The Los Angeles Rams are not going to be a good team in 2023 and might end up being sellers at some point in 2023. Could the Denver Broncos make some trades with the 2021 Super Bowl champions? It doesn't feel like the Rams won the Super Bowl two years ago, but alas, they did.
Their 2022 season was nearly as bad as Denver's, too. An injury-plagued roster limited the team to just five wins, which no one seemed to see coming. LA appears to be running it back in hopes they field a healthier roster and an improved Matthew Stafford, whose time in the NFL might be running out.
I'd bet that the Rams are probably a below .500 team at the NFL trade deadline in 2023. If that's the case, they may want to position their roster for the long term. Or, if good enough offers come around, could the Rams deal one of their own or trade for someone else?
Could the Denver Broncos and Los Angeles Rams engage in some trade shenanigans in 2023?
Denver Broncos 3 trade ideas with the Los Angeles Rams in 2023
1. Denver Broncos trade for C Brian Allen
The Los Angeles Rams starting center during their Super Bowl season in 2021 may not even begin the year as the starter at center. Brian Allen is a talented player who has struggled with injuries since coming into the league back in 2018 out of Michigan State.
Allen missed seven games in 2019, all of the 2020 season, and 10 games in 2022, but he's proven to be an effective player when on the field. He earned an 80.2 PFF grade back in 2021, allowing five sacks and committing five penalties.
The Rams did restructure his contract a bit this offseason, and he's gotten as low as third-team reps this offseason. LA does have a few younger interior offensive linemen who may be more aligned to be a part of the team's long-term future, and with Allen's injury history, it might make sense for the Rams to move on from the player. Still just 27 years old, Brian Allen might have a home with the Denver Broncos.
Brian Allen would easily be the best center on the roster. If he could stay healthy, Brian Allen is an above-average center in the NFL and would be a boost to the Denver Broncos' OL.
Denver Broncos 3 trade ideas with the Los Angeles Rams in 2023
2. Los Angeles Rams trade for Caden Sterns
The Los Angeles Rams projected starting secondary is as follows: Robert Rochell, Jordan Fuller, Russ Yeast, and Cobie Durant.
Who in the heck are these guys?
I'd hate to see the Denver Broncos part with a promising young player like Caden Sterns, but the Rams' secondary might be the worst in the entire NFL, and Sterns is someone who can be deployed in a variety of ways, so he'd be a big help to a unit that'll probably struggle in 2023.
The Broncos have a few other young safeties not named Caden Sterns like PJ Locke, Delarrin Turner-Yell, and JL Skinner, who is a massive human being. Perhaps the Broncos are comfortable dealing from this position if they are confident in one of the young guys being competent.
The Broncos might be able to get a third or fourth-round pick for Sterns, honestly. He's a former Texas Longhorn who has looked very good in his time with the Broncos thus far, which was cut short in 2022 because of injury.
Caden Sterns might also be a long-term fixture for the Los Angeles Rams, and LA might be looking to their future as soon as this season, depending on how it begins.
Denver Broncos 3 trade ideas with the Los Angeles Rams in 2023
3. Denver Broncos trade for DT Aaron Donald
I saved the best for last. Aaron Donald nearly retired last year but did come back, so I will say right off the bat, there is a huge concern, in this wild scenario, how much longer Donald would play for. Perhaps being traded to a contender would reignite his desire to win more.
Aaron Donald is arguably the best defensive player in the history of the NFL and might be one of the 10 best NFL players ever. There is literally nothing he has not done in the NFL, capped off by the Los Angeles Rams winning the Super Bowl back in 2021.
If the Rams' season begins poorly and does not get better by the trade deadline, you bet that teams will be calling LA about the availability of the former Pittsburgh Panther. Over the course of his career, this is what Aaron Donald has done:
Nine Pro Bowls, seven All-Pros, three-time Defensive Player of the Year, Defensive Rookie of the Year, Hall of Game All-2010s Team, 103 regular season sacks, 237 QB hits, 160 tackles for loss, eight total games missed.
This is an incredible resume for Donald, who can play all along the defensive line. He's played both tackle and d-end during his time in the NFL and is entering his age-32 season. The big thing here would be what I mentioned before about how much longer he'd even want to play for, and the cost to acquire Donald.
If Aaron Donald did come to the Rams and ask for a trade, I think they'd agree and trade him to his team of choice. He's earned that opportunity. Well, what if he wants to play for the Denver Broncos? You never know. Donald might see a reinvigorated Broncos team under Sean Payton and may think that Denver gives him the best chance to win another Super Bowl.
If there was anything better than being considered a first-ballot Hall of Famer, Donald would be that. He's a graduate of Penn Hills High School (where I taught for a year) and is an insane player.