We almost had a Super Bowl featuring the top two quarterbacks in the MVP race. Alas, a late comeback attempt for the Los Angeles Rams fell short, sending the Seahawks to the Super Bowl and the Rams back to L.A. to figure out what's next. That includes the most important concern for the team this offseason: Matthew Stafford's status. Will the veteran quarterback retire, or does he have another season left in him as a high-end starting quarterback?
The Rams have a decent bit of cap space this offseason, entering the offseson with the seventh-most space in the league. This likely means the team can afford to let some underperforming players walk, as the Rams have the money to pay a little more to replace them with better options.
Free agents the Rams can let walk
Tyler Higbee, TE
Tyler Higbee has been in Los Angeles forever at this point. Drafted in the fourth round in 2016, Higbee has spent 10 seasons with the franchise. Unfortunately for Higbee, there's not much reason to expect an 11th season.
That's because Los Angeles finally appears to have found a replacement for Higbee in Terrance Ferguson, plus the team has Colby Parkinson, who is coming off a strong 2025 season as the team's top tight end.
Receptions | Yards | Touchdowns | |
|---|---|---|---|
Tyler Higbee | 25 | 281 | 3 |
Colby Parkinson | 43 | 408 | 8 |
Terrance Ferguson | 11 | 31 | 3 |
Now, Parkinson does have a pretty big cap hit next season at $9.08 million, bt that's actally a little under $800k less than his 2025 cap hit. Considering how important he's been for the Rams, I'd expect he either plays that out or signs an extension. That's going to leave Higbee on the outside looking in, as there's really no reason to spend what he'll be asking when he'd probably be your third-best player at the position next year.
Tutu Atwell, WR
The Rams have tried to make Tutu Atwell work, but it's clearly not going to happen. Drafted for his big-play upside, Atwell's big plays have been few and far between while he's failed to develop the consistency to get looks when the Rams aren't trying to direct the ball to him down the field.
Atwell did lead the NFL in longest reception this season at 88 yards, but that one catch accounted for almost half of his overall production as he finished the season with six receptions for 192 yards. After five seasons, it's time for the Rams to look elsewhere for wide receiver depth.
Jimmy Garoppolo, QB
With Matthew Stafford's career winding down, what the Rams need out of its backup quarterback is shifting. Jimmy Garoppolo has been a great backup to have when the goal of the backup was to be ready if the starter went down, but with Stafford entering the final year of his contract and Garoppolo hitting free agency, it's time for the Rams to rethink this.
Los Angeles has two first round picks in this year's draft. The team could use Pick 29 on Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson if he's still on the board, or the team could wait until he second round and try to grab Trinidad Chambliss. Heck, Carson Beck might be available in Round 3. There are options to replace Garoppolo who could potentially be groomed into the post-Stafford answer in Los Angeles.
Ronnie Rivers, RB
In four seasons with the Los Angeles Rams, Ronnie Rivers had 72 carries for 295 yards. That's not an average. It's not the numbers from his best season. It's his combined production across all 45 games that the former Fresno State product played for the Rams. And in 2025, Rivers had just nine carries, with eight of those coming in one game against the Cardinals.
This is a pretty simple one. Rivers has been solid as a kick returner, but the Rams can find someone else to return kicks. The team needs a third running back that it can actually rely on on. Rivers isn't that guy and there's no use bringing him back in.
Troy Reeder, LB
After seven seasons with the Rams, linebacker Troy Reader hits free agency this offseason and will likely be on the move after a 2025 season in which he played just 81 defensive snaps, the second-fewest of his NFL career. Reeder transitioned into almost exclusively a special teams player this season.
The question going forward is if Reeder still views himself as someone who could at least be a rotational linebacker in the NFL. Assuming he does, there's really no incentive to stay in Los Angeles when the Rams made it clear this season that they don't view Reeder in that way.
Potential cut and trade candidates on their way out from the Rams
CB Darious Williams
Darious Williams' NFL career has been a bit of a roller coaster, with his year-to-year performance swinging pretty wildly. Just look at where he lands in PFF grade for each season of his career that he played enough snaps to qualify for the leaderboard:
Year | PFF Rank Among CBs |
|---|---|
2025 | 30th |
2024 | 81st |
2023 | 14th |
2022 | 69th |
2021 | 54th |
2020 | 6th |
Unfortunately for Williams, the Rams are likely to move on this offseason despite a solid 2025 campaign. That's because cutting Williams will save the team $7.5 million on the cap next season. When weighing the pros and cons of keeping/cutting him, the monetary argument feels like it almost has to win out.
The only scenario where I see Williams returning is if Cobie Durant goes elsewhere in the offseason. Bringing Durant back should be one of Los Angeles' top priorities, and the team can cut Williams to give itself a little more money to throw Durant's direction.
WR Davante Adams
Finally, we get to the big offseason question for the Rams: what to do with Davante Adams.
Adams was a positive for the Rams in 2025. Not only did he lead the NFL with 14 touchdown receptions, but the attention he drew from the defense was a big part of Puka Nacua catching 129 passes for 1,715 yards. Adams adapted very well to the role of No. 2 receiver.
However, Adams carries a $28 million cap hit in 2026. Cutting him or trading him after June 1 would shave that down to $10 million. The question, then, becomes this: if the Rams traded Adams, is what they get back in the deal plus what they can theoretically do with $18 million extra in cap space going to outweigh the benefits of simply keeping him around.
And the answer is...IDK! It's going to depend on what avenues the Rams have to add another receiver talent. You can't go into 2026 with Jordan Whittington as your No. 2, but maybe there are other paths to add at the position?
Or maybe the Rams can just restructure Adams' deal, though that requires both sides to agree to the restructured deal. We'll see what happens, but I definitely would not be shocked to see Adams moved this offseason.