Rams Winners & Losers: Who benefits from LA’s free agent spending spree?

Will Davante Adams and Matthew Stafford make fireworks in Los Angeles?

The Los Angeles Rams have dominated headlines in the early going of the 2025 offseason.

The drama surrounding Matthew Stafford and a potential trade ended up being a nothingburger. The veteran QB is back in LA for a shot at another Super Bowl.

While Stafford will likely be without star receiver Cooper Kupp this season, he’ll have a new weapon at his disposal in Davante Adams. Adams was recently released by the New York Jets—who acquired him for an 11-game stint in exchange for a third-round pick—and was free to sign elsewhere in advance of Monday’s legal tampering window.

The Rams remained active once the free agency tampering period officially started. They inked a deal with Jimmy Garoppolo to return as Stafford’s understudy for 2025 despite having options to potentially start.

LA then reached an agreement for a reunion with Coleman Shelton. Shelton most recently played for the Chicago Bears and will produce depth and/or competition for second-year center Beaux Limmer.

To finish off Monday, the Rams signed one of the better interior defensive lineman on the market in Poona Ford. Ford spent last season with the Los Angeles Chargers, but the Rams should also know him well from his days with the NFC West rival Seattle Seahawks.

Who on the roster benefits most from LA’s additions? Which players are in jeopardy of ceding playing time to a newcomer? Let’s dive into some offseason winners & losers:

Winners

Matthew Stafford, QB

There’s no bigger winner after the Rams’ latest additions than Stafford.

He’ll have a dynamic weapon in Davante Adams that fits the mold formerly filled by the likes of Sammy Watkins, Odell Beckham, Jr., and Allen Robinson (in theory). Don’t confuse Adams with a replacement for Cooper Kupp—that’s not why he’s here. Sean McVay will isolate Adams on the backside of plays and ask him to win one-on-one matchups. It’s a role they’ve had in mind for several players over the years, but none have been able to succeed long-term.

The Rams also solidified depth along the interior offensive line by bringing back Coleman Shelton. The last memory we have of Stafford on the field was the back-to-back key pressures by Jalen Carter in the NFC playoffs divisional round. If Limmer doesn’t continue his upward trajectory, LA has just purchased an insurance plan that will keep their Super Bowl hopes from being dashed.

The Rams in the NFC West race

The Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers are quickly getting worse this offseason.

Seattle’s swap of Geno Smith for Sam Darnold is head-scratching. The Rams’ defensive line have to be licking their chops after how they rushed Darnold in two matchups a year ago, and the Seahawks’ interior offensive line is still a mess. Seattle also traded DK Metcalf to the Pittsburgh Steelers and moved on from Tyler Lockett.

Things aren’t much better in San Francisco. The 49ers traded Deebo Samuel to the Washington Commanders, and this is the list of players they’ve lost (so far) in free agency:

• Aaron Banks, G
• Charvarius Ward, CB
• Talanoa Hufanga, DB
• Dre Greenlaw, MLB
• Jaylon Moore, OT
• Elijah Mitchell, RB
• Josh Dobbs, QB
• Kyle Jusczyk, FB

The Arizona Cardinals might be the team to keep an eye on as a potential threat to the Rams in the division.

Cobie Durant, CB

Fans seemed to think that the Rams might address corner in free agency or early in the draft. That might still be the case, but as the sun sets on day one of the legal tampering period there don’t appear to be any moves on the horizon.

That’s good news for Cobie Durant, who is in line to benefit from a lack of reinforcements in a contract year. LA could still bring back Ahkello Witherspoon, which makes for a crowded room with Durant and Darious Williams.

Byron Young, EDGE

Michael Hoecht is leaving to play for the Buffalo Bills. Buffalo is replacing one former Ram, Von Miller, with another.

While Byron Young has been solid in his first two NFL seasons, he was somewhat a part-time player last year. That’s OK for EDGE rushers that specialize in getting after the quarterback, but Young’s running mate in Jared Verse has demonstrated he’s an every-down player. Is this an opportunity for Young to prove the same?

Losers

Tutu Atwell, WR

Jordan Whittington, WR

On the surface it is confusing that the Rams would re-sign Tutu Atwell to a one-year, $10M deal and then just days later add Adams. Does that make too many mouths to feed, or is there room to play Puka Nacua, Adams, and Atwell in 11 personnel? That leaves second-year receiver Jordan Whittington as the odd man out, though he seems to deserve a bigger opportunity to 2025.

How is McVay planning to use this group of receivers?

Beaux Limmer, C

Depending on how you want to read the Shelton signing, it’s either a good or bad sign for Limmer. If you think Shelton is back in LA to push Beaux Limmer for a starting job, that might suggest the Rams aren’t fully confident in their second-year center. If the plan is for Shelton to simply mentor Limmer and provide depth at multiple interior positions, then it’s fair to be bullish on the youngster.

Braden Fiske, DT

Maybe this is too harsh, but the Rams’ signing of Poona Ford is somewhat of an indictment on Fiske not being a fully well-rounded player at this stage in his career. Fiske is current a penetrating interior defensive lineman that is best at getting after the quarterback. He has room to improve in the running game, which is why LA paired with Ford.

Either of Kobie Turner or Fiske have to come off the field in order for Ford to come on, and on obvious rushing downs it will likely be Fiske. This doesn’t mean the second-year tackle can’t develop into an equally adept run defender, but for right now that’s not who he is.