The Los Angeles Rams bet big on their offense this offseason. Not only were they paying Matthew Stafford, Cooper Kupp, Tyler Higbee, and Rob Havenstein mountains of money, but they re-signed left guard Kevin Dotson to a massive contract and added right guard Jonah Jackson with an even bigger contract.
Right now, the Rams are paying $178.3 million dollars for this side of the ball, making it the league’s most expensive offense. The Chiefs are next in line, with $155.9 million dedicated to their offense. In third place are the Indianapolis Colts, who are allocating an astounding $41.5 million fewer dollars than the Rams. That gap is almost the same between the Colts and the Las Vegas Raiders. The Raiders are the 11th cheapest offense.
Rams Have Lost $17.1 Million In Cap Space Due To Injuries
And what has this investment gotten them? The Rams are 1-4, the offense is scoring just 18.8 points and 324 yards per game. They are 15th in offensive DVOA, and 17th in EPA per play. And before you say, “It’s the injuries, stupid.”
It IS the injuries.
The Rams have been without more than half of their starters on offense at some point over the stretch of the first five games. And many of those players get paid a lot of money. Here is the breakdown of the salary cap the Rams have been without in each game and how much ‘money’ that has ‘cost’ the team so far. Since the cap isn’t related perfectly to salary or cap spent, these figures represent how much the player ‘costs’ in the finite salary cap, not what the franchise lost in cash due to injuries.
All but Puka Nacua and Steve Avila fall into the Rams’ top 10 highest-paid players. Joe Noteboom is currently an $11.6 million cap hit as a backup offensive lineman and is the team’s seventh biggest cap hit.
| Game | Injured Players | Missing Salary Cap | Percent Of Spending |
|---|---|---|---|
| @ Detroit Lions | Rob Havenstein, Alaric Jackson*, Puka Nacua, Joe Noteboom, Tyler Higbee | $2.6 Million | 25% |
| @ Arizona Cardinals | Tyler Higbee, Puka Nacua, Joe Noteboom, Alaric Jackson*, Steve Avila | $1.9 Million | 18% |
| Vs. San Francisco 49ers | Tyler Higbee, Puka Nacua, Cooper Kupp, Joe Noteboom, Jonah Jackson, Steve Avila | $4.2 Million | 40% |
| @ Chicago Bears | Tyler Higbee, Puka Nacua, Cooper Kupp, Joe Noteboom, Jonah Jackson, Steve Avila | $4.2 Million | 40% |
| Vs. Green Bay Packers | Tyler Higbee, Puka Nacua, Cooper Kupp, Joe Noteboom, Jonah Jackson, Steve Avila | $4.2 Million | 40% |
| $17.1 Million Total | 32.6% |
General Les Snead is famous for ‘thinking in bets.’ The team bet big on Cooper Kupp, Matthew Stafford and the offensive line. They supplemented them with young players on rookie contracts and veterans short term small deals. This strategy relies on the top paid players to play like all-pros and the others to play well enough. When injuries do what they have to Jonah Jackson, Cooper Kupp and Tyler Higbee the marign for error becomes razor thin.
Their are other strategies, but this is reality the Rams are living in right now and, frankly, they are losing the bet they made.
