Rams set for plenty of cap space in 2026

Would Rams GM Les Snead make another blockbuster trade with all this cap space he has next year?

The L.A. Rams are projected to have about $75 million in cap space in 2026 and it could be even more if this is Matthew Stafford’s last year with the team. The Rams will need to keep some of their own, and specifically Kyren Williams appears to be the only priority right now, but general manager Les Snead has an absurd amount of spending power over the next 12 months if he chooses to use it.

And we know how much he likes to use it.

How much cap space in 2026?

Although that $75 million figure is against a projected salary cap of $295.5 million, the Rams are certainly in line to be a top-10 team in cap space next year.

If the team cuts Darious Williams, they save $7.5 million more.

If Matthew Stafford isn’t on the roster, depending on any contractual changes we don’t know about yet, the team will save another $31 million.

That could put the Rams anywhere between $80 and $110 million in 2026 cap space.

The second biggest cap hit on the team belongs to Davante Adams. The receiver signed a two-year, $44 million deal with $25 million guaranteed. Adams has a $12 million hit in 2025 and $28 million in 2026, but the team could also move on from him within a year.

But if they do that and move on from Stafford, L.A. will probably be in some form of a rebuild.

At least they’ll have the cap space to do it.

2026 free agents

The “big” free agents in 2026:

• RB Kyren Williams
• TE Tyler Higbee
• RT Rob Havenstein
• QB Jimmy Garoppolo
• S Kam Curl
• CB Ahkello Witherspoon
• S Quentin Lake
• CB Cobie Durant
• WR Tutu Atwell
• LB Nate Landman
• CB Derion Kendrick
• DE Larrell Murchison
• RB Ronnie Rivers
• TE Colby Parkinson

Clearly, we could see a major influx of new talent next year (or via trade before then) based on how few of these names seem to be necessary keeps.

Many of the Rams best players are on rookie contracts and extensions is where some of the money will go.

2026 extension candidates

The biggest of all is Puka Nacua. But Kobie Turner is also going to cost a boatload, while Steve Avila and Byron Young are also probably in line for extension, although maybe not as urgently as Nacua and Turner.

In any case, extensions for Nacua and Turner shouldn’t actually cost a lot of cap space until 2027 at the soonest, but more likely 2028.

That means that Snead’s best bet is to load up on high-profile veteran additions between now and the start of the 2026 season.

It’s really tough at this point to say who will be out there next offseason, but a major name at quarterback who wears out his welcome at his current location could potentially be in the cards as a Stafford replacement, if it comes to that. Though these situations were disasters, another QB trade market like Russell Wilson, Deshaun Watson, and Aaron Rodgers could develop in 2026.

Perhaps players like Trevor Lawrence, Dak Prescott, Tua Tagovailoa, or even a two-time MVP like Lamar Jackson; if the Ravens don’t win a playoff game next season, both sides may feel that a change of scenery is in order.

Few GMs will have the money or the nerve to try to make such a move. Maybe they shouldn’t make such a move. But Les Snead probably would.

With the cap space he has to use, right now anything is on the table after 2025.