11 Los Angeles Rams Who Won't Return Next Season
The Rams' window for contending is closing as Matthew Stafford gets another year older, and the young team will look to hold onto as many key pieces as possible.
9. Royce Freeman
The emergence of Kyren Williams has really transformed the Rams' backfield, but that doesn't mean that McVay doesn't need to address the depth issues.
You can't roll with Ronnie Rivers and Royce Freeman as your RB2 and RB3 forever. It's pretty telling that McVay decided to sign Darrell Henderson for a reunion out of free agency rather than lean on Freeman and Rivers when Williams missed four games in the middle of the year.
A few things have me including Freeman on the list over Rivers:
- Contract: Freeman is an unrestricted free agent, while Rivers is an exclusive rights free agent (ERFA).
- Pedigree: Freeman has bounced around between four NFL teams already, but he's consistently been able to find jobs. Someone will kick the tires in free agency, and he's not worth getting into any sort of a bidding war over.
- Play: Freeman and Rivers graded out similarly as rushers in 2023, but Rivers was a significantly better receiver. You don't want to rely on either one, but Freeman doesn't have the edge you'd want to see here to overcome those first two points.