The Rams’ splashy midseason acquisitions came through to help them to Super Bowl LVI, and the team wants both Von Miller and Odell Beckham Jr. back for next season.
The NFC champions are interested in extending both Beckham and Miller, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. Both standouts are set to be free agents in March. Neither has hit the market to start a league year previously, though Beckham was available after his in-season Browns exit.
Projected to be more than $14M over the cap for 2022, the Rams have not let financial limitations interfere with big-ticket moves. They have been forced to let role players walk in free agency annually, however. But the team paid up to keep Leonard Floyd last March, doing so after eating a then-record dead-money sum as a result of the Jared Goff trade. Interest in retaining Miller and OBJ also comes as Matthew Stafford enters the final year of his Lions-constructed contract. An extension that bumps Stafford toward the top of the quarterback market would stand to free up money in the short term.
Miller said recently, via SI.com’s Greg Bishop, he wants to stay with the Rams. Prior to the former Super Bowl MVP playing a game with his new team, the sides discussed extension parameters.
No such talks with Beckham are known to have taken place. Both players have done well to help push the Rams back to the Super Bowl. The NFC championship doubled as Beckham’s first 100-yard game since 2019, while Miller registered seven sacks from Week 15 through the Rams’ divisional-round win in Tampa.
Beckham, 29, might have a greater interest in hitting the market, considering his unconventional November free agency was not centered around money. More money will be available come March, with the cap spiking and additional teams likely interested.
The Rams also have Cooper Kupp and Robert Woods tied to lucrative extensions, and the former’s dominance this season makes his $15.75M-per-year deal look like a bargain for the Rams. This stands to complicate Beckham staying in Los Angeles.
Miller, 33 in March, has never been a free agent. He is finishing up his six-year, $114.1M extension. Despite his advancing age, the future Hall of Famer would command considerable interest on the market.
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