Nfl Free Agency: Rams Biggest Concern Is At Cornerback

No squad has won 2 Super Bowls successful its location stadium.

The Rams purpose to beryllium nan first.

With free agency group to statesman adjacent week, wide head Les Snead and coach Sean McVay are ramping up their effort to fortify a roster that is expected to make nan Rams 1 of nan favorites to play successful Super Bowl LXI astatine SoFi Stadium successful February 2027.

The Rams did it before. In 2021, erstwhile nan squad traded for backmost Matthew Stafford successful January, re-signed separator rusher Leonard Floyd, and bolstered nan squad precocious successful nan play by signing receiver Odell Beckham Jr. and trading for separator rusher Von Miller.

The result: A triumph complete nan Cincinnati Bengals successful Super Bowl LVI.

The Rams will downplay nan communicative that they are erstwhile again going all-in for a chance to triumph a Super Bowl astatine home. But pinch Stafford and prima receiver Davante Adams successful nan last years of their contracts location is an urgency to repetition nan feat of 2021.

To do that, nan Rams must amended a squad that past play vanished 12-5 and precocious to nan NFC title game earlier losing to nan eventual Super Bowl-champion Seattle Seahawks.

The Rams person evident needs astatine cornerback and receiver. Like each teams they could research bolstering nan walk unreserved among different position groups.

During a videoconference pinch reporters connected Tuesday, Snead said nan waste and acquisition marketplace this clip of twelvemonth is “probably much aggravated than astatine nan waste and acquisition deadline.”

The Rams presently person 10 picks successful nan 2026 draft, including nan 13th and 29th selections successful nan first round.

And Snead has ne'er been awkward astir trading picks successful blockbuster and lower-key deals.

Last year, nan Rams signed Adams earlier free agency began, and past signed halfway Coleman Shelton, protect lineman Poona Ford and linebacker Nate Landman aft it started.

“If we tin usage free agency to not beryllium hopeless successful nan draft, we much than apt will beryllium amended drafters,” Snead said, “because we’re not reaching, we’re not desperate, we’re not going successful location pinch a awesome void, a awesome spread that has to beryllium filled.”

Seattle’s Cooper Kupp, center, tries to powerfulness his measurement done nan tackles Rams defenders Roger McCreary and Kamren Kinchens.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

The Rams’ biggest request is successful nan secondary, peculiarly a cornerback group that was fundamentally nary different than nan 2024 unit.

Cornerbacks Cobie Durant and Roger McCreary are pending free agents.

Does Snead want them back?

“We’re moving done those scenarios,” Snead said.

Veteran cornerback Darious Williams is owed to gain a guidelines net of $7 cardinal successful nan last play of his contract, according to Overthecap.com. That makes him a campaigner to beryllium released aliases traded.

Veteran Ahkello Witherspoon and Derion Kendrick besides are pending free agents.

Snead said nan Rams were “working through” whether to workout a fifth-year action connected cornerback Emmanuel Forbes Jr., a 2023 first-round prime by nan Washington Commanders. If nan Rams workout nan action by nan May 1 deadline, Forbes would beryllium guaranteed $12.6 cardinal successful 2027.

Safety Kam Curl, who played good past season, is simply a pending free agent. Asked if nan hold information Quentin Lake received successful January makes re-signing Curl little likely, Snead said nary because they play different roles.

Rams information Kam Curl falls to nan crushed arsenic he intercepts a walk from Bears backmost Caleb Williams successful overtime of their divisional playoff crippled successful January.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

In immoderate measurement nan secondary is remodeled, nan players will beryllium taking guidance from caller protect backs coach Jimmy Lake, who replaced Aubrey Pleasant.

“We had been together for 7 of 9 years,” McVay said of Pleasant during a abstracted videoconference pinch reporters, adding, “He made tremendous contributions to us, but conscionable felt for illustration it was going to beryllium successful nan champion liking of some parties to beryllium capable to move on.”

Stafford, 38, is owed to gain $16 cardinal successful guidelines net and transportation a salary-cap number of $48.3 cardinal successful nan last twelvemonth of his contract, according to Overthecap.com. Snead did not norm retired nan anticipation of an hold for nan reigning NFL astir valuable player, but nan much probable script is that nan Rams will set his contract, arsenic they person done each of nan past fewer seasons.

“That is successful a very stable, let’s telephone it, situation, condition,” Snead said.

Said McVay: “Feel assured astir being capable to activity those things out.”

The Rams are “always moving through” post-Stafford scenarios, but “it’s not a hopeless matter,” Snead said.

Veteran backup backmost Jimmy Garoppolo besides is simply a pending free agent. McVay acknowledged that he saw an ESPN study indicating that Arizona coach Mike LaFleur, nan Rams’ erstwhile violative coordinator, would beryllium willing successful bringing successful Garoppolo.

“I emotion Jimmy,” McVay said. “Would perfectly want him back. … I’m besides not naive to nan truth that he’ll astir apt person a batch of opportunities, and if those are things that he wants to prosecute that springiness him a chance to play I would understand that.”

Snead and McVay said location person been nary discussions astir extending aliases restructuring Adams’ contract. Adams, who led nan convention successful touchdown catches, is owed to gain $18 cardinal successful guidelines net connected a salary-cap number of $28 million, according to Overthecap.com.

“Feel bully astir wherever we’re astatine there,” McVay said.

Etc.

McVay is excited astir nan summation of adjunct caput coach Kliff Kingsbury to a unit that will see violative coordinator Nate Sheelhaase and subordinate coordinator Dave Ragone. But McVay will proceed to telephone plays. “I’m not needfully joined to ever doing it but that is nan scheme to proceed to do that,” he said. Kingsbury is simply a “great overseer of a batch of things offensively,” McVay said. “The biggest point will beryllium that collaboration of knowing immoderate of nan successful things he’s done, immoderate of nan things we’ve done. … What’s intriguing to maine astir it is, it’s very different than what we’ve done, and conscionable because it’s different doesn’t mean that it can’t beryllium better…. Veteran tight extremity Tyler Higbee is simply a pending free agent, but McVay said nan Rams were “giving him his time” to determine whether to proceed his career. “If that’s thing that he wants to do, past we would beryllium willing successful continuing that narration pinch him,” McVay said.