Somewhat out of the blue, the Los Angeles Rams announced on Wednesday that they waived linebacker Travin Howard. It was a shocking move to cut a player who they just tendered as a restricted free agent this offseason, especially considering he was viewed as the No. 3 linebacker on the depth chart.
But the announcement that followed a few hours later made the decision to waive Howard a little more logical. They signed Cooper Kupp to a three-year extension, using the money saved by waiving Howard to get that deal done.
By cutting Howard, the Rams saved $2.54 million, which was the full amount of his tender. So they didn’t take on any dead money by making this move.
It was a good day for the #Rams. But big-money extensions aren't without consequences. The team released RFA LB Travin Howard — and his $2.54M salary — earlier today to create room for the Cooper Kupp extension. https://t.co/ipawChHcmk
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) June 9, 2022
It’s reasonable to think that if the Rams can find a way to clear a little bit more cap space, they could bring Howard back – potentially at a lower number than his $2.54 million cap hit. It’s not that he was making a ton of money, but Howard’s cap hit was more than twice Ernest Jones’ ($1.1 million). It was also higher than Bobby Wagner’s cap hit of $2.5 million – though Wagner is still making more money down the road, of course.
So the book shouldn’t be shut on Howard yet, especially if he’s willing to come back at a cheaper price.
