Just 12 months after signing former Lion guard Jonah Jackson to a three-year deal, the Rams moved on, dealing him to the Bears in exchange for a sixth-round pick in this year’s draft. Jackson initially started at center but missed time early due to a shoulder injury and was later benched in favor of Limmer. He played just four games for the Rams.

Tackle Joseph Noteboom also played only four games for the Rams last year, spending most of the season on injured reserve due to an ankle injury. He was healthy but inactive in the playoffs. Noteboom signed a one-year, $2 million contract to be the Ravens’ swing tackle.

The Rams aforementioned addition of Davante Adams filled a big hole created when the team released one of the franchise’s biggest stars of the last decade, wide receiver Cooper Kupp. Kupp memorably won the receiving “Triple Crown” in 2021 with 145 catches for 1,947 yards and 16 touchdowns, but he has struggled with injuries in the three seasons since. In 2024, he played in 12 games and had 710 receiving yards and six scores. Kupp was released on March 12 and snapped up by the Seahawks six days later.

The Rams also saw wide receiver Demarcus Robinson, who set career highs in 2024 with 505 receiving yards and seven touchdowns, leave in free agency, though he remained within the division. Robinson landed a two-year, $8 million pact with the 49ers. In addition, tight end Hunter Long departed for a two-year deal in Jacksonville.

The Rams sustained two significant losses from their defense, as both defensive tackle Bobby Brown and outside linebacker Michael Hoecht got three-year, $21 million deals elsewhere, Brown in Carolina and Hoecht in Buffalo. Brown started 29 games over the past two seasons and had 75 tackles but just 0.5 sacks. Hoecht was in the edge rush rotating, playing 57% of the defensive snaps, down from 85% in 2023. A former undrafted free agent, Hoecht tallied 13.5 sacks over the past three seasons.

Linebacker Christian Rozeboom started a career-high 11 games in 2024 but became a free agent and took a one-year deal in Carolina. Defensive end Neville Gallimore came to L.A. right before the start of the season after being cut by the Dolphins and ended up with four starts in 14 games before leaving for Indianapolis in free agency.

Other Noteworthy Developments

Early in the offseason, there were some rumblings that Stafford’s time in Los Angeles might be done, as he was given permission to speak with other teams in advance of a potential trade. He did in fact have discussions with the Raiders and Giants but those proved to just be precursors to a new deal with the Rams that will give him $84 million over the next two years. The Rams kept the rest of their quarterback room intact by re-signing veteran backup Jimmy Garoppolo. He is likely to remain Stafford’s primary backup ahead of 2023 fourth-round pick Stetson Bennett.

In addition to Garoppolo, the Rams also kept some other potential free agents in town with new deals, including wide receiver Tutu Atwell, tackle Alaric Jackson, cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon and linebacker Troy Reeder.

As noted earlier, the Rams picked up valuable 2026 first-round draft pick during the 2025 draft by trading down with the Rams, who were after Tennessee edge rusher James Pearce Jr. The move gives Los Angeles, which also has its own pick in the first round next year, gives the team a little flexibility if it decides to go after Stafford’s eventual successor.

With Nick Caley leaving McVay’s staff to serve as the Houston Texans’ new offensive coordinator, the team hired former Seahawks assistant Scott Huff to be their new tight ends coach. Caley had also served as the team’s pass game coordinator, with that task now going to Nate Scheelhaase, who had been an offensive assistant and pass game specialist for the Rams for one season.

Alex Van Pelt also joins McVay’s staff after spending last season as the Patriots’ offensive coordinator, and the two prior seasons in the same role with Cleveland. Van Pelt got the title of senior offensive assistant in Los Angeles. Jimmy Lake returned to the team after just one season as the defensive coordinator on Raheem Morris’s staff in Atlanta. The Rams also created a new position of pass rush coordinator in order to bring Drew Wilkins in after he also coached in New England last year, tutoring the linebackers.

Will the Rams’ offensive line provide the level of protection the Rams need to keep Matthew Stafford on the field for 17 games?

This is a key question for Los Angeles in 2025, though there is certainly reason for optimism. After winning the Super Bowl following the 2021 season, the Rams dropped to 5-12 in 2022 when Stafford missed roughly half of the season due to concussions and a spinal cord contusion. Over the past two seasons, the big-armed quarterback has only missed two games due to injury and the Rams have posted back-to-back 10-7 records. The backup remains Jimmy Garoppolo who only played in one game last season, which the Rams lost. Garoppolo had previously gone 3-3 as the Raiders’ starter in 2023 and has significant starting experience, but most analysts would view the Rams’ offense as less dangerous if he had to replace Stafford for an extended period of time.

The Rams cold be returning four starters from a line that did a pretty good job in pass protection in 2024. Stafford was sacked just 28 times in 16 games and the Rams finished fifth in the NFL with a sacks-per-pass-rate-allowed of 5.55%. And the one new presumptive starter, Coleman Shelton, is familiar with the offense, having played for the Rams from 2019-23 before spending last year in Chicago. Shelton started all 17 games for the Rams in 2023.

The reason for concern, however, is the return of a blood clot issue for ascending left tackle Alaric Jackson. This was revealed in June and the team is reportedly optimistic the fifth-year veteran will be ready to go for the start of the season, but the same problem cost him roughly half the season in 2022. After returning from his first bout with blood clots, Jackson proved to be a strong blindside protector for Stafford while starter 29 games over the past two seasons.

The Rams may have signaled at least some level of concern about Jackson’s availability to start the season by signing veteran tackles D.J. Humphries and David Quessenberry in June. Humphries would likely be the replacement for Jackson at left tackle if needed, but injuries have kept him off the field quite a bit over the last three years. He missed nine games with Arizona due to a back injury in 2022, and even though he rebounded to make 15 starts in 2023 his season ended with an ACL tear that had him out of commission for much of 2024. He signed to a Chiefs team desperate for help at offensive tackle in late November but then suffered a hamstring injury.

Will the Rams have to deal with a much higher level of competition in the quest to defend their division title in 2025?

Los Angeles was not the favorite to win the NFC West last year, particularly after a 1-4 start coupled with the Seahawks’ three-game winning streak to start the season. San Francisco was coming off a narrow loss to the Chiefs in Super Bowl LVIII and had won the division the two previous seasons; the 49ers were considered not only division favorites but strong candidates for a return to the Super Bowl.

Unfortunately for the 49ers, a long string of injuries derailed their season and they limped to a 6-11 record, losing seven of their last eight and falling out of contention early. However, the Seahawks did match the Rams’ 10-7 record, only losing out on the division title on a strength-of-schedule tiebreaker.

The 49ers are a very strong bounceback candidate in 2025 and are expecting to return to competitive form after giving quarterback Brock Purdy a mega contract. The team had to make some difficult decisions during the offseason in order to be able to re-sign Purdy and a couple other key players, trading away wide receiver Deebo Samuel, releasing defensive tackle Javon Hargrave and watching linebacker Drew Greenlaw, safety Talanoa Hufanga and cornerback Charvarius Ward walk in free agency. Still, the roster remains loaded with talent, and any offense that boasts Purdy, Trent Williams, George Kittle, Brandon Aiyuk and – critically – a healthy Christian McCaffrey should keep San Francisco in any game.

The Seahawks made a switch at quarterback from Geno Smith to Sam Darnold, and the jury remains out on whether that will be a net positive or negative. The team also moved on from wideouts DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett. However, the Seahawks’ defense appears to be on the rise as the team heads into its second season under Head Coach Mike Macdonald.

The Cardinals have had three losing seasons in a row but did show some improvement in 2024 to finish at 8-9. That included three wins over the Rams and 49ers. There is some optimism in the desert this year with Kyler Murray now surrounded by the likes of Trey McBride, Zay Jones and second-year breakout candidate Marvin Harrison Jr. In addition, the defensive front got some much needed help n the form of Josh Sweat, Calais Campbell and Dalvin Tomlinson, while rookie Will Johnson brings a dose of talent to the cornerback room.

In addition, the Rams will be playing a first-placed schedule in 2025, so in addition to the challenges in their own division, they have to play such 2024 playoff teams as the Eagles, Lions and Buccaneers. The Rams are going for it again with Stafford still in the fold, but the road to the top could be tougher this time around.