A hallmark of our team under Sean McVay and Les Snead has been aggressive moves in pursuit of Super Bowl titles. While this year may look different looking at the first two weeks of the season, make no mistake, we expect to compete for the NFC West title this season and run toward Super Bowl LVIII in Las Vegas.
We always knew that there would be a time when we would have to step back from our usual approach to help continue our continued path of success. In the past, when we traded young Pro Bowl players who would get new contracts—Sammy Watkins, Marcus Peters, Brandin Cooks, Jalen Ramsey—we had the flexibility of the long-term salary cap to take on those new contracts. If we want to get players in the short term like Dante Fowler or Von Miller, we have the extra capital to do that to help us drive the Super Bowl, which it did in both cases.
During last year’s trade deadline, it was clear that in a new era where teams were willing to be as aggressive as we were, we had neither the capital project nor the salary cap space to win trade talks and the ability to take on top players at the salaries they might command.
As a result, we were faced with an off-season option. We could once again restructure contracts to give ourselves one last chance with our starting lineup, but that means a full rebuild will be necessary over the next few seasons. Or we can focus on replenishing the initial capital and improving the salary cap position over the long term, setting the stage for us to be competitive now and in the future.
Collectively as an organization, we chose the latter path, believing in the talent on our current roster and the skills of our coaching staff to get us back into the playoffs. As we sit today, we have 11 draft picks in this year’s draft, including three of the top 77. We have nearly all of our picks in 2024 to build next year and have the capital to make trades at this year’s trade deadline. From a salary cap perspective, while we had to go from players who helped us lift the Lombardy Trophy in SoFi Stadium, we’ve taken out all salary cap costs in 2023 and we expect to have more than $60 million in the space in 2024, the largest salary cap space We’ve had it since we moved to Los Angeles.
Let me be clear – our goal for 2023 is to win the NFC West and make a deep playoff run. Change does not mean that we expect to take a step back. Our Super Bowl LVI starting lineup includes 19 starters (out of 22) who did not start in Super Bowl LIII just three years ago. Matthew Stafford, Cooper Cobb, and Aaron Donald go into this new season looking like they were hungry for a few seasons and getting back into Super Bowl form. We’re excited for young players like Cam Akers, Kobe Durant, Van Jefferson and Ernest Jones to play more prominent roles. Sean has assembled a new coaching staff with a focus on great, connected teachers and different backgrounds to collaborate and figure out the best way to win the NFC.
We know what a privilege it is to be Team Los Angeles and with that come great expectations. It’s not enough to win just one championship, even when you win that championship at home. Our vision and ownership mandate has always been to achieve continued success and multiple Lombardy awards. Under the leadership of Sean and Les, we are confident that this plan will allow us to compete and be competitive not only for this year but for years to come, and we can’t wait to see you at SoFi Stadium this fall to begin that journey together.
Thank you for your continued support and Go Rams!
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