4 things I think after Rams’ active first wave of free agency

Are the Rams positioning their roster to draft a QB early?

Nearly every hole on the Los Angeles Rams’ roster was patched in the early days of free agency.

The Rams kept a hole from opening up at quarterback by renewing their vows with Matthew Stafford for at least one more year. They also retained Tutu Atwell, Alaric Jackson, Ahkello Witherspoon, Jimmy Garoppolo, and Ronnie Rivers.

LA’s new faces fill holes at areas of weakness, such as swapping out Cooper Kupp for Davante Adams at receiver, bringing in Nate Landman from the Atlanta Falcons after watching multiple linebackers leave in free agency, replenishing depth at center and guard by reuniting with Coleman Shelton, and finding their run-stopping interior defensive lineman in Poona Ford.

With the dust settling on free agency and as we start turning our focus towards the NFL Draft, these are 4 things I think about the state of the 2025 Rams:

1 – Free agency roster patching is wise

The smartest teams in the NFL use the free agent market to plug holes in order to keep their options open when the draft rolls around. If you find yourself drafting for need in the first and second rounds instead of focusing on selecting the best player available, more often than not you be disappointed in both the short-term and long-term results.

Blaine Grisak: Re-signing Ahkello Witherspoon is another band-aid at corner

While individually the signings of Witherspoon at corner and Landman at off-ball linebacker may not be considered homeruns, they at least provide short-term security while the team can consider longer term upgrades through the draft. This prevents the Rams from feeling forced into decisions at these positions when the draft board otherwise suggests they should go in a different direction.

If LA ends up drafting a corner or linebacker early that can step into a starting role day one, the front office would have no regrets sending either of Witherspoon or Landman to the bench. They are fringe starters at the NFL level as suggested by their limited markets in free agency. Either way the Rams can get by with a lesser pool of talent at these positions. They’ve done it before.

2 – Are the Rams positioning themselves to take a QB early?

While on the surface it seems the Rams used free agency to patch immediate holes so they can keep their options open for the draft, another sensible read on the approach is that they are positioning the roster to withstand the possibility they could take a quarterback early.

Quarterback would be somewhat of a luxury pick in 2025, especially with Stafford and Garoppolo under contract. However, the Rams need a long-term answer at the position and no player currently on the roster fits that bill.

When meeting with the press prior to free agency, general manager Les Snead was vocal about the team’s intention to draft a developmental player at quarterback:

(On whether they would like to add a young quarterback to the roster this offseason)…

”We probably would approach it ‘asap’ [as soon as possible]. I do think part of the equation that’s the hardest part of that equation is… it’s one thing to identify QB, it’s another to actually be able to acquire him. Let’s say we did and that person could learn under Matthew, that’s probably only beneficial. Two things about that equation. Even if we identified someone, sometimes it’s hard to acquire them and then you get into, okay, wait a minute. We do have Matthew, and we want to chase ‘special’, whatever special may be, so maybe it’s best at that moment to draft another position player and keep going that way. You’re always balancing those two things, but finding the next QB, that one is easier said than done. I think we’ve seen that over the course of history, the Green Bay Packers have done a nice job.”

Let’s be clear. You can’t say you are serious about drafting a developmental player with true starting upside—in the same vein as the Green Bay Packers’ approach—and wait until the middle rounds of the draft to take a quarterback. There isn’t a good track record of QB’s taken after the first couple of rounds that turn out to be bonafide star players (“special” as Snead mentions).

If the Rams fall in love with a developmental QB that can be groomed behind Stafford for a season or two before taking over the reigns, they’ll likely have to make that pick at 26 or trade down into the second round.

It’s undeniable that the stars are lining up for the Rams to draft a quarterback early. Whether they actually pull the trigger remains to be seen.

3 – I see the upside in this team

You don’t have to work hard to sell yourself on the ceiling for the 2025 Rams.

LA pushed the Philadelphia Eagles to the game’s final moments in this year’s divisional round. They should expect growth from Puka Nacua, Jared Verse, Braden Fiske, and others. They also solidified their run defense with Poona Ford and are bringing back nearly everyone in the secondary.

On offense LA got more explosive by replacing Kupp with Adams, and Adams fits a mold formerly filled by the likes of Sammy Watkins and Odell Beckham, Jr. The Rams haven’t had a dominant receiver with that skillset in some time. Tyler Higbee will enter the season healthy. The Rams have an overhauled offensive line that can also win on the ground.

There’s no reason why the Rams can’t be in the Super Bowl conversation this year.

4 – With that said, there are some questions at the fringes

The roster in its current construction has some similar feelings to that of the 2021 championship team. This group still feels somewhat top heavy, which means that a couple injuries at some key spots could derail everything they are hoping to accomplish.

It’s a high wire act to put an age 37 quarterback on the field. His backup has a long list of injuries too. Adams will be 33 in time for the playoffs and his running mate Puka Nacua is no stranger to missing games. RT Rob Havenstein will be 33 as well with a recent history of lost time due to injury. While Garoppolo is solid, The Rams truly don’t have similarly talented replacements for any of Stafford, Adams, or Havenstein. If either of these players are lost for an extended timeframe, it could spell disaster for LA.

And while the defense is relatively young across the board, the big exception to this is the cornerback room. Darious Williams is 32 and faded down the back half of last season. Witherspoon is soon to be 30. He’s not the kind of player that will age gracefully, and though he’s been able to stick around as a starter for this team, it will be ugly if/when his athletic skillset begins to diminish. Cobie Durant is fine. It’s just concerning that the team seems hesitant to make him a full-time starter.

All-in-all I just highlighted age and injury concerns at quarterback, receiver, tackle, and corner. These are amongst the most important positions on any NFL roster.

If the Rams are going to be Super Bowl contenders, there is simply not much margin for error at these positions. It feels like LA is on a razor’s edge in some respects.