Could the Los Angeles Rams trade their 3 core players in 2023?

The Los Angeles Rams are just two years removed from winning the Super Bowl, but this is a team that looks much closer to a rebuild than a Wild Card spot.  Outside of Matthew Stafford, Aaron Donald, and Cooper Kupp, the Rams don’t have much else to write home about on their roster.

In fact, it’s one of the worst overall rosters in the entire NFL.  The team adopted this “screw them picks” mentality to try and build a juggernaut, and it did end in a Super Bowl title back in 2021.  They accomplished their goal.  However, in what many thought would be another great season for Los Angeles in 2022, the wheels simply fell off.

Between injuries and overall inefficient play, the Rams struggled to five wins and looked like a shell of the previous year.  They also lost some talented players as well, so their projected 2023 starting lineup may not even be talented enough to make the postseason.  With additional rumors that the team tried to trade Matthew Stafford this offseason, it’s easy to see how this team could truly blow it up this season.

I do think the Los Angeles Rams are going to give it one last go with their current set up.  Sean McVay is an excellent head coach, and if Matthew Stafford can return to his 2021 form, this team could be dangerous again.  However, I think many of us are looking at this Rams’ squad as being middle of the road at best.

Well, let’s say the Rams are clearly not a playoff team by the time the trade deadline rolls around in 2023.  Would they entertain trade offers for their three core players an embrace the “tank?”

I think it’d be something they’d have to consider, 100%.  They could enjoy some significant cap savings by trading their three best players, and for the sake of their long-term future, that would be a move they’d seriously have to consider.

Trading Aaron Donald in 2023 would bring cap savings of $13.5 million in 2023 and $21.6 million in 2024, according to overthecap.com.  Trading star wide receiver Cooper Kupp would bring cap savings of $6.08 million in 2023 and $20 million in 2024.  Trading future Hall of Famer Matthew Stafford would only save the Rams $1.5 million in 2023 but would save them $31 million in 2024.

While it might sound crazy that the Los Angeles Rams could trade three of their best players in franchise history, making said moves would be the most forward-thinking for the team in the long-term.  If Sean McVay and Les Snead are bought in for the future and can get on the same page, they should realize that their three aging stud veteran players are better suited as trade pieces.

This is especially true for Donald, who recently flirted with retirement.  Again, I think the Los Angeles Rams are going to give this thing one last try, but don’t be surprised if they blow it up in 2023.