The Los Angeles Rams are already predicted to take a massive step backwards after winning the Super Bowl. The contracts of several stars are expiring, the team has little draft capital and the cap space situation does not look rosy. But is that enough to cause the Rams to falter?

Munich – With a little alcohol in their blood and the Super Bowl Trophy in hand, the Rams players were quick to trumpet the usual platitudes at the victory parade.

There would be a dynasty, reaching the Super Bowl again next season – merely a formality. The euphoria after winning the title is understandably high and the Rams are well positioned with head coach Sean McVay and a number of star players.

But of course, a kick on the euphoria brake is inevitable. General manager Les Snead nudged open the Rams’ title window with a rigorous “all-in” mentality. Traded draft picks for seasoned stars like Jalen Ramsey, Matthew Stafford and Von Miller, handed out fat contracts and now has to juggle cap space numbers before the start of Free Agency.

Long Free Agent List

Because the cards are reshuffled, the Rams could lose key mainstays like Miller, Odell Beckham Jr. or Darious Williams. The contracts of centre Brian Allen, guard Austin Corbett and key backup offensive lineman Joseph Noteboom are also expiring.

“The concept is working,” Snead stressed to the New York Post just over a week ago. As of today, though, the Rams are nearly $13 million over cap space, so keeping the stars won’t be quite that easy – but not impossible, either.

Creating cap space through contract restructuring

Cap space is a science in itself. Front offices look for ways to free up a little more budget year after year. And the Rams have several options after this season, too. Stars like Stafford, Ramsey, Cooper Kupp and Aaron Donald, as of today, will receive a large amount of “base salary” next season. This sum then only affects cap space for the 2022 season.

To get around this, the Rams can restructure the contracts of the affected players, convert the “base salary” into a “signing bonus” and then spread the sum evenly over the remaining contract period. The affected player does not lose out as a result. According to “overthecap”, the Rams can free up just under 70 million in cap space with simple restructurings.

Experts also estimate that cap space will increase in the coming years, with a cap hit of $208.2 million for the upcoming season. A cap hit of five million in 2022 could then take more cap space from a team, percentage-wise, than it would in 2025.

Draft carries risks

The task of keeping the broad quality of the Rams squad high is likely to be much trickier. After all, without first-round picks and with many stars in their own ranks, there is little capital left for rotation players, backups and special teamers (such as kicker Matt Gay, who also becomes a free agent).

The Rams have done a good job of mitigating the potential drop-off in performance in recent years by making excellent picks in the middle and later rounds. “We use our draft picks creatively. Sometimes to select a player. Sometimes to trade up for a player,” Snead said.

That this tactic carries risks is an open secret.

Players from the middle and later rounds are less likely to strike than first-round picks. Two or three blunders in the draft and the construct can quickly shake, especially if star players fall out. It’s a scenario the Rams largely avoided last season. Combined, Rams starters missed 44 games last season, the fourth-lowest total in the league.

What’s next.

The Rams can continue to go “all-in”, theoretically keep some stars through restructuring and make another run at the Super Bowl. In the draft, the Rams currently have three picks (one fifth-rounder and two seventh-rounders). In addition, there are likely to be some compensatory picks for last year’s free agents who signed with new teams, and the Detroit Lions signed Brad Holmes as general manager, previously working as scouting director for the Rams. Under the NFL’s Equal Employment and Workplace Diversity rule, the Rams will receive a third-round pick for Holmes’ departure.

If the Rams want to make the Super Bowl slogans come true, they’ll have to tinker mightily with their stars’ contracts in the coming weeks, work through the long list of free agents and once again find quality in the middle and late rounds in the draft.

No easy task, but Les Snead has shown in the past that he still has an ace up his sleeve every now and then when it comes to “all-in” tactics.