The Los Angeles Rams had Super Bowl aspirations heading into 2019, but their season was nothing but a big disappointment. There has been some good this season for the Rams, but there has also been a lot of bad. They are heading into an important offseason, but before we get there, let's look back on the season that was and the five biggest takeaways from it.
5. Aaron Donald is worth every penny
Aaron Donald is still one of the best defensive players in all the NFL, and opposing teams hate facing him. He spent most of his time in the opponent's backfield, racking up 12.5 sacks. He is still in his prime, and building the defense around him was a brilliant move by the Rams.
4. Jalen Ramsey is a great fit for the defense
The Rams traded midseason for Jalen Ramsey, and he was a great addition to the defense. He was consistently on the team's best opposing player and had a lot of success. The only problem for the Rams is they are going to have to pay him a lot of money to keep him long term.
They at least have him through the 2020 season, but Ramsey is probably going to want to be paid this offseason. If the Rams don't pay him this offseason, could he hold out again? (Probably not, considering his comments.)
3. Sean McVay needs to continue to improve this season
Sean McVay is a great coach. However, at times this season, he had problems making the right adjustments. He made Jared Goff look excellent when the two started working together, but he needs to switch up the offense a bit this offseason, to play more to Goff's strengths. He is still the right coach for this team, but he needs to make sure he is improving himself.
2. This team needs some more playmakers on defense
The offense at times had issues this season, but the biggest issue was with the defense. The Dallas Cowboys — who weren't the best team this season — dropped 44 points on them. This team seemed to try to fill holes with one-year replacement pieces, and it might be smarter for the team to go younger and try to build their defense up.
There might be some growing pains early, but long term, that is the best option.
1. They might have made some huge mistakes with their cap space
The Rams have Todd Gurley and Jared Goff locked up to long term contracts, and both of those could be big mistakes. Goff's contract is a four-year deal worth $134 million that the team can't get out of until after the 2022 season unless they want to eat a ton of cap space. In the 2022 season, Goff's cap hit is going to be $30 million, and if he plays the way he did last season, and that is about $20 million too much.
Gurley has two years left in his deal before the team can get out of his contract. He still had a big season, but it's clear that the knee is going to continue to wear down as the years go on.
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