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The Los Angeles Rams are coming off their Week 8 bye with a clear indication of what they need and where they stand. Tied atop the NFC West with the Seattle Seahawks at 5-2, the Rams can bolster their playoff chances with an active trade deadline.
They recently went out and acquired Tennessee Titans cornerback Roger McCreary to boost their secondary. But that move shouldn't be the only one Les Snead and the Rams make this season.
As ESPN's Bill Barnwell writes, the Rams' biggest needs revolve around the secondary and on special teams. Specifically, Barnwell identified another cornerback, linebacker, and even a kicker as the Rams' biggest needs at the 2025 trade deadline.
The Rams' biggest trade deadline revolves around the back-seven, special teams concerns
"With Matthew Stafford flirting with retirement (or a new contract) on seemingly an annual basis," Barnwell writes, "The Rams have to consider adding more talent around their veterans if they want to win another ring."
Adding another cornerback would make sense for the Rams, as McCreary could line up in the slot for Los Angeles, leaving the door open to an upgrade over Emmanuel Forbes Jr. or Darious Williams on the outside.
At linebacker, Nate Landman, Omar Speights, Troy Reeder, and Shaun Dolac could use another veteran to aid the defense. With a great defensive line, the only areas to improve are in the secondary and at linebacker. The back seven is the area of need for Los Angeles, as the offense is essentially set.
While a linebacker or cornerback wouldn't be that surprising an addition, the Rams being named as a kicker-needy team is interesting. "A veteran kicker wouldn't hurt," Barnwell writes, "given Joshua Karty's struggles this season."
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Karty is 10 of 14 on field goal attempts and 19 of 21 on extra point attempts. There's one game that can be pointed to as a main reason for the concern over Karty.
Against the Philadelphia Eagles, Karty's last two field goal attempts, including one for the win, were blocked. Part of the blame was on the blocking, but Karty has been more prone to his kicks being blocked than other kickers.
Nick Folk of the New York Jets, who's having a great season despite the Jets' struggles offensively, would be a reasonable veteran to try and trade for if the Rams feel they need to upgrade at the position.
The Rams will have one last week before they have to finalize any trade deadline decisions. With a Week 9 matchup against the New Orleans Saints on tap, the Rams will look to get to 6-2 before they make any final trade deadline decisions by the trade deadline on Tuesday, November 4th.
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