Rams TE Tyler Higbee Restructures Contract

The Rams and tight end Tyler Higbee have restructured his contract ahead of the 2021 NFL season.

The Los Angeles Rams have been big spenders in free agency and heavily involved in trade talks over the years. As a result, they're typically right up against the salary cap.

In order to give the team additional spending dollars, the Rams have tapped into contract restructures to improve their salary cap space.

The Rams have restructured tight end Tyler Higbee's contract, per ESPN's Lindsey Thiry. In the process, Los Angeles converted Higbee's $2.475 million base salary into a signing bonus. 

The move adds an additional $1.65 million in cap space, putting the Rams at $2 million. 

Higbee, 28, enters his sixth season in the NFL — all of which has been with the Rams. A former fourth-round pick in the 2016 NFL Draft out of Western Kentucky, Higbee has been the Rams starting tight end in each season since coach Sean McVay's arrival to Los Angeles. 

Higbee signed a four-year, $29 million contract in 2019 prior to his rookie contract expiring. He's set to make $6.25 million in 2022 and 2023, however, his guaranteed dollars are dwindling down.

With the season set to get underway, Higbee is slated to be the Rams starting tight end in 2021. He'll now catch passes from the newly acquired Matthew Stafford, as Higbee could develop into his new quarterback's red zone target. 

In 2020, Higbbe registered 44 grabs for 521 yards and five touchdowns.

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*contract terms via Spotrac

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Nick Cothrel is the Publisher of Ram Digest. Follow Nick on Twitter @NickCothrel.