Don't Let Bill O'Brien's Stupidity Distract You From Rams' Own Offseason Mess

On Thursday, the Houston Texans attempted to fill the DeAndre Hopkins-sized hole in their roster when they acquired Brandin Cooks from the Rams. Cooks is a solid receiver, but nobody is about to kid themselves into believing he'll be able to hold a candle to Hopkins in H-Town. This shuffling of players has been ridiculous to witness, and criticism of head coach and de facto general manager Bill O'Brien's handling of the Texans' offseason is not only warranted, but necessary.

However, pretending this deal was a win for the Rams would be a mistake.

All the Rams got for the trade was a second-round pick in this year's draft. What they had to give up was Cooks and $4 million. That $4 million hit exists because the Rams didn't trade Cooks before March 20; holding out this long over a guy caught for fewer than 50% of the yards in 2019 that he racked up the year before was a risky move, and it did not pay off. Cooks trended downward this past season, and he was always going to be worth less; waiting around and sacrificing $4 million on top of it all demands serious compensation in return if it's to make an ounce of sense. With that in mind, a second-round pick doesn't cut it.

Yes, Bill O'Brien deserves plenty of offseason scorn. But so does Rams GM Les Snead.

The biggest problem that LA's management is currently facing is the amount of dead cap money they're now stuck with. They have nearly $25 million ($21.8 million from Cooks alone!) wrapped up in players who are no longer wearing Rams uniforms. That's approximately 20% of their total cap space.

With cap flexibility depleting by the day, sitting on their hands and waiting for a miracle deal to come along for Cooks was a huge mistake that's already cost the Rams. Coupled with the mismanagement of funds, the re-signing of Andrew Whitworth and the embarrassment of being forced to abandon Todd Gurley, the Rams organization is looking worse and worse by the day.