At the tail end of Rams coach Sean McVay’s press conference following a postseason loss to the Packers, McVay was asked a simple question about quarterback Jared Goff.
“If he your quarterback?”
Said McVay: “Yeah, he’s the quarterback right now.”
The session ended at that point, without the opportunity for anyone to further inquire regarding the two words McVay nonchalantly tacked onto the end of the response.
Right now.
Some have wondered whether McVay would have used John Wolford in Saturday’s game at Green Bay, if the neck injury Wolford suffered last weekend against the Seahawks would have allowed him to play. Some will now wonder whether Wolford, or someone else, will have an opportunity to compete against Goff next season.
Regardless of whether Goff starts in 2021, he won’t be going anywhere. His contract makes cutting him virtually impossible, given that his 2021 base salary of $25.325 million already is fully guaranteed, as is a 2021 roster bonus of $2.5 million and a 2022 roster bonus of $15.5 million. That’s $43.325 million in guarantees, with no offsets.
Throw in $22.2 million in cap charges for past bonuses paid to Goff, and the cap consequences associated with releasing him would exceed $65 million.
Trading him would result in a much lower cap charge ($22.2 million), but who would trade for Goff at this point?
Answer: No one.
So the Rams are stuck with Goff, at least through 2022. That doesn’t mean they have to play him, but it means that their best, and perhaps only, option will be to keep him on the roster.
