Rams are set up with money and draft picks, now they can do ‘anything we want’

Kevin Demoff, chief operating officer of the Rams, shared thoughts on the upcoming NFL draft and the team’s salary-cap situation. (Jayne Kamin-Oncea / Getty Images)

The Rams are flush with salary-cap space and cash to spend on free agents. They hold the No. 19 pick in the NFL draft. And, after a year spent in relative obscurity, they are ready to return as a regular prime-time attraction.

So Kevin Demoff, the Rams’ chief operating officer, will not be repeating the message he sent season-ticket holders before last season, which amounted to an apology in advance.

“Expectations are much higher this year,” Demoff told reporters Monday night before a fan event at the YouTube Theater. “They’re kind of where we’re accustomed to them being, and I think that’s something our group is excited about.”

The Rams are coming off a 10-7 season and a playoff appearance. Those were surprising achievements after the Rams pulled back financially, signed only veteran-minimum free agents and made no blockbuster trades or late-season additions.

Now the Rams have about $40 million in cap space. They could have at least 11 draft picks.

Read more: Rams roster needs: Which players might they target in free agency and the draft?

The goal behind last offseason’s philosophy was to amass draft capital and cap space so that coach Sean McVay and general Les Snead could “do what they do best,” Demoff said.

“Which is, you know, dream big, you know, get crazy and have an offseason,” Demoff said. “And so we sit at the precipice of that.

“I have no idea how this offseason will turn out but I know we have the ability to do anything we want, and that’s a position we haven’t been in in a while.”

The Rams have needs at multiple positions, perhaps most notably edge rusher and cornerback. They also could use offensive linemen, a receiver, a tight end and a quarterback to back up Matthew Stafford and perhaps succeed him.

McVay, hired in 2017, has never made a first-round pick. Snead…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/rams-set-money-draft-picks-233948087.html

Author : LA Times

Publish date : 2024-02-27 23:39:48

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