A year from next Sunday, February 6, 2022, SoFi Stadium is scheduled to host the Super Bowl LVI.
Since NFL and Rams officials broke ground in 2016 with ceremonial digging, the Rams have dreamed of winning the sport’s biggest game in their $ 5 billion stadium.
The dream was born with quarterback Jared Goff in a starring role – the number 1 pick in the 2016 draft only slammed to stadium construction workers in 2018 – but Goff was ousted by Matthew Stafford, who traded in on Saturday the Detroit Lions were acquired. Goff, a third round in this year’s draft and number 1 in 2022 and 2023.
The deal only becomes official on March 17, when the new league year begins, and the Rams take into account 12-year-old Stafford doing what Goff did not do: win a Super Bowl.
Goff helped the Rams and coach Sean McVay reach the 2018 Super Bowl LIII. Stafford’s mission, and perhaps the measure of trade success, is nothing more than to win the Rams a championship.
To do so, McVay and the Rams must continue to review an offense that has not yet been the same, as former full-back Todd Gurley’s question about the left knee surfaced in the latter part of the 2018 season.
Stafford may not be the only new piece if the Rams plan to go beyond the NFC Division Round, where they lost to the Green Bay Packers.
“Crime will be something we will discuss many times,” General Crib Les Snead said five days before trading for Stafford. “I know Sean and I already have it, how do we get back to giving us the edge we want.”
The Rams’ off-season shopping list may include a receiver who poses a legal threat. With the collaboration of Sammy Watkins and Brandin Cooks – and Gurley who forced defensive coordinators to stop the run – the offense flourished in 2017 and 2018. But in March, the Rams cut Gurley and traded Cooks to remove the salary cap. Goff without two of the weapons that helped him become a two-time Pro Bowl pick.
Prior to this season, McVay thought Josh could replace Reynolds Cooks. But the Rams’ one-time notice was a 56-strike to Robert Woods in a win over Washington. Unlike other players who apparently sent receivers deep in search of a catch or pass penalty, McVay did not.
“The long explosive and some of the shots in the field were not as common as years ago,” McVay admitted the day after the loss to the Packers. “I think it made it a lot harder, and your margin of error is much slimmer than a foul if you feel you have to play 10 and 13 times to get a touchdown.”
Quarterback Matthew Stafford is warming up ahead of a game between the Detroit Lions and Tennessee Titans on Dec. 20.
(Wesley Hitt / Getty Images)
Goff said before this season that it was his goal to have three receivers of 1,000 yards. The Rams end with none.
Woods got 90 passes for 936 yards. Cooper Kupp, who ended the season with a knee in 2018, had 92 receptions for 974 yards and pronounced the loss for the Packers due to knee bursitis.
Reynolds is an unlimited free agent, and Van Jefferson has shown during his rookie season that he is ready to step in.
In 2019, Tyler Higbee showed signs of rising in one of the NFL’s elite cliffs when he delivered four consecutive 100-yard performances. This season, his season high was 67 yards and his reception has dropped from 69 to 44.
The close Gerald Everett is an unlimited agent. Brycen Hopkins, a fourth-round pick selected last year, played only a few snaps in a game.
The Rams’ running game will be built around Cam Akers, who showed a flash of excitement as a rookie, but was also sidelined twice due to injuries.
Akers rushed 625 yards and two touchdowns and made several plays as a receiver. In the loss to the Packers, McVay Akers fielded several times from the wildcat formation, perhaps a preview of a wrinkle that could be added next season.
But beyond Akers, the stormy attack is turbulent. Darrell Henderson is not yet durable and ends each of his first two seasons with injuries that required surgery. Veteran Malcolm Brown is an unlimited free agent.
The offensive line can also be flux. Downtown Austin Blythe is an unlimited free agent. Veteran left-back Andrew Whitworth has indicated he may return for a 16de season but did not announce it.
“He mentioned to me that he was going to be back,” Snead said, “but I know it’s something he wants to think about.”
The offense may not be the only important aspect of the case. The defense is the best of the NFL this season, but there is no guarantee that it will be nearly as dominant next season.
Brandon Staley, who coordinated the Vic Fangio-inspired hybrid 3-4 scheme using multiple defensive rugby, is now the Chargers’ coach. Linebacker coach Joe Barry has joined him, and cornerback Aubrey Pleasant is leaving for more responsibility with the Lions staff.
Snead said McVay “has a vision to keep the DNA of the scheme Brandon has implemented”, and wants new coordinator Raheem Morris to continue it with his own twist. But Morris has never accompanied the plan.
Star lineman Aaron Donald and star cornerback Jalen Ramsey are cornerstones for a unit that could lose several key players.
Edge Rusher Leonard Floyd, safety John Johnson and cornerback Troy Hill are unlimited free agents, as well as Morgan Fox, the defensive line. As the salary cap shrinks from $ 198 million to a projected $ 176 million, according to overthecap.com, and the Rams add the Stafford’s $ 20 million cap hit to Goff’s $ 22 million dead money cap hit, others may veterans feel the pressure.
“It’s going to be an interesting off-season that maneuvers, adjustments, but it’s also going to take,” Snead said, talking about the general situation in the league before the trade. ‘Some veterans with higher salaries, will there be more veterans who want to continue with some stability and welcome salary cuts?
“Will the veterans and teams agree to part ways, test the waters and the market and find out what it really is, and maybe draw again?”
In an effort to further strengthen its staff, McVay has appointed Joe DeCamillis to replace John Bonamego as special team coordinator.
Kicker Matt Gay was a reliable solution to the Rams’ disaster in the early season, and punter Johnny Hekker is one of the best in the NFL. Longhunter Jake McQuaide, the Ram who is the tallest, is an unlimited free agent.