Fansided

Rams make smart gamble with trade

By Matt Verderame

Nov 9, 2014; Glendale, AZ, USA; St. Louis Rams general manager Les Snead on the sidelines prior to the game against the Arizona Cardinals at University of Phoenix Stadium. The Cardinals defeated the Rams 31-14. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 9, 2014; Glendale, AZ, USA; St. Louis Rams general manager Les Snead on the sidelines prior to the game against the Arizona Cardinals at University of Phoenix Stadium. The Cardinals defeated the Rams 31-14. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Los Angeles Rams are betting big and made the right move by going for broke.

There will be ample talk about the Rams giving up way too much in their trade with the Tennessee Titans for the first-overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft.

In reality, the Rams finally made the move that could get them over the proverbial hump.

Los Angeles has been stuck in quarterback purgatory for the better part of the last decade. The Rams have not had anybody worthy of a starting spot since the days of Kurt Warner and Marc Bulger, with men like Sam Bradford, Case Keenum, Nick Foles and Austin Davis trying to fill the void.

For general manager Les Snead, this is the right decision on multiple fronts. While giving up a two first-round picks, a pair of second-round picks and a duo of third-round selections over the next two years is a massive price to move up 14 spots on April 28, it might be Snead’s only hope of keeping his job.

Snead has been with the Rams since 2012 in his current role and has yet to see the playoffs. Most front office executives don’t get five years to reach the postseason, so Snead should consider himself lucky. However, he won’t get a sixth year if 2016 is a bust.

The franchise is under all kinds of pressure to succeed this coming season. The Los Angeles market is starved for the NFL, not having had a team since 1994 when both the Rams and Raiders moved out of town. Los Angeles will support the Rams early on with ample passion, but if things begin to go south with a roster lacking in star power, Tinseltown will forget about them in short order.

Los Angeles may have given up a truckload of assets, but Snead is betting that he can get a franchise quarterback and fill in the rest. The Rams are supposedly smitten with Carson Wentz, a signal-caller that was likely to be taken with the second-overall pick by the Cleveland Browns. Los Angeles was aggressive and beat Cleveland – or any other potential trade partner of Tennessee’s – to the punch.

If the selection goes bust for the Rams and Wentz isn’t the quarterback the team is envisioning, Snead will be gone and head coach Jeff Fisher with him. Yet it is worth the chance for this power couple that has been treading water for years. The city St. Louis lost interest in Rams football and eventually lost the team, something that can’t be lost on a franchise moving to a city with a penchant for disinterest.

Ultimately, this trade will only be judged on whether Wentz plays well. If he becomes a franchise quarterback, the move will be lauded as genius. Should Wentz fall flat, Snead will be vilified and talked about as making a lopsided trade that helped Tennessee get back to relevance.

Time will eventually reveal the verdict for Snead, Wentz and the Rams. For now, Los Angeles has reason for excitement and a franchise long on the backburner is about to take center stage.

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