| Remember how the Los Angeles Rams’ method of chasing glory was a fool’s errand, an ego jaunt? How the process of collecting superstars and shedding draft picks was a route to salary-cap hell and top-heavy friction? You should, because it was being doubted in that way just a couple of weeks ago, but now, of course, no longer. There is no such thing as a tried-and-trusted outlook in the NFL, not anymore. In the NFL, where the quest for success is more urgent than in any other sporting competition, every theory is questioned and tested, every bit of reason and logic is there to be revamped and rethought. After winning the game that matters more than any other, the Super Bowl champion Rams have a newfound status. They are the team that wrote the blueprint. And that way of going about business is now the one that everyone is thinking about, even if not courageous enough to copy it. Expect to see some bigger swings over the next couple of seasons when it comes to trades and free agency. Expect FOMO — fear of missing out — to become a bigger thing than it already is. Expect the frenzy of all frenzies when an elite player hits the open market or makes it clear that a divorce from his current team is imminent. The Rams, when the opportunity to get better arose, never shied away. And here they are, with a summer of celebration ahead of them. That is the exact argument any general manager will make when asking for fresh funds from his owner for a splashy move. Los Angeles went after the biggest talents and was unreserved with what they were prepared to give up for them. Imagine if even three or four other teams decide to adopt a similarly unabashed approach. It could start getting pretty darn interesting. Looking back now you can see how every move, in essence, can be taken as the critical piece that led towards Sunday’s triumph. Would the Rams be toting the trophy today without Matthew Stafford, brought in from the Detroit Lions for three high draft picks? Or if Jalen Ramsey hadn’t been acquired for more picks in an earlier blockbuster switch? Or if Odell Beckham and Von Miller hadn’t been grabbed when they were? “Forget them picks, baby,” Miller said on Sunday. Don’t worry Von, they’re forgotten. That’s the thing about acquiring proven commodities. Sure, to win a Super Bowl so many things have to go right. But perhaps when pinning your immediate potential to performers who have already shown their elite quality, the likelihood increases. And now others are wondering and second-guessing how they themselves went about things. What were Aaron Rodgers and Green Bay Packers fans thinking the morning after the season ended? Would the Packers be sitting on their couches and would Rodgers still just have one Super Bowl appearance to his name if they had been the ones to land Beckham, who scored the opening touchdown against the Cincinnati Bengals and had another big reception before succumbing to a first-half knee injury? Other teams could have gone for Stafford too, perhaps most strikingly the San Francisco 49ers, who came oh-so-close to reaching the biggest game but were let down at the end by, you guessed it, mediocre quarterback play. The argument against doing what the Rams did is that if the big-money signings don’t work out, it encumbers the franchise for years to come. Committing enormous contracts to a select few players can create financial gymnastics, but Los Angeles was able to buck that trend, too. Their run to a Super Bowl defeat in the 2018 season left Sean McVay’s squad with some heavy money on the tab, but they were able to flip their way out and come again. Jared Goff, the priciest deal on the books, was sent to Detroit as part of the Stafford package. There is now some serious precedent behind the Rams’ way. The Denver Broncos’ Super Bowl 50 title was built upon a big-name QB signing (Peyton Manning) and some pricey stars around him. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers followed suit, with Tom Brady being joined by some impactful friends in South Florida. Of course, it is not the only way. Just as many owners will be intrigued by what the Bengals managed, with a core centered around first-rounders like Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase, second-rounders Joe Mixon and Tee Higgins, plus some select free agency pieces. If Sunday’s game had gone the other way — which it nearly did — maybe that would be the prevailing line of thought for modern football prosperity. But it didn’t, and the NFL by its nature is all-or-nothing. The Rams went for it all, left nothing behind, and leaned into the thinking that stars are stars for a reason. We’re going to see more of it. A shake-up is coming. Money will be flying, and the perceived value of draft picks is up for fresh debate. A new trend might just have been set, for a while at least, for the most obvious reason of all — because it worked. |
