The steep price the Rams paid to trade for quarterback Matthew Stafford proved a bargain at the end. (Reuters)
Second thoughts: With Super Bowl window open, should Browns follow Rams’ ‘all-in’ blueprint?
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Editor's note: Tony Grossi is a Cleveland Browns analyst for TheLandOnDemand.com and 850 ESPN Cleveland.
Second thoughts on Super Bowl 56 …
1. The last two Super Bowl winners – the Buccaneers and Rams – followed an all-or-nothing approach to put them over the top. They had good rosters to start with, but each felt they were an elite quarterback away from winning the Super Bowl. The Bucs luckily didn’t have to trade anything for Tom Brady, who was a free agent in 2020, but they squeezed in salary cap room for key defensive players and they did trade a couple draft picks for tight end Rob Gronkowski to round out their offense. The Rams were even more aggressive. They mortgaged two future first-round picks for Matthew Stafford and absorbed a $22.2 million cap hit for giving up on former No. 1 overall quarterback Jared Goff, who previously cost them two No. 1 picks. The Rams also gave up high picks for pass rusher Von Miller after doing the same for cornerback Jalen Ramsey and since-departed receiver Brandin Cooks. Ultimately, the Rams traded their first-round picks from 2017 through 2023 to build their championship team. That blueprint isn’t for every team to follow and certainly isn’t the only way to do it. But teams that feel they are primairly an elite quarterback away – such as the Browns – would be wise to at least consider a similar strategy. Last year the Browns adopted the “if it’s not broke don’t fix it” approach on offense. Now it’s broke and it needs fixing.
2. It’s important to note that the key players at the end of the Rams’ 23-20 Super Bowl victory over the Cincinnati Bengals – other than Stafford – were home-grown superstars Aaron Donald (first round, 2014) and Cooper Kupp (third round, 2017). Donald made a strong case for MVP of the game by leading the defensive charge that forced punts and a turnover on downs on the Bengals’ last five possessions. Like he did in the NFC Championship, Donald rallied his defensive teammates and made the plays on his own in the end. But Kupp’s contributions on Stafford’s 15-play winning drive earned him the MVP. In chronological order, Kupp: 1. Converted a first down with a 7-yard run on a fourth-and-1 jet sweep from the Rams’ 30 to jumpstart the march; 2. Caught Stafford’s breath-taking 22-yard, no-look throw between the hash marks for a 22-yard gain to the Bengals’ 24; 3. Absorbed a vicious helmet hit in the end zone by safety Vonn Bell on a TD catch nullified by offsetting penalties that could have sent him to the bench for concussion evaluation; 4. Made the winning catch on a back-shoulder toss from Stafford. Doing it in the clutch after the Rams lost Odell Beckham Jr. in the first half made it even more impressive. Kupp’s Super Bowl MVP performance gave him 33 catches for 478 yards and 6 TD in the Rams’ four postseason victories, which followed a receiver’s “triple crown” regular season that earned him NFL offensive player-of-the-year honors.
3. Beckham’s knee injury in the first half put the Rams’ offense in a deep freeze in the second half. Had Beckham not been injured, the game might not have been as close. Then again, a more lethal Rams’ offense might have forced the Bengals into a faster-paced offensive tempo, which they proved quite capable of executing in two wins over Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs. Beckham’s re-injury of his left ACL was a sad sight that no bitter Browns fan should take delight in. This was not a case of “bad karma” besetting Beckham after his messy divorce from the Browns. It was just a brutal reminder of the health risks of playing pro football and the randomness of major injuries. Beckham originally tore the ACL chasing Cincinnati interceptor Darius Phillips in a 2020 game against the Bengals and colliding with teammate Andy Janovich. The re-injury in the Super Bowl occurred when Beckham’s left foot caught in the SoFi Stadium turf reaching for a pass thrown behind him. Beckham has not commented on the prospect of yet another 10-month+ injury rehabilitation. At Browns training camp last summer, Beckham spoke of the mental toll his recent injuries have taken on him. He called them devastating. Now there’s another to deal with. If nothing else, Beckham proved in his stay with the Rams that he was still an elite receiver. The Rams would not have made it to the Super Bowl without him.
4. The Bengals might be better positioned to return in Super Bowl 57 than the Rams, although the AFC is more stacked with a murderers-row of elite quarterbacks. The list of losers of a Super Bowl to return to the game the following season is longer than you might think. The Cowboys (1970-71), Dolphins (1971-72), Vikings (1973-74), Broncos (1986-87), Bills (1991-93) and Patriots (2017-18) all did it. Conversely, there have been eight back-to-back champions in 55 Super Bowls. The first building block – franchise quarterback – is in place for both the Bengals and Rams. But the Rams are $10 million OVER the projected 2022 salary cap of $208 million and face the possible loss of left tackle Andrew Whitworth (retirement), pass rusher Von Miller (free agency) and Beckham (injury). Also, the Rams currently are without selections in the first four rounds of the 2022 draft. The Bengals are fourth in the NFL with a projected $55 million in salary cap space, have many of their key players under contract for at least two more years, and own all their picks. Further, their needs are limited to offensive line and defensive line. They had better devote all attention to protecting Joe Burrow. After suffering a record-tying seven sacks in the Super Bowl, Burrow finished the long campaign with 70 total sacks (51 in regular season plus 19 in the postseason) – third-highest total in NFL history. And all of that came after needing major surgery to repair multiple knee ligament tears in his first season.
