Los Angeles Rams embark on 'remodel' after historically bad year for reigning Super Bowl champion
Plenty has changed since the Los Angeles Rams hoisted the Lombardi Trophy 13 months ago.
The Rams’ top-heavy roster was depleted by injuries during their 2022 season and the team’s lack of depth was exposed as the club finished 5-12. The franchise set a record for most losses by a reigning Super Bowl champion.
In the aftermath, the Rams find themselves adjusting their approach to roster construction in large part because of salary cap constraints as they are $16 million over the cap, according to Over The Cap.
“What's interesting for us this year, step one is actually getting under the cap,” Rams general manager Les Snead told reporters Thursday. “I think what the big picture is this year, different than probably the past five years for us, we definitely have to engineer a healthier cap situation just because, obviously, we're not in a luxury tax situation."
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The Rams are in the midst of engineering a healthier cap situation. The Rams released linebacker Bobby Wagner and outside linebacker Leonard Floyd this offseason, and the team granted wide receiver Allen Robinson permission to seek a trade, a person close to the situation told USA TODAY Sports. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation.
Rams remodeling
Los Angeles’ decision to part ways with Wagner and the imminent departures of other starters implies the franchise is in rebuild mode, but Snead has coined a different term: remodel.
Snead expects the Rams’ core foundation to be intact.
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“The reason I said remodel, not rebuild, is a player like Matthew Stafford is, to me, in a rebuild, you would just bulldoze the house down and begin rebuilding from the ground up, but when you have someone like Matthew Stafford, players like Cooper Kupp, Aaron Donald, there's some weight-bearing walls there that we still have and we're going to rely on those,” Snead said.
Keep them picks?
Snead famously wore a shirt that read, “(expletive) them picks” during the Rams’ Super Bowl 56 parade last season, but the team currently has 10 draft choices in the 2023 draft and there’s a motivation to get younger and build through the draft this year.
“There will be a need to develop and go with some younger guys through the draft and undrafted free agency, and have a little bit different approach,” Rams coach Sean McVay told reporters Friday.
Will change in philosophy work?
There’s no denying the remodeled version of the Rams is going to be vastly different from what it was 13 months ago. But as long as the pillars of Stafford, Kupp and Donald remain, the Rams are confident they have a solid foundation to start building with as the new league year is set to begin.
“While you’re not being naive to the fact that it’s very different, it’s about, ‘hey, let’s not try to write the story before we even open up the first page of the book.’ Let’s figure out what can we do with the circumstances,” McVay said. “While there are gonna be a lot of tough decisions, I don’t expect to not try to put together the most competitive roster that we can do or be able to establish and develop. And let’s go see what happens.”
Follow USA TODAY Sports' Tyler Dragon on Twitter @TheTylerDragon.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Rams news: Los Angeles changing approach to 'remodel.' Here's why.
