The St. Louis Rams have had little cap room for the majority of the offseason after big money deals were given to tackle Jake Long and tight end Jared Cook.
St. Louis had just $244,053 in cap space and needed room to sign their upcoming draft class which includes two first round selections. According to Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the Rams were able to get some help with defensive end Chris Long agreeing to restructure his contract.
Long will get the same amount of money but the restructured deal gives the Rams as extra $4.5 million in cap space. Per Thomas, Long was scheduled to make $13.25 million in base salary this season. Six million of his base salary was converted to a roster bonus with the cap hit prorated over the final four years of his contract.
The new deal gives the Rams the ability to sign their draft class and finally submit the contract for offensive lineman Chris Williams that they couldn’t afford despite agreeing to the deal three weeks ago.