How trading for Troy Hill impacts Rams’ salary cap in 2022

The Rams suffered a pretty big blow last offseason when Troy Hill left in free agency by signing a two-year, $9 million deal with the Browns. That left a sizable hole in the secondary, which was filled by Robert Rochell and David Long Jr.

His time away from Los Angeles only lasted one year, though. On Saturday, the Rams acquired him in a trade with the Browns, sending Cleveland a fifth-round pick in the 2023 draft. Hill only has one year left on his contract, and the cost of that deal is minimal for the Rams.

According to Spotrac, Hill will only have a salary cap hit of $1.5 million in 2022. The Browns will eat the rest of the $5.625 million on Hill’s deal, making it a very low price for Los Angeles to acquire him

This is a low-risk deal for the Rams to make. A fifth-round pick in 2023 doesn’t carry a ton of value, and they already got a sixth-round compensatory pick in this year’s draft for losing Hill last offseason. So really, it didn’t cost them much, and he can hit free agency again in 2023, which could net the Rams another compensatory pick if he leaves.

This is a really good, low-cost move by Les Snead and the front office.