The Los Angeles Rams sneaked into the playoffs with a 10-7 record in the regular season. They pulled off an upset against the Minnesota Vikings in the Wild Card round. But there journey came to an abrupt end in the Divisional round against the Philadelphia Eagles who went on to win the Super Bowl by defeating the Kansas City Chiefs.
There are not many players who stand out as cut candidates for the Los Angeles Rams, and they do need to make moves. Their effective cap space is around $35 million when you consider they have only 43 players under contract as of Jan. 24. They will likely need to open some cap space, but that can be done with restructures and extensions fairly easily.
Matthew Stafford is the big domino here, but he is not a cut candidate. If Stafford chooses to retire, the Rams will have some dead money to deal with, but they can split that across 2025 and 2026 by officially retiring him after June 1. Short-term, Stafford could reduce his salary to the veteran minimum and forfeit his $4 million signing bonus, saving around $25 million in cap space before June 1 and a further $1.2 million post-June 1.
While the Rams are comfortable from a cap perspective, Stafford retiring would make them very comfortable, with around $50 million of effective cap space this season. That would mean they can afford to keep players that might otherwise be considered a luxury.
From that perspective, Jonah Jackson is the main variable in this equation. He had a tough season in his first year with the Rams. Jackson opened the season as the starter but got hurt. He returned in Week 9 but, after one game, was benched. His final start came in Week 18 when the Rams rested starters.
Jackson is a very expensive backup with a cap number of $14.7 million and $9 million in cash due this year. They would only save $3.3 million as a pre-June 1 cut, but they have the short-term cap space to designate him a post-June 1 cut before his salary becomes guaranteed, save $9 million in 2025, and leave $5.7 million in dead money next year.
The Rams already informed Cooper Kupp he will not be on the team in 2025. They are currently seeking a trade for the architect of the greatest WR season of all time in 2021.
While the Rams would love to trade their former WR1, the fact remains this is a 32 year old player in significant decline who comes with a cap hit close to $30 million. It's unlikely a team will give up anything to acquire him, making it likely he ends up designated as post June 1 cut.
