The NFL trade deadline has officially arrived, and the Los Angeles Rams could be a team to watch. After placing several key starters on injured reserve over the last few weeks, including wide receiver Puka Nacua on Monday, the Rams could look to add at the position on deadline day.

Throughout the Les Snead and Sean McVay era, the Rams have been one of the more aggressive teams when it comes to making trades. On Tuesday, the question will be whether the Rams feel like they can still compete at 5-4 despite all of the injuries. 

Rams Exploring All Options to Address Wide Receiver Injuries

Prior to Monday, the Rams seemed content with their roster. The idea in the building seemed to be that players coming back from injury could be treated as in-season trade acquisitions. “What you look at is hopefully some of those trades will be guys getting back from injury that haven't played for us. That's the way that we look at it,” said head coach Sean McVay. 

However, that has changed since Nacua went on injured reserve. McVay said on Tuesday that the team will look at all avenues and see what the team can come up with. With Jordan Whittington also injured, the Rams currently only have Tutu Atwell, Konata Mumpfield, and CJ Daniels available at wide receiver. 

“I think you have to look at all avenues to try to be able to solve some of the issues or situations or scenarios that have come up,” McVay said. “A lot of new things occur on a daily basis, so I would never rule it out.”

Salary Cap and Draft Capital Could Limit Trade Options

As much as the Rams may want to make a trade, there are some limiting factors with the cap space and draft capital that they have available. There are ways to make a deal work, but the Rams would have to get creative.

According to the NFLPA Public Salary Cap report, the Rams have around $248,600 in salary cap to work with. That makes a trade very difficult unless the other team is willing to take on a large portion of the salary or the Rams restructure a contract. 

With that said, another significant obstacle to the Rams making a move will be their limited draft capital. The Rams don’t have a first- or third-round pick next year. Moving their second-round pick would mean not picking until the fourth round. They do have available picks in 2028, but the Rams may not be as willing to move those. 

Rams Wide Receiver Trade Targets to Watch Before the Deadline

The Rams are in dire need of a wide receiver after Puka Nacua's injury. Here are a few names that have been rumored targets.

• WR Brian Thomas Jr.: After losing Puka Nacua, Thomas would make a lot of sense. However, do the Jaguars want to move him? 
• WR Josh Downs: Downs’ market appears to be competitive with the Pittsburgh Steelers and Kansas City Chiefs reportedly interested. 

Les Snead's History of Making NFL Trade Deadline Deals

The Rams typically haven’t been active on trade deadline day, but that could change this year. At the 2018 NFL trade deadline, the Rams acquired edge rusher Dante Fowler. Fowler helped propel the Rams to the Super Bowl that year. Just ahead of the trade deadline in 2021, Snead traded for edge rusher Von Miller from the Denver Broncos. 

In 2019, the Rams traded away cornerback Aqib Talib. The Rams made a similar move in 2024, trading away Tre White.