets and this is your Jimmie Johnson
point you make from time to time the more draft picks. You
have the more scratch-offs you have, the more likely you are
to get some winners.
And when, you know that these
Bad contracts that you handed out in the euphoria that
existed in the aftermath of winning, the Super Bowl, you
have to balance that out with low-cost rookie wage scale,
contracts. That's the other side of this Peter,
all those pics day to day three. They come at a low
cap charge, you're filling out your roster with guys who are
not eating up cap space and they won't until they get
a second contract. If they ever do so
you get through.
Three or four years
starting this year.
And next year with these low cap number pliers,
that's how you deal with a 55 million dollar cap charge, if
you have to move on from Matthew Stafford, if the after
this year or a 49 million dollar cap charge, if you keep
him after this year, that's how you balance it out. That's how
you construct your roster
and stay under the cap
and have enough players, where you can go and actually be
competitive.
And I think that's exactly what they will do. I think they'll
most likely hang on to Stafford for the next two years, unless
he's just ravaged by injury this year.
But I also think the one thing that you have to watch out for
is, you know, the Rams, finally,
we'll have a first-round pick next year.
And if you were the Rams right now and you have some
way
to have a high, Pick next year, there's going to be two.
Excellent quarterbacks in the draft next year. You can do
exactly what you did
to get, Jared Goff and R2
to get all of these guys
who, you know, when we're going to talk about the Bears later,
if you have to trade up, you're going to have to trade,
probably
to Future ones. In addition to this year's one to get that
player.
But the the Rams now will at least be in position. If they
need to go get a quarterback to trade future ones
next year at this time, they're not going to do it this year
but they'd be in position next year at this time
to be able to trade up and that is what
I think the Rams have to think of doing.
Look there's no way if I am
Kevin Dem off if I'm Stan kroenke, if I'm
if I'm Les Snead
you know there's no way I'm letting Sean McVeigh.
If he gets A bug up, his rear end and says, oh, we have to
have John Doe. Let's trade in back into the first round and
trade. Next, two years, one
to go and get whoever is
the player they Fancy?
No, no, no. A thousand times, no, do not touch next year's
draft,
you know, because that's a draft where the Rams
really could need it to move up to get a quarterback.
Well, especially if
there's any belief in the organization that McVeigh May
bolt after 2023. And why wouldn't there be? He almost
did after 2022.
He was on the brink, the precipice, he was ready to go.
And we've talked about that at length, what turned him around,
but he's on a year-to-year Arrangement right now. And if
they suffer through another bad year, when you look at the item
from the
athletic, from a couple of weeks ago,
where he was basically despondent
in 2022, this pain, you may not want to tolerate that again.
And he may say I'm done, I'm out. So
so if he's got that mindset now where maybe I'll be gone next
year. It's a lot easier to say, who cares about next year's
first round pick, if it gets me, somebody who makes me not
despondent in 2023,
Mike
after reading, Jordan rodrigue story in the athletic which was
tremendous
after reading that story, I thought of two things. Number
one,
so Sean McVeigh basically he's gone to this team
twice now and said,
you know I really need
something. Okay. The first time was I really need another
quarterback. I've lost trust in Jared golf.
So they went out and they got Matthew Stafford.
Offered at a very big price. However, for all those who say,
oh my God, what a mistake, that was it. Listen.
They got, they got a Lombardy out of it, so no matter what
happens. And even if they hit, rock bottom in the next two or
three years, which they might,
even if they absolutely hit rock bottom
to me,
a Super Bowl is worth it. And a lot of people might say, no,
no, I don't think it is, I do
and I think most people in the NFL do
so there's that's the one time and then this year, kind of
a quieter way,
he's very unhappy with his coaching staff and there was
a point in Burden rodrigue story, where she said that basically.
He hired his new running backs coach this year
after a 15-minute telephone conversation.
So by the end of this year, I think McVeigh had started to
think to himself.
You know, maybe I make mistakes when I act impetuously,
you know, and he got rid of a lot of coaches this year or by
mutual agreement.
You know, I had Heard during the season that the Liam Cohen
experiment is offensive coordinator was
miserable and that was part of the problem. And then Liam
Cohen,
you know, wanted to
have a little bit of a life
as well as to be a football coach. So we went back to Kentucky
but he wasn't the only one whatever, however, many changes
they made on the coaching staff, six or eight coaches.
So now McVeigh you know, his done it with his quarterback.
Back.
And he's done it with his coaching staff and I think
Sean McVeigh I think has to realize right now. Look, he's
happy to be back. I legitimately think he's happy
to be back. They are very happy to have them. There's nobody
inside that organization. Who thinks
rolling eyes. Oh my God, what is McVeigh going to want next
and all that? But
he understands that he can't act as impetuously as he has at
times in the past. So
I think all of that
Ins. This is a really important year for his not necessarily
for his coaching
future like that, he's never going to coach again.
I firmly believe he will not be John Madden
who walked away at 40, whatever,
and never came back,
even like Bill Cowher who walked away at whatever was 49
or 50 and never came back. And we kept waiting for him to come
back.
I think he will Coach even if he stops coach. Jing after this
year,
he'll return to coaching at some point. He's just too young.
It's amazing. He still the youngest head coach in the NFL.
So to me, this is an important season for McVeigh, but also
because
he realizes that
hey, impetuousness is great, it wins. He a Super Bowl all that
stuff but there's also a downside to it.
Yeah, it's like the the mess at your house, the morning. After
you have a huge party, it's got to be cleaned up
and sometimes it takes more than just a mop and a bucket to
clean it up and sometimes it takes a long time to get it
back to where it was before. And think about, if they hadn't
won that Super Bowl,
think about the accountability that may have been meted out
from the top of the organization because they went
all in
and it worked, but
There still was a huge invoice on the back end that they are
still suffering through.
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