The Los Angeles Rams limped through a lost 2022 season after winning the Super Bowl the year prior, and the 2024 NFL campaign is starting to shape up in a similar fashion.
Sean McVay’s squad is 0-2 after getting dominated by the division-rival Arizona Cardinals in a 41-10 loss on Sunday. Wide receivers Puka Nacua and Cooper Kupp and offensive lineman Jonah Jackson are on injured reserve. A loss to the San Francisco 49ers in Week 3 might be all she wrote for the Rams.
What if L.A. decides to hold a firesale? McVay and general manager Les Snead have always been willing to reset their roster. If 2024 is already over, trading veterans and clearing future salaries wouldn’t be the worst idea.
Let’s run through the Rams’ best trade candidates and evaluate their top landing spots, beginning with the highest-profile player on the roster.
Los Angeles Rams Trade Candidates and Landing Spots
QB Matthew Stafford | Cleveland Browns
If Matthew Stafford doesn’t have a chance to win a Super Bowl with the Rams in 2024, let’s send him somewhere where he will.
The Cleveland Browns have one of the NFL’s best rosters outside of quarterback, but Deshaun Watson’s continued struggles threaten to upend Cleveland’s prospects for the third consecutive season.
Watson’s Week 1 performance against the Dallas Cowboys was the worst game of his career by adjusted yards per attempt (AY/A). Week 2 wasn’t quite as bad, but it was still one of the 10 worst games of Watson’s NFL tenure by AY/A.
Can the Browns afford Stafford?
Cleveland has been willing to repeatedly restructure Watson’s fully guaranteed contract and push salary cap charges into the future. GM Andrew Berry did it again this offseason, so the Browns have $46 million in available cap space, more than enough to fit Stafford on their 2024 books.
Things would get more complicated in 2025, when Cleveland — already projected to be $5 million over the salary cap — would owe Stafford a non-guaranteed $32 million. However, the Browns could simply restructure Watson’s deal again to create more room for Stafford’s contract.
Los Angeles reworked Stafford’s deal in July but should still be able to trade him without totally destroying its salary cap. The Rams would absorb roughly $22.6 million in dead money this season and another $45 million in 2025.
QB Jimmy Garoppolo | Miami Dolphins
Tua Tagovailoa suffered his fourth known concussion in Week 2. While he plans to continue his career, Tua is now on injured reserve. He can return in Week 8 at the earliest, leaving 2022 seventh-rounder Skylar Thompson as the Dolphins’ starting quarterback moving forward.
Miami also signed QB Tyler Huntley off the Ravens’ practice squad this week and could consider an offense built around his mobility if Thompson struggles.
Jimmy Garoppolo isn’t a world-beater, but he was always effective in Kyle Shanahan’s scheme while playing for the 49ers. Mike McDaniel worked with Garoppolo in San Fran, runs the same offense in Miami, and might be interested in acquiring a quarterback who can operate his scheme.
WR Demarcus Robinson | Kansas City Chiefs
Demarcus Robinson is Stafford’s default WR1 with Nacua and Kupp sidelined, but he’s more suited to a WR3/4 role.
That’s the job he held for the Chiefs from 2016 to 2021, and Andy Reid’s club could use another pass catcher. Offseason addition Hollywood Brown won’t play for Kansas City this year after undergoing surgery for a shoulder injury.
While the Chiefs still have Rashee Rice, Xavier Worthy, and others, Patrick Mahomes probably wouldn’t mind adding a receiver he’s already familiar with, like Robinson, who topped 400 receiving yards with K.C. in 2019 and 2020.
OT Rob Havenstein | Baltimore Ravens
The Ravens are 0-2 to begin the season, and their reworked offensive line has played a significant role in their struggles. Baltimore’s front five has looked particularly disjointed in the run game. After finishing sixth in FTN’s adjusted line yards in 2023, the Ravens are 22nd this year after losing OT Morgan Moses and guards Kevin Zeitler and John Simpson.
Rob Havenstein would help Baltimore lock down right tackle, where the club has been rotating veteran Patrick Mekari and second-round rookie Roger Rosengarten. With Havenstein in town, Mekari would revert to his backup role, and Rosengarten would have more time to develop.
DT Bobby Brown III | Cincinnati Bengals
No NFL team is more banged up at defensive tackle than the Bengals.
Starters B.J. Hill and Sheldon Rankins left Week 2’s loss with injuries, and it’s unclear if they’ll be ready for Week 3. Day 2 rookies Kris Jenkins and McKinnley Jackson are battling their own injury questions and haven’t suited up this season. Cincinnati signed veteran Lawrence Guy on Tuesday but could still use more bodies.
Bobby Brown III might not be DJ Reader, but he’s a 6’4″, 324-pound behemoth who can help clog run lanes in the middle of Cincinnati’s defensive line. He lined up in the A gap — between the guard and center — 233 times last season, eighth-most among defensive tackles.
EDGE Michael Hoecht | Indianapolis Colts
The Colts lost pass rusher Samson Ebukam to a torn Achilles over the summer and are having trouble getting after opposing quarterbacks through two weeks. Despite adding first-round pick Laiatu Latu on the edge, Indianapolis ranks just 28th in pressure when not blitzing (22.9%), per TruMedia.
Michael Hoecht has fallen into a rotational role with the Rams after Los Angeles used a first-round pick on Jared Verse. Hoecht posted 10.5 sacks for L.A. from 2022 to 2023 and will be a free agent next offseason, so the Rams could try to get something for him now.
CB Tre’Davious White | Dallas Cowboys
With All-Pro CB DaRon Bland (stress fracture in left foot) on short-term IR, the Cowboys are relying on fifth-round rookie Caelen Carson and veteran Jourdan Lewis opposite Trevon Diggs. Dallas could afford to add more depth in the defensive backfield, especially after being torched for 44 points in Week 2.
Jerry Jones is always willing to trade. He acquired WR Brandin Cooks and CB Stephon Gilmore in 2023, then picked up DT Jordan Phillips and CB Andrew Booth Jr. this summer. Tre’Davious White — whom the Cowboys would owe roughly $2.5 million for the rest of the season — could be next in line.
S Kam Curl | Jacksonville Jaguars
Fifty-six NFL safeties have played at least 100 defensive snaps in 2024. Jaguars safeties Antonio Johnson and Andre Cisco rank 53rd and 56th in PFF’s grading, respectively, and have missed seven combined tackles through two weeks.
While Kam Curl lacks ball production (with zero interceptions since his three-pick rookie campaign), the 25-year-old can play safety in two-deep coverages, erase tight ends, or line up in the box as a Big Nickel or Dime linebacker.
Curl was the only top 25 free agent in Pro Football Network’s Top 100 to sign for less than a $7 million AAV and could be an immediate upgrade for Jacksonville.