When you win the Super Bowl, it is the standard indicator that your team is the best in the league. It is almost guaranteed that they will be very competitive. This might not be the case for the L.A Rams. After moving to L.A and deciding that blockbuster trades and money were the best way to solve their Super Bowl drought, they have finally hoisted the Lombardi Trophy. This game plan has brought the Rams results, that can’t be argued, but the future of the organization looks a bit shaky after this Super Bowl run.
Missing Parts
Shortly after the Rams won the Super Bowl, retirement rumors were spreading all around this team. While their starting left tackle Andrew Whitworth was expected to be playing his last game, no real shock here, the real curveball was when star defensive tackle Aaron Donald decided to retire. First before getting into the craziness of Donald, the value that Whitworth has provided this team can’t be overlooked. He protected Stafford’s blindside and really stabilized the left side of the offensive line. Finding another quality blindeside blocked is going to be hard with the cap and draft restraints on this team. Now getting into Donald, this is a really tough pill for the Rams to swallow. Arguably, your best player is deciding to retire right in the middle of his prime. Not only does this hurt the defensive line, but the entire team. Now you are going to be getting less pressure, less effective at stopping the run and that is going to have ripple effects throughout the entire team. Just look at the NFC championship game and Super Bowl. Who made the game winning plays? That’s right, Aaron Donald. Now that he is gone, more pressure is inherently going onto the shoulders of Stafford and Jalen Ramsey, and from what we saw from this postseason I don’t know how confident I would be with that.
Missing Future
Not only are Donald and Whitworth gone, but multiple players are going out into free agency. Big names like Odell and Von Miller, as well as role guys like Darious Willimas and Joseph Noteboom. The Rams won’t be able to re-sign many of these guys as extensions for Stafford and other big money has this team well over the cap. That means L.A won’t be getting better in free agency, and might even get worse due to their losses. Most contending teams are still able to make up for a few free agency departures with their first and second round draft picks. For L.A, they will have to wait until the third round. They are hamstrung without any ability to really add difference makers to this squad, and with the likes of Donald and either Odell or Miller this squad could look drastically different next year.
Top Image: AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill