The Los Angeles Rams are about to start an important 2024 season in which they will try to improve on their playoff appearance from last year.
So, they will have a few inquiries that they should respond to as the year advances. The Rams will have to respond to the following five questions in 2024: 1. Is Cooper Kupp still a roster “pillar”? One of the more significant inquiries that the Rams should answer this season is regardless of whether or not Cooper Kupp is still someone who would merit working around. Preceding the 2022 season before senior supervisor Les Snead started the dynamic modify or re-tooling process, he named three points of support on the program — Matthew Stafford, Cooper Kupp, and Aaron Donald. Donald has since left the team, and Kupp is coming off two seasons in which he has been hurt. Not all list choices in the NFL are simple and there is an ‘out’ in Kupp’s agreement after this season. The Rams wide recipient will have a cap-hot of $29.7M in 2025 and will be 32 years of age. The Rams could have easily restructured Kupp’s contract this offseason, but they chose not to. That was a deliberate decision to give them flexibility in the future. They are happy to keep Kupp if he performs well. Nonetheless, on the off chance that not, this season could be a ‘passing of the light’ second among Kupp and Puka Nacua. 2. Is it worth paying Ernest Jones and Kyren Williams for low-value positions? Quite possibly of the most terrible agreement that Snead has given out during his residency was the Todd Gurley contract. This shouldn’t imply that that Gurley didn’t merit it, however he was a running back with a physical issue history that the Rams paid a top of the market compensation. Gurley cost the Rams $20.2 million over two seasons after the 2019 season. A second contract for a running back seems unlikely after that experience. At the same time, the Rams’ low regard for the linebacker position has become almost depressing at times. While they paid Bobby Wagner, that was a greater amount of exploiting an open door than it was about the actual position. The Alec Ogletree contract is one more lamentable arrangement done by Snead. Jones has been a staple of the Rams safeguard. The Rams, on the other hand, have appeared content to wait for a deal after expressing excitement about the possibility of bringing Jones back. The Rams drafted Blake Corum in the third round of the 2024 NFL Draft. Despite this, Williams has demonstrated that he is an important part of the offense after finishing third in rushing yards last season, behind Christian McCaffrey and Derrick Henry. The Rams need to find players that they can be sure giving second agreements to and working around. However, it is still unclear whether they view Jones and Williams in that manner. 3. Is Alaric Jackson capable of becoming the franchise left tackle? Because of Alaric Jackson being an undrafted free specialist, the Rams lucked out one might say this past offseason with their left tackle being a limited free specialist when he hit the market. They were effectively able to provide him with a less expensive franchise tag. Jackson will have one more entire year to show off his abilities as the passed on tackle that the group can trust to safeguard Matthew Stafford. In any case, they will not get that advantage one year from now. Following this season, Jackson will become an undrafted free agent. The Rams will then have to decide whether they want to let Jackson go or pay him starting-level money for left tackle. The fact that the Rams did not select a left tackle out of a very strong tackle class, particularly in the first two rounds, surprised some. They showed some confidence in Jackson this offseason and should do a similar in 12 months’ time contingent upon how he performs. 4. Do any schematic changes should be made protectively? It’s important to consider whether the Rams run the risk of falling behind in the NFL’s defense. The Mike Macdonald safeguard is assuming control over the association as the previous Baltimore Ravens guarded facilitator left for the Seattle Seahawks, Dennard Wilson went to the Tennessee Titans, and Zach Orr was advanced in Baltimore. Similar as the Vic Fangio guard, the Macdonald safeguard will begin sprinkling around the NFL. This offseason, the Rams had the chance to hire Wilson, but instead chose to promote Chris Shula internally. In any case, that probably implies a serious plan change won’t occur and it will be the third determination of the plan that was carried out by Brandon Staley. Checking out the association that was once overwhelmed by the Fangio conspire, Staley was terminated by the Chargers, Fangio headed out in different directions from the Miami Dolphins, however was in this manner employed by the Philadelphia Falcons. Over now is the right time, the NFL is repetitive and continually developing. At the point when the Rams executed Fangio’s plan under Staley, a lot of it was a result of the amount McVay battled against it during the 2018 and portions of the 2019 season. He was able to solve problems by bringing it inside his building to study it. Different groups have likewise done likewise. It is not necessarily the case that Shula will be a limited time offer facilitator. However, Shula’s twists and how the defense performs may necessitate a greater change to the schematic. 5. What occurs if 2024 doesn’t go according to plan? Over recent years, it has felt as though the Rams were working towards 2024 and 2025. The 2023 season was continuously going to be a reset year following 2022. Instead, the fact that the Rams made the playoffs last year has raised hopes for 2024. Even though the Rams are likely to make the playoffs in 2024, if they repeat their “one-and-done” strategy, questions will need to be asked. Every team experiences this, but how does it affect the Rams’ chances of winning the division in 2025 if they suffer injuries, particularly to their offensive line? There is a genuine situation wherein the 2024 season doesn’t go as expected. Does the fact that Stafford and Kupp are getting older make the following offseason a good year to start over for the next era? The Rams may decide to simply run it back for 2025 and hope for the best, which may appear to be an excessive response. Nonetheless, the course of the group takes an extremely intriguing turn on the off chance that the Rams truly do frustrate this year. A lot of self-examination and reflection would be required. Clearly, that’s what no one needs. Having said that, the Rams are also considering it in light of the recent contract structures.
