Turf Show Times
How will loss to Eagles shape Rams upcoming offseason?
How your season ends often informs the focus of the upcoming offseason in the NFL.
After the Los Angeles Rams found themselves on the wrong end of a game management mismatch in the wildcard round last year versus the Detroit Lions—leading to their early playoff exit—Sean McVay hired a coach specifically to help with gameday decisions in John Streicher.
This season we saw the Rams give up over 500 yards individually to Saquon Barkley in two matchups against the Philadelphia Eagles. He ran for four 50+ yard touchdowns on LA’s young defense. Jalen Hurts also rushed for a 44-yard score on the opening drive. While the Rams seem to have the pass rush figured out, they may have a long way to go in slowing the run.
On offense, it was a stark juxtaposition between Barkley and the athletically limited Kyren Williams. The Rams offense generally lacks big play threats outside of Puka Nacua, who quite possibly cemented himself as one of if not the best receiver in the NFL. While rookie Beaux Limmer was an apparent steal in the first round, he gave up game-changing pressures on the final possession versus Jalen Carter that could force LA to consider alternatives.
How will the divisional round loss against the Eagles shape the Rams’ 2025 offseason? There are several key areas exposed in the playoffs that must be addressed before LA can be considered a viable contender:
The Rams could easily be regretful this weekend if Bobby Wagner and the Washington Commanders somehow bottle up Barkley in the NFC Championship game. While LA usually does not make premium investments at off-ball linebacker, ahead of the 2022 season they signed Wagner to a hefty free agent contract a year after drafting Ernest Jones in the third round. Wagner played a single season in Los Angeles in a year where nothing else really went right for the team—and the Rams have stuck to mid-round draft picks and replacement level players at the position since.
For the most part, LA’s plan to go cheap at linebacker in order to invest elsewhere on the roster has worked out. There is a finite number of resources that you have to build out a roster. If you pile draft picks in the defense line and allocate large portions of the salary cap to quarterback, receiver, and offensive line, there are opportunity costs elsewhere. That bill seemed to come due against the Eagles and roared it’s ugly head at key moments this season.
Could we see the Rams buck their historical trend and take a linebacker early in this spring’s NFL Draft? Maybe there are veteran options available in free agency that make sense.
It’s a huge accomplishment for Beaux Limmer to earn the starting center job over a rookie, especially considering that he had to beat out Steve Avila and prized free agent signing Jonah Williams. Williams spent most of the season on...
