Did Trey Smith Shift the Future of Rams' Offensive Line?

"The Kansas City Chiefs accomplished their final major objective for this offseason, reaching agreement with right guard Trey Smith on a four-year, $94 million contract extension, a record-setting deal that makes him the highest-paid interior lineman in league history, sources told ESPN on Tuesday," wrote ESPN's Nate Taylor and Adam Schefter.

"Smith's deal includes $70 million guaranteed, the most guaranteed money ever awarded to an NFL guard."

Both Avila and Dotson are set to be free agents after the 2026 NFL season, likely wanting to secure their financial futures after this season.

Here's the problem: the Rams are expected to shell out a ridiculous amount of money next offseason, the result of the excellent draft class of 2023 entering the first year they can begin negotiations regarding extensions.

The Rams in the 2026 offseason will have Ahkello Witherspoon, Cobie Durant, Kam Curl, Kyren Williams, Quentin Lake, Tutu Atwell, and Tyler Higbee, amongst others set to be free agents.

Puka Nacua is nearly guaranteed at this point to receive a massive extension next offseason after Garrett Wilson signed his deal on Monday.

Kobie Turner and Byron Young are also eligible for their deals with Turner's likely to be prioritized like Nacua's in order to seal their contracts before the market goes up again.

The good news is that the Rams will have most of the cap to use in 2027, due to Matthew Stafford, Davante Adams, and Rob Havenstein having either their entire deal or the majority of it being off the books.

However, Nacua is expected to have between a $35-$45 million average annual value. Turner will likely have between $18-$24 million AAV.

The Rams will also have to rebuild their entire defensive secondary, with Emmanuel Forbes, Darious Williams, Jaylen McCollough, and Kam Kinchens being the only notable defensive backs under contract in 2026.

So the Rams can't afford to give Avila and Dotson what they hypothesize they might want so with a rising cost to the position group, lots of money due to be handed out over the next 12 months, and the looming deals for Jared Verse and Braden Fiske in the back of their minds, Les Snead and his staff are going to have to put on their best negotiating hats or risk losing several critical members of the organization.