I feel uninspired by Rams’ offseason so far

Rams have invested in defense while expecting the offense to stay the same

Now that the dust has settled on free agency and the NFL Draft, I find myself looking back on the offseason for the Los Angeles Rams and I feel uninspired. While the team’s improbable mid-season turnaround to return to the playoffs last year was fun to watch, I’m not sure that we should set the bar at the postseason for the 2024 version of the Rams.

Los Angeles has spent the offseason pouring resources into the defense while hoping its offense can maintain momentum, but it’s dangerous to expect much to stay the same long in the NFL. Sure, the defense should overall be dramatically improved from last season; however, it’s fair to have concerns surrounding the supporting structure on offense.

While the retirement of Aaron Donald became an annual question mark and was expected in the relative near future, it doesn’t change the fact that LA will be without its single-best player in 2024 and someone who impacted nearly every single play when he was in the game. The Rams have added a lot of young talent on the defensive line—including their top draft picks this year in Jared Verse and Braden Fiske—and it was wise for the team to attempt to replace Donald in the aggregate instead of with a splashy, single move. Still, from both leadership and on-field performance standpoints, the Rams are worse off moving forward without Donald—it remains to be seen how stark the drop off is.

Meanwhile the offense is counting on aging players with concerning injury histories to fill some of the most valuable roles on offense. Matthew Stafford will be age 36 for the 2024 season and has battled elbow, back, hand, and head injuries over his time in Los Angeles. Cooper Kupp has missed 13 games over the last two years and didn’t look much like his usual self when he was on the field last year. Rob Havenstein has been reliable other than an injury-plagued 2019, but he’s now 31 and the only Ram that is still on the roster from the team’s days in St. Louis. Tyler Higbee will likely miss the start of the regular season with the ACL injury he suffered in last year’s playoff game versus the Detroit Lions.

The only notable offseason additions on offense were LG Jonah Jackson and TE Colby Parkinson. While Jackson continues a trend of the Rams adding beef along the interior offensive line after pivoting to a gap-based running scheme, he wasn’t the most dependable player during his days in Detroit. Pro Football Focus (PFF) has graded Jackson as an average to below average pass blocker over his first four NFL seasons.

And just because the Rams are paying Parkinson like a starting tight end doesn’t make him one, and last year Parkinson was—at best—third string on the Seattle Seahawks’ depth chart. Over 2022 and 2023, he’s caught 34 passes for between 247-322 yards and two touchdowns each year. Sure, the Rams were desperate to find a replacement for Higbee short-term, but they overpaid by giving Parkinson a contract worth $7.5M in terms of annual average pay.

This offseason we’ve heard the Rams linked to high-end playmakers such as Mike Evans and Brock Bowers. There’s a chance they aren’t done adding to the offense. In hindsight it’s disappointing to see them come up empty handed in regards to adding another play maker for Stafford and company.

It wouldn’t take much to derail the offense for the Rams, and even a single injury to a key player could dramatically alter the outlook for this side of the ball. As we re-calibrate expectations post-draft, it may be unfair to expect this version of the team to return to the playoffs.