How will playoff loss inform Rams offseason?

How will loss to Eagles shape Rams upcoming offseason?

How your season ends often informs the focus of the upcoming offseason in the NFL.

After the Los Angeles Rams found themselves on the wrong end of a game management mismatch in the wildcard round last year versus the Detroit Lions—leading to their early playoff exit—Sean McVay hired a coach specifically to help with gameday decisions in John Streicher.

This season we saw the Rams give up over 500 yards individually to Saquon Barkley in two matchups against the Philadelphia Eagles. He ran for four 50+ yard touchdowns on LA’s young defense. Jalen Hurts also rushed for a 44-yard score on the opening drive. While the Rams seem to have the pass rush figured out, they may have a long way to go in slowing the run.

On offense, it was a stark juxtaposition between Barkley and the athletically limited Kyren Williams. The Rams offense generally lacks big play threats outside of Puka Nacua, who quite possibly cemented himself as one of if not the best receiver in the NFL. While rookie Beaux Limmer was an apparent steal in the first round, he gave up game-changing pressures on the final possession versus Jalen Carter that could force LA to consider alternatives.

How will the divisional round loss against the Eagles shape the Rams’ 2025 offseason? There are several key areas exposed in the playoffs that must be addressed before LA can be considered a viable contender:

Off-ball linebacker

The Rams could easily be regretful this weekend if Bobby Wagner and the Washington Commanders somehow bottle up Barkley in the NFC Championship game. While LA usually does not make premium investments at off-ball linebacker, ahead of the 2022 season they signed Wagner to a hefty free agent contract a year after drafting Ernest Jones in the third round. Wagner played a single season in Los Angeles in a year where nothing else really went right for the team—and the Rams have stuck to mid-round draft picks and replacement level players at the position since.

For the most part, LA’s plan to go cheap at linebacker in order to invest elsewhere on the roster has worked out. There is a finite number of resources that you have to build out a roster. If you pile draft picks in the defense line and allocate large portions of the salary cap to quarterback, receiver, and offensive line, there are opportunity costs elsewhere. That bill seemed to come due against the Eagles and roared it’s ugly head at key moments this season.

Could we see the Rams buck their historical trend and take a linebacker early in this spring’s NFL Draft? Maybe there are veteran options available in free agency that make sense.

Center

It’s a huge accomplishment for Beaux Limmer to earn the starting center job over a rookie, especially considering that he had to beat out Steve Avila and prized free agent signing Jonah Jackson. Jackson spent most of the season on the bench after the interior offensive line returned to health.

But being good for a rookie is one thing. Outplaying your draft status is another. Whether Limmer has the potential to be a top-tier NFL center is a question that will loom over Los Angeles’ offseason.

Would the Rams consider keeping Jackson around and giving him another shot at center? LA would be crazy to not at least consider whether they’d benefit from making a change at one of the most important positions in the trenches.

Running back

It’s fair to be frustrated with Kyren Williams after his chronic fumbling issues and untimely mistakes last weekend in Philadelphia. But if we are being realistic, he’ll still play a large role in next year’s offense. Williams is slated to hit the free agent market at the conclusion of next season.

Drafting Blake Corum in the third round a year ago certainly complicates things. The rookie back was unable to find the field and carve out a consistent role. Week 18 against the Seattle Seahawks was his biggest individual opportunity yet; however, he broke his arm early in that game and was unavailable for the postseason.

Even if the Rams feel Corum can adequately replace Williams in 2026, they still need a change of pace back capable of hitting home runs.

Spending another early draft pick on a running back would be a tough pill to swallow, as would allocating salary cap resources to a free agent signing.

The Rams are in a tough spot in regards to their future at running back. How do you get more explosive in the backfield without breaking the bank?

Interior defensive line

Kobie Turner showed in 2024 that his surprisingly great rookie season was no fluke.

Rookie Braden Fiske demonstrated he was worth the Rams’ costly trade up to draft him in the early part of the second round. While he is certainly a pass rushing threat, he needs to develop against the run. In short yardage situations, LA will sometimes bring larger bodies on the field and put Fiske on the sideline.

But some of those larger bodies, like Bobby Brown and Neville Gallimore, will hit free agency in the coming months. Brown has played a lot of football for this Rams team since being drafted in the fourth round four years ago, and he’s still just 24 years old.

You can look at this through one of two lenses. First, that the Rams have an opportunity to redesign their plan on the interior and become more stout against the run. Second, a more pessimistic view, that their role players—who have played well in spurts—may not return to Los Angeles and could erode depth in a position group that’s already had ample draft resources poured into it.