The St. Louis Rams could be closer to moving to Los Angeles in the future, as the LA Times reports that owner Stan Kroenke is buying land and plans to build a stadium in LA and this comes as the Rams are debating whether to bring back Sam Bradford or try for a trade in 2015 after he suffered another serious injury.
The news about the NFL in Los Angeles is nothing new, but the report from the Los Angeles Times puts things on a timeline and it could cause some nervousness in St. Louis for fans. According to Sam Farmer, Kroenke is buying up land in Los Angeles and plans on building an NFL stadium in the area near the old Hollywood Park race track. Many in the NFL media have speculated about the league coming back to Los Angeles and that area is considered to be prime for a stadium.
The NFL wants a team back in LA and right now expansion appears to be off the table. The teams mentioned the most about moving include the Rams, Raiders and Chargers, as all three have been dealing with stadium issues at home. The Chargers could be an option to move north, while the Rams and Raiders have each played in Los Angeles before. The Rams stadium issues have been well documented and now the team could be at risk to move. Things won't likely happen until after this season at the earliest, but that still could make fans very nervous heading out of the year.
The Rams on the field have issues of their own, as the team went 6-10 this season and dealt with injuries at the quarterback position. Sam Bradford appears to be coming back next season, but according to ESPN.com, there is a chance the Rams could trade or release him before the start of the year. Bradford dealt with an ACL injury this season and that came after he already dealt with that injury in the past and that makes his future unclear.
Bradford is expensive at $13 million after signing a six-year, $78 million contract that had $50 million guaranteed as a rookie and now he could be on his way out. Jeff Fisher said that if Bradford returned, he likely would have competition and that could be through the draft or the Rams signing someone in free agency. Bradford has been injury prone through his entire career and he has missed nearly 50 games during his first five seasons.
Bradford was having a strong start to the season in 2013 before going down, passing for nearly 1700 yards and 14 touchdowns and just four interceptions. Bradford now has to recover and the Rams are hoping that he has a career year if he returns. Teams like the Houston Texans, Washington Redskins, Tennessee Titans or NY jets could be interested in a deal, but it's looking likely that Bradford remains a Ram for now. The Rams ranked 23rd in passing yards per game last season and they bounced between Shaun Hill and Austin Davis.
