Should The Los Angeles Rams Gamble Big On A Trade For Receiver?

The Los Angeles Rams season isn’t going to plan and similarly to 2022 injuries have derailed their season. Nowhere is that more evident than among the pass catchers. As of the writing of this article, they are without their top 3 2023 receivers.

Puka Nacua is expected to miss at least the next three games. Tyler Higbee should be back in Week 8 after the team’s bye week. Cooper Kupp will not play against the Green Bay Packers and according to the sources of NFL Insider Jay Glazer , there is an outside chance that he will return in Week 7 against the Raiders, but Galzer said the timeline is still unclear leaving it at ‘a couple of weeks from now.’

The Case For The Los Angeles Rams Adding A Receiver

In their absences, the Rams have struggled to move the ball through the air. The team has an EPA per play on dropbacks of .046, 23rd in the league in Weeks 2 through 4. When the cupboards were still fully stocked in Week 1 they were 12th in EPA/play.

The current receivers have struggled to find separation, to make contested catches, and to create yards after the catch. While Matthew Stafford is still averaging 220 passing yards over the last three games, the team is averaging just 18.8 points per game this season and none of the remaining have caught a touchdown pass.

If this continues, by the time Nacua, Kupp, and Higbee are back, (Around Week 9) the Rams may be 2-5 with their playoff hopes depending on a 2023-like finish to their season. To pull that off they would need to win games against the Eagles, Saints, Bills, 49ers, Jets, and Seahawks.

Trade Targets For Los Angeles Rams

Several names have been floated as wide receivers that may be trade candidates. Davante Adams is certainly in the rumor mill. A lot would depend on the severity of his hamstring injury. However, it isn’t beyond the pale that a player may feign an injury to step themselves up for a trade. Adams is under contract until 2026 and has monstrous cap hits after this season, so a renegotiation would need to happen

Dionte Johnson is another option. He was once thought of as the player that would unleash Bryce Young and the Dave Canales Carolina Panthers offense. That hasn’t worked out. At 28 and on a one-year contract, Johnson would be a classic Sean McVay reclamation project.

Kyle Pitts is not a receiver per se, which is one reason he would be a great addition to the Rams’ 11.5 personnel packages. Pitts is a proven pass-catcher and has the run-blocking chops of a good tight end. The Rams attempted to integrate a Diet Pitts player, Jacob Harris, a few years ago. It never materialized with him, but in the hands of Sean McVay, Pitts would find that magic that was on display in his rookie season. Pitts is on the final year of his rookie contract, meaning it wouldn’t be a major commitment for the Rams.

Pitts’s current team, the Atlanta Falcons, is head-coached by former Rams defensive coordinator Raheem Morris, giving the Rams a leg up in any negotiations.

More must-reads:

• Sean McVay: 2024 Rams Team Needs To Figure It Out, 2023’s Success In The Past
• Rams Insider Includes Cooper Kupp In Trade Scenario
• Sean McVay Calls Out Game Changing Mistake; “That Should Not Occur”