3 Rams Most Likely to Be Traded This Offseason
By Jovan Alford
The Los Angeles Rams had a nice rebound this season, winning 10 games and returning to the postseason after only winning five games in 2022.
It was one of Sean McVay’s best coaching jobs as he took a relatively young team mixed with a few veterans from the Super Bowl and had them playing competitive football from Week 1 to the Super Wild Card weekend matchup against the Detroit Lions.
After a surprisingly successful season, Sean McVay and GM Les Snead will look to continue to add to the roster and hopefully contend for the NFC West crown. However, the Rams only have a projected $35 million in cap space, meaning they might have to make some trades.
Below, we’ll discuss a few players that the Rams are likely to part ways with this offseason.
1. Joseph Noteboom
The Los Angeles Rams are projected to have $35 million in cap space this offseason, according to Spotrac.
While that’s great on paper, Los Angeles has a couple of key players they might want to re-sign this offseason, such as offensive guard Kevin Dotson. If the Rams re-sign Dotson and restricted free agent Alaric Jackson, Noteboom could be out the door this offseason.
The 28-year-old has the fourth-highest cap hit on the team heading into 2024 behind Matthew Stafford, Aaron Donald, and Cooper Kupp. However, if they decide to cut him, it will only cost them $5 million ($20 million cap off the books and $15 million in dead money).
That being said, it’s not often NFL teams cut a veteran offensive lineman who has been a solid starter over the years. Noteboom got outplayed by Jackson, who started 15 games this season at left tackle.
Noteboom didn’t grade out well this season as he posted an overall grade of 52.9 on Pro Football Focus and wasn’t much help in run blocking (49.9). He also allowed four sacks, which was good for 36th in the NFL.
With some NFL teams not having a starting quality offensive tackle, the Rams could get a Day 3 draft pick. However, it will come down to whether Los Angeles wants to spend money on retaining Dotson/Jackson or keep Noteboom at his $20M cap hit.