Contract Conundrums: Leonard Floyd is Rams more logical trade asset

Rams may need to offload Floyd’s salary for draft capital

In January, Les Snead spoke with the media about how the Los Angeles Rams are facing a remodel situation after their attempt to “run it back” failed. Snead was sure to emphasize that the Rams remodel approach was not a rebuild, but that they would have to pay off some debt that they racked up over the last few seasons in pursuit of winning a Lombardi Trophy.

Over the next month and a half, Les Snead and Tony Pastoors will spearhead the Rams front office approach in finding the best way to remodel the roster despite restrictions in cap space and no first round pick in this year’s draft.

The best way for the Rams to remodel their roster will be to find cap saving moves through the release, trade, and restructuring of contracts. Some players may require some advanced methodology to conserve cap space, while others may be more straightforward.

Player contracts revisited this offseason…

Cooper Kupp, WR

Allen Robinson, WR

Tyler Higbee, TE

Joe Noteboom, LT

Brian Allen, C

Contract Conundrum #6: Leonard Floyd, EDGE

In 2023, Allen will earn a base salary of $13,500,000 and a roster bonus of $2,000,000, while carrying a cap hit of $22,000,000.

Current contract: Four years $64.0 million

Halfway through the 2022 season, Leonard Floyd’s production would have given the Rams an easy choice to release him this offseason. However, after a strong second half to the year Floyd has rebuilt his value. The Rams may want to offload his contract now before it is too late. While the Rams are very thin at Edge Rusher on the depth chart, they can tender Michael Hoecht and then use a second or third round pick in this year’s draft to replace Floyd’s production.

The main piece that LA will have to navigate is the June 1 designation. The Rams would not be able to move on from Floyd until after June 1st unless they want to incur a $19,000,000 dead cap hit. That outcome is very unlikely. If one of the other 31 teams fails to acquire an edge rusher in free agency and the draft, then the Rams could easily swing a deal.

Teams are always trying to rush the passer, making Floyd the Rams best bargaining chip. The bonus here is that Floyd is also very reliable in run containment. He’s been durable over his tenure with the Rams despite lower extremity/knee flare ups in training camp.

Decision: Post-June 1 trade