Los Angeles Rams · Franchise era 6 of 7
The long rebuild and return home: the Los Angeles Rams story
Franchise era
2005—2016
The long rebuild and return home
Los Angeles Rams
The story in one sentence
Jackson carried years of losing, Donald arrived as a foundational defender and the franchise returned to Los Angeles in 2016.
St. Louis struggles before Los Angeles gets the Rams back
Steven Jackson, Chris Long and Aaron Donald gave the era its recognizable core.
Its ending created the conditions for the mcvay era.
Timeline
How it unfolded
Before 2005
What came before
Warner's emergence, Faulk's versatility and a deep receiving corps produced two Super Bowls and the championship after the 1999 season.
March 13, 2012
The RGIII draft trade and its eight-player tree
Washington wanted to end a decades-long quarterback search. The Rams chose volume, then repeatedly traded the incoming selections to spread the return across three drafts.
06Draft-capital avalancheMarch 13, 2012WAS⇄STLWashington's RGIII trade-upWashington sent three first-round selections and a second to St. Louis for the No. 2 pick used on Robert Griffin III.5 assets · 3 outcomes＋
The original receipt
Washington received
- • 2012 first · No. 2
St. Louis Rams received
- • 2012 first · No. 6
- • 2012 second · No. 39
- • 2013 first · No. 22
- • 2014 first · No. 2
Griffin delivered an electric Rookie of the Year season before injuries changed the trajectory. The Rams' follow-on moves ultimately produced eight players rather than four simple selections.
Open full trade tree →After 2016
What came next
McVay changed the offense immediately, reached two Super Bowls and won the second after the Rams traded aggressively for Stafford and veteran stars.
The core