In three of the last four years, the Los Angeles Rams made at least one move at the trade deadline. In 2018 and 2021, it worked to perfection with Dante Fowler Jr. and Von Miller helping the team reach the Super Bowl in those respective seasons.
In 2019, they acquired Jalen Ramsey and Austin Corbett, two players who helped (and in Ramsey’s case, still help) the team for multiple years. They also traded away Marcus Peters and Aqib Talib that year.
But this season, Les Snead and Sean McVay stayed on the sidelines. The trade deadline came and went on Tuesday without a single move by the Rams. They expressed interest in players such as Brian Burns, Christian McCaffrey and Brandin Cooks, but nothing came to fruition.
In his media session Wednesday, McVay explained the Rams’ inactivity.
“I think there’s a lot of discussions that take place, but it’s got to be the right fit, it’s got to be the right player and some of the things that we were working through,” he said. “In some instances, you’re looking at it and you might not necessarily have the compensation that they’re looking for in return, or we felt like it didn’t necessarily fit. Whether it’s do you have the actual resources to be able to give what they’re looking for? Is it a player? Is it picks? Can you onboard some of the current salaries that these guys have in addition to what we’re dealing with with our current roster. Nothing really fit, but as you guys know, there’s always explorations for us.”
As with any trade, there are several things that have to align. The player has to be available and also a fit for what the Rams are looking for. The Rams also must be willing (and able) to give up the picks or players a team wants in exchange. And then there’s the contract, which has to fit under the cap immediately and is in line with Los Angeles’ future plans.
With Burns, the Rams tried to acquire him by reportedly offering two first-round picks, but that wasn’t enough for the Panthers. With Cooks, his contract is huge and is probably the reason the Rams and Texans couldn’t get a deal done. And we all know what happened with McCaffrey.
So the Rams will stick with what they have right now and hope it’s enough to get them back to the Super Bowl.
