What Quentin Lake’s Contract Restructure Means for the Rams’ Salary Cap

The Rams restructured Quentin Lake’s contract to get under the salary cap, creating $3.4 million in space. Here’s what the move means going forward.

Sep 10, 2026; Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; Los Angeles Rams safety Quentin Lake during press conference at Marvel Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

While the Los Angeles Rams are getting ready for their Week 1 matchup against the San Francisco 49ers, the front office reworked the contract of safety Quentin Lake. In order to get under the cap, the Rams restructured Lake’s contract and are now approximately $3 million under the salary cap.

According to Over The Cap, the Rams converted $4.3 million in Lake’s salary to a bonus and added two void years. By doing so, they lowered Lake’s cap number by $3.4 million. While his cap number increased by $857,000 per year, the Rams are now in compliance with the NFL’s salary cap.

The Rams just extended Lake last season to a three-year deal worth up to $42 million with $25.7 million guaranteed. While the Rams typically don’t pay safeties, Lake had proven at that point to be an instrumental piece on defense while playing in the slot. The Rams also have stayed away from restructuring contracts in recent years, but after bringing back Aaron Donald, they needed to create some cap space.

After restructuring Lake’s deal, the Rams have around $2.6 million in cap space via Over The Cap. The only team with less cap space than the Rams is the Buffalo Bills. It wouldn’t be surprising to see the Rams restructure another contract at some point to help create some more cap space.

The Rams tend to like to have $10 million going into the year. That allows them some flexibility with practice squad call-ups and the ability to make an in-season trade if needed. If the Rams do look to restructure another contract, Davante Adams’ and Kyren Williams’ contracts would be options. By restructuring Williams’ deal, the Rams could save around $6.5 million while Adams could save close to $11.4 million.

Under Lake’s deal, the Rams still have an out after 2027. Despite adding void years to the end of Lake’s deal, the Rams can move on from him after the 2027 season and save around $11 million with a pre-June 1 cut if needed.

The most important thing right now is that the Rams are under the salary cap. The Rams don’t necessarily need to make another move immediately, but operating with less than $3 million in cap space doesn't give them a lot of flexibility. Restructuring Lake’s deal solved the immediate problem of getting the Rams under the cap, but it may only be the first move if they need to create more space.

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