Rams shouldn’t trade for tight end. It’s time for Terrance Ferguson

The Los Angeles Rams may not be done at the trade deadline. While Sean McVay did say that, “it’s not something that we’ve really talked out,” he also added, “I think if certain opportunities arise that you feel like give you a chance to be able to significantly upgrade your football team.”

It was a typical coach-speak answer when it comes to the trade deadline and making any addition. McVay didn’t rule anything out, but also said they weren’t necessarily active. Still, in the window that they are currently in with Matthew Stafford playing at his current level, it would make sense for the Rams to do what they can to capitalize on that. The Athletic’s Nate Atkins recently wrote about this and mentioned tight end as a position to watch. Said Atkins,

“Los Angeles could use a top-flight tight end now that Tyler Higbee is 32 and a rash of injuries has taken some of a toll. He leads the team’s tight ends with 13 catches. Los Angeles drafted Terrance Ferguson in the second round in April to eventually become that target, but it’s been a slower transition with his need to improve as a blocker. He caught his first touchdown against the Jacksonville Jaguars but has seen just four targets and a 19 percent snap share so far. The Rams are leaning more into playing multiple tight ends as a way to protect Stafford and introduce the play-action elements he thrives in. But by playing two and three at a time, they also lessen the need for any one of them to stand out. Still, it’s a position that could produce more with the attention Nacua and Davante Adams command on the outside.”

On one hand, it makes sense that the Rams would still want to add a tight end. Higbee has taken a step back this season and Colby Parkinson isn’t living up to his free agent contract. The Rams currently rank 28th in tight end targets this season. The position as a whole has 30 receptions in 2025. There are 10 tight ends this season with 30 or more receptions.

However, at what point is a tight end not the thing that’s going to unlock the offense? What I mean by that is, head coach Sean McVay has pushed heavily for a tight end over the past three years. The Rams attempted to trade up for tight ends Dalton Kincaid and Brock Bowers in the draft. Parkinson and Higbee are the 13th and 15th-highest paid tight ends in 2025. The Rams are the only team in the NFL with two tight ends inside the top-15 salaries. That’s not to mention the addition of Terrance Ferguson in the offseason as a second round pick.

Ferguson isn’t just a player that the Rams drafted in the second round. This is a player that the Rams considered taking with the 26th overall pick had they not been able to trade back. While his snap count has increased recently,...