Prior to the regular season during roster cutdowns, the Los Angeles Rams made a surprising trade with the Green Bay Packers. The Rams sent tight end Mark Redman to the Packers for a 2028 seventh-round pick. With Redman likely to be part of roster cuts, it made sense for the Rams to try to get something for him rather than lose him on the waiver wire..
However, with the injuries to Terrance Ferguson and Colby Parkinson in combination with the lack of production from second-round rookie Max Klare, it's worth asking whether the Rams should have tried to hang on to Redman.
Heading into last week's game against the Philadelphia Eagles, the Rams entered the game thin at the tight end position. Ferguson was placed on injured reserve and Parkinson was dealing with an AC sprain in his shoulder.
Still, the Rams should have been able to get by without changing too much of their offense given they still had three tight ends on the roster, including a second-round pick in Klare. During the week when McVay was asked whether Klare would get an opportunity to play more, he seemed to imply that would be the case .
"It certainly does," said head coach Sean McVay. "Obviously, being able to play with multiple tight ends has become a big part of our identity and so it absolutely does."
By the end of Sunday's game against the Eagles, the Rams played out of 11 personnel on 88 percent of their offensive snaps. Additionally, Klare played one snap the entire game . Even if Klare is early in his career, if the Rams can't rely on a second-round pick in that situation, when can they?
Meanwhile, in Green Bay, Redman has become a key part of the Packers continuing to operate out of 13 personnel. With Luke Musgrave on injured reserve, Redman played the second-most snaps at tight end behind Tucker Kraft for the Packers in Week 4 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Redman didn't just play, but he also looked pretty good and had quite the impact as a blocker.
Redman hasn't had too much of an impact in the passing game, but he's allowed the Packers to continue to operate their offense and stick to their identity. Against the Buccaneers in Week 4, Redman was the 14th-highest-graded tight end via Pro Football Focus. The only Rams tight end to grade higher was Tyler Higbee.
As a blocker, Redman had a 72.3 run-blocking grade, ranking 12th. That would have led all Rams tight ends. On the season, Redman ranks seventh in run-blocking via PFF and is nearly 10 points higher than the Rams' best blocking tight end in Colby Parkinson.
Hindsight is, of course, 20-20. At the time, the Rams didn't necessarily make the wrong decision by trading Redman. An argument can be made that the trade worked out for both sides. Redman would have struggled to find a role in the Rams' offense and went to a team where he could contribute.
One of the primary reasons that Klare likely isn't seeing snaps is his inconsistency as a blocker. That's typically the biggest transition for tight ends going from college to the NFL. Klare ranked 41st out of 50 tight ends during the preseason as a run blocker.
Still, with the benefit of hindsight, it's worth wondering if the Rams could have made a stronger effort to keep Redman, especially knowing that Klare may need his entire rookie season to develop.
When the Rams released their initial 53-man roster, they kept seven wide receivers, even though the offense moving to more 13 personnel. There likely wasn't a need for seven wide receivers on the roster. It's possible Tutu Atwell could have been kept on the practice squad. Additionally, less than four weeks into the season, the team cut Xavier Smith, despite there already being questions during training camp and the preseason about whether he should have been the punt returner.
It's fair to say that the Rams didn't have enough wide receiver depth to warrant keeping seven players at the position.
With that said, keeping six tight ends on the roster certainly would have been a lot. However, if the plan was to simply red-shirt Klare, maybe it should have been more of a consideration. Redman had already been in the offense for a year, spending last year on the practice squad. He also played well in the preseason.
Trading Redman wasn't necessarily a mistake when the Rams made the move. If he was going to be cut, they might as well have gotten something for him. At the same time, with Klare seemingly not ready for a significant role and early injuries at tight end, the Rams could use Redman now.
His ability as a blocker could have helped the Rams continue operating out of 13 personnel rather than changing their identity. Redman's presence has allowed the Packers to do that while the Rams had to completely shift their offense.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/nfl/rams/onsi as Rams May Have Made a Mistake Trading Away This Tight End .
