The theme of this offseason for the Los Angeles Rams has been financial responsibility. The team is being more cautious with its spending, clearing big contracts off the books and choosing not to add big-name players in free agency.
The goal is to set themselves up for a stronger push in 2024 when they have a first-round pick and much more cap space. As for 2023, their cap allocation is primarily skewed toward the offense.
Using Over The Cap’s positional spending table, we take a look at the Rams’ cap allocations at each spot. They have the most expensive wide receiver group in the NFL, but they’re also spending the least of any team at running back, edge rusher, linebacker and cornerback.
And when it comes to the defense as a whole, they’re spending far less than any other team.
Quarterback: $20 million
NFL rank: 14th
The Rams are right in the middle of the pack in terms of quarterback spending, but that will change in 2024 when Matthew Stafford’s cap hit spikes to $49.5 million, putting the Rams fourth at that position.
Running back: $3.78 million
NFL rank: 32nd
Cam Akers and Kyren Williams are expected to be the primary running backs this year and both are on rookie deals. Currently, the Rams don’t have a running back on the roster who isn’t still on his first contract.
Wide receiver: $51.95 million
NFL rank: 1st
Cooper Kupp and Allen Robinson put the Rams just barely ahead of the Cardinals, who are spending $51.7 million on their wide receivers in 2023. A DeAndre Hopkins trade will drop their cap charge at wideout, and the next-closest team in third is Denver ($42.9 million).
Tight end: $11.41 million
NFL rank: 15th
Tyler Higbee accounts for $9.3 million of the Rams’ $11.4 million allocated to their tight ends, so he eats up a good portion of space at that position. He’s a potential cut candidate but nothing is imminent.
Offensive line: $25.87 million
NFL rank: 29th
Based on the way the Rams’ offensive line played in 2022, it’s no surprise that they have the fourth-cheapest unit in the NFL. And that’s with Joe Noteboom, Brian Allen and Rob Havenstein all on multi-year deals.
Interior defensive line: $29.76 million
NFL rank: 10th
The Rams are spending nearly $30 million on their interior defensive line this year and Aaron Donald makes up $26 million of that. In other words, they’re not really paying anyone else much, though Marquise Copeland’s contract will bump up that number a bit once it’s official.
Edge: $4.39 million
NFL rank: 32nd
The Rams are one of four teams spending less than $10 million on their edge rushers. The others are the Bears, Falcons and Cardinals, none of which are expected to be contenders in 2023. Michael Hoecht is their most expensive edge rusher with a cap hit of $940,000.
Linebacker: $3.12 million
NFL rank: 32nd
Linebacker isn’t a premier position but the Rams are still spending much less than any other team; the Lions are the next-closest at $5.5 million. This is the result of cutting Bobby Wagner and leaning on players such as Ernest Jones and Christian Rozeboom.
Cornerback: $3.88 million
NFL rank: 32nd
When you trade away Jalen Ramsey, your cornerback group is going to look substantially weaker – and cheaper. Only four other teams in the NFL are spending less than $12 million on their cornerbacks this year but the Rams rank last in positional spending here.
Safety: $5.52 million
NFL rank: 31st
Only the Buccaneers are spending less than the Rams on their safeties this year. Los Angeles watched Taylor Rapp and Nick Scott leave in free agency, which puts Jordan Fuller, Russ Yeast and Quentin Lake atop the depth chart for now.
Offense: $113.01 million
NFL rank: 12th
The Rams’ lack of offensive production last year wasn’t the result of their lack of money spent on that side of the ball. They’re still paying out a good amount of money to their offensive players. They just need their high-priced players to produce in 2023.
Defense: $46.67 million
NFL rank: 32nd
It’s really not even close when it comes to defensive spending. The Rams are paying $46.67 million on defense this season and the Cardinals are 31st at $63.38 million. After that, the Lions are spending $78 million, so the Rams and Cardinals are in a class of their own at the bottom.
