After falling short of the Super Bowl, the Los Angeles Rams are going all in to ensure that won’t happen again in 2026. The future pain of an inevitable rebuild will ultimately be worth it if the Rams manage to win another title.
L.A. sent four total draft picks to the Chiefs for cornerback Trent McDuffie, including one of their two first-rounders this year. McDuffie then received a $124 million extension with $100 million guaranteed. WOW! Additionally, the team doubled down on the position and gave McDuffie’s former Chiefs teammate Jaylen Watson another $51 million.
It’s nice to see Les Snead back to his aggressive — and at times reckless — ways. Following the 2022 campaign, Snead’s was remarkably quiet at the trade deadline and in free agency. Perhaps he felt the pressure to make a big move after how this past season ended.
Either way, a tiger doesn’t change its stripes, and Snead sure as hell won’t sit around for long. This offseason is proof that he was chomping at the bit to get something done and help the Rams back to the mountaintop.
As we (unfortunately) remember, the season after L.A.’s last Super Bowl win was extremely painful. If the Rams manage to get back there, it will be even worse, as the team won’t have a championship-caliber quarterback on the roster. You’d have to bet that Matthew Stafford will call it a career if he wins another ring.
That will be the worst-case scenario for an organization seemingly allergic to first round draft picks. When you have a history of giving away many of your picks like Halloween candy, you’ll be fine in the short-term but mostly doomed when you actually need them.
But let’s forget about all that and put it on the back burner for now. Ignorance is bliss, remember? None of this will really matter in a couple of seasons, assuming Snead can maximize what’s left of Stafford’s career with the moves he’s made so far this offseason. As one anonymous executive told NFL reporter Ralph Vacchiano in a March 12 article for Fox Sports:
“How can you not admire them for going for it? They know that with a 38-year-old quarterback, this is their last shot, maybe for a couple of years. So screw the future. Go for it now. If they win the Super Bowl, no one will care if they have to suffer for a couple of years.”
Truly, how can you not admire the Rams right now? The team is going to give it their best shot in 2026, with some painful years likely in the near future. Until then, none of that will matter, and it will even be worth it if Los Angeles can win their second Super Bowl championship in the Sean McVay era.
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