Les Snead has never been afraid to upset a fanbase for the better of the team. He cut Todd Gurley, he traded Robert Quinn and Michael Brockers, and he released Johnny Hekker.
But on Saturday night, he and the Rams made a move that may have made fans angrier than ever. They shipped Robert Woods to the Titans for a sixth-round pick … in 2023.
Seriously. The Rams only got a sixth-round pick next year in return for their second-leading receiver since the 2017 season – a player who has two 1,000-yard seasons and 367 catches in five years with the Rams.
It outraged passionate fans on Twitter, with just about everyone questioning how the Rams didn’t get more for Woods.
There are a couple of reasons the return was so low. For starters, Woods will be 30 in April, so he’s not exactly young, especially by wide receiver standards. Secondly, he’s coming off a torn ACL, which he suffered in November. And lastly, he has cap hits of more than $15 million in each of the next four years.
That makes him an expensive, aging, injured receiver.
Does that mean the Rams lost this trade? It’s hard to say, honestly. The Rams clear about $7.1 million in cap space by trading Woods, but they also lose a key contributor and don’t get anything valuable in return.
Woods is infinitely more valuable than a sixth-round pick next year. At best, the Rams will find a fringe player who will hopefully play out four years on his rookie contract. The Rams have landed starters in the sixth round before (Sebastian Joseph-Day and Jordan Fuller), but doing that regularly is really tough.
But at the same time, paying three receivers more than $15 million per year is also bad business. Cooper Kupp isn’t going anywhere, and Allen Robinson is a great No. 2 receiver, which left Woods as the No. 3 receiver – albeit, a very expensive one.
The Rams put themselves in this position and they have no one else to blame. They signed Robinson, who they clearly value more than Woods. He’s younger, bigger and not coming off a torn ACL.
But trading a player who’s so highly regarded and well-respected in the locker room is risky. It sets a dangerous precedence, showing that no one’s safe – even though it was the Rams who gave Woods this big contract.
Trading Woods would’ve been a tough pill to swallow regardless. But trading him for a sixth-round pick is hard to get behind.
Grade: C-
