Rams salary cap: Can the team afford Von Miller?
Von Miller has officially been traded to the Los Angeles Rams from the Denver Broncos in a blockbuster move ahead of the 2021 NFL trade deadline. In return, the Rams are sending a second- and third-round draft pick to the Broncos.
The Rams land themselves one of the top pass rushers in the NFL in Von Miller while the Broncos gather pieces to continue building their young core.
Von Miller is owed about 9.7 million dollars for the 2021 NFL season, while the Rams have just over five million dollars to spend. That begs the question, how are the Rams going to afford Von Miller?
Are they going to have to cut players to make salary cap space?
Broncos trade LB Von Miller to Rams. (via @JamesPalmerTV) https://t.co/sWykzcmRDy
How the Rams will afford Von Miller
To make this trade even more beneficial for the Rams than it already is, the Broncos also agreed to pay nine of his remaining $9.7 million dollars that he is owed. That allows the Rams to add von Miller without getting rid of any of their pieces already on the roster.
As part of the trade, the Broncos are paying $9 million of Von Miller’s remaining $9.7 million salary, per sources.
This also means that the Rams still have close to five million dollars to spend on more assets ahead of the 2021 NFL trade deadline if they wish to do so. Given their recent history of making deals to improve their roster and build for the present day, it would seem likely that they aren't done making moves yet this year.
The Rams were already a legitimate contender to make a run at the Super Bowl in the 2021 NFL season, but this move catapults them to the favorites, if they weren't there already. They already have a top five offense in the NFL and an opportunistic defense with plenty of weapons.
A great team just got even better.
Von Miller is a Hall of Fame quality pass rusher. He will now pair up with Aaron Donald, one of the best interior defensive linemen in NFL history and one of the very best overall players in the entire league today.
Von Miller increased the Rams' chances at a Super Bowl. The fact that it cost them almost nothing financially means the Rams might not even be done yet before the trade deadline.