How do you build on an offense that led the NFL scoring? That had one of the most successful run games in recent history? That produced an MVP and league leaders in two of the three Triple Crown receiving categories?
As Rams head coach Sean McVay likes to say, you don’t build on it; you start over and find the next evolution.
That’s the challenge the Rams will face entering this spring. How to not fall complacent as they try to build on the offensive success they enjoyed in 2025. How to determine whether their in-season pivot to 13-personnel – three tight ends, one receiver, one running back – was a part of the long-term identity of the offense, or merely befitting the 2025 roster construction.
Free agency begins March 11. The NFL draft is April 23-25.
Here’s a look at the state of the Rams’ offense entering the 2026 offseason, and the decisions that will shape how the team answers those questions.
Returning starters: QB Matthew Stafford, WR Puka Nacua, WR Davante Adams, RB Kyren Williams, TE Colby Parkinson, LT Alaric Jackson, LG Steve Avila, C Coleman Shelton, RG Kevin Dotson, RT Warren McClendon Jr.
Yes, the Rams are projected to have 10 out of 11 starters back on offense, assuming you count McClendon after he started 10 of 17 games this year in place of the injured Rob Havenstein. The only exception is third receiver. That’s a lot of continuity and production back for 2026.
And the Rams have a lot of depth still in place, too, particularly among their pass catchers. Receivers Jordan Whittington and Konata Mumpfield are still on their rookie contracts, while the Rams have the right to early-restricted free agent Xavier Smith. Tight ends Terrance Ferguson and Davis Allen are back in the fold for next year. And don’t forget about second back Blake Corum, too.
Upcoming unrestricted free agents: TE Tyler Higbee, WR Tutu Atwell, QB Jimmy Garoppolo, LT D.J. Humphries, RT David Quessenberry, TE Nick Vannett, RB Ronnie Rivers.
Upcoming restricted free agents: IOL Justin Dedich, WR Xavier Smith.
After Havenstein’s retirement announcement on Tuesday, Higbee has yet to decide whether he wants to continue to play football after injuries impacted him in 2025. If the career Ram wants to come back at 33 and the team reciprocates that interest, it would likely be as depth behind tight ends who emerged this fall.
Atwell is all but gone after last year’s one-year, $10 million contract produced six catches, but the Rams should have interest in bring Garoppolo and Rivers back at the right price.
Same goes for Dedich given all the starting experience he’s accrued the past two years. As for Humphries and Quessenberry, the Rams might prefer to replenish their tackle depth in the draft.
2026 projected salary cap: $48.2 million in cap space, per the website overthecap.com.
2026 cap commitments (per OverTheCap): $269.4 million
2026 cap commitments (offense only): $190.2 million
Toughest decisions: With all the returning talent on offense, the Rams won’t have much to do except some work around the margins in free agency. Instead, the interesting storylines will take place in different areas this offseason.
After the Rams make their offensive coordinator hire, attention will turn to the contract situation surrounding Nacua. The NFL’s leader in receptions is eligible for an extension on what has been a bargain rookie contract after the Rams took him in the fifth round in 2023.
General manager Les Snead acknowledged that Nacua is the type that could reset a market, but exactly what that contract number is and how it’s structured will be negotiated this spring.
Then the Rams will have to decide on what to do with their two guards. Avila and Dotson are both entering the final years of their contracts. Dotson was the best blocker for a run game that had the highest success rate in the NFL, and a new deal could lower his $17.4 million cap hit for 2026.
Avila came back from an early-season ankle sprain to be the Rams’ best interior pass protector, with a team-low 19 pressures allowed and the third-most snaps among the seven starting offensive linemen. His production could mean a new contract, or the Rams could decide to wait a year before making that commitment to stay flexible from a cap perspective.
Once the Rams’ attention turns to the draft, it would make sense for the team to target a receiver with their first first-round pick at No. 13 overall. Snead has said he wants to make the most of Stafford’s remaining years, and the most win-now move the Rams could make on offense would be to bring in blue-chip talent at receiver.
At that range, the Rams would likely be looking at USC’s Makai Lemon, Ohio State’s Carnell Tate and Arizona State’s Jordyn Tyson. Any of the three would be asked to learn behind Nacua and Adams for a year or two before growing into Nacua’s long-term running mate. But they would significantly raise the floor at third receiver from what the Rams had in 2025.
Along with receiver, it would make sense for the Rams to address offensive tackle in the draft as well as tight end with Parkinson and Allen entering the final years of their contracts.
A smaller but still interesting decision will be what to do with their third running back.
Williams and Corum are firmly entrenched, but Rivers is an unrestricted free agent for the first time in his career. The Rams traded up for the speedy Jarquez Hunter in the 2025 draft, but he played 35 snaps on special teams and none on offense a rookie. Rivers is more central to what the Rams do on special teams and was a trusted pass blocker during the playoffs. So do the Rams value Rivers’ contributions, or hope that Hunter’s change-of-pace potential comes to life in 2026?
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