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Rams' awful year extends into offseason

Billy Hurst / USA TODAY Sports

A season that began with promise and playoff aspirations ended with a whimper for the Los Angeles Rams in 2016.

While the Rams no doubt hoped to get away from it all this offseason, it seems the dark clouds have followed them.

After a messy divorce with St. Louis, their first season in Los Angeles was a disappointment and the failures have extended beyond the football field.

Just take a look at the last seven months for the franchise:

November

Then-head coach Jeff Fisher and franchise legend Eric Dickerson bickered through the media after the former running back believed he was banned from the Rams' sidelines. The back and forth went on much longer than it should have and resulted in Dickerson promising to stay away from the team for as long as Fisher was employed.

December

To Dickerson's delight, Fisher was fired, which is all well and good, but it came about a week after it was announced Fisher was signed to a two-year contract extension.

January

The Rams finished their first season back in L.A. with a 4-12 record. If that wasn't bad enough, they were second to last in home attendance and dead last in home percentage, drawing just 80 percent to spacious Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Ratings for the NFL as a whole were also down in L.A., despite, you know, the fact they had a team in town again.

March

The Rams kicked off their offseason by announcing they will be going back to their roots and wearing white horns on their blue helmets, harking back to a look they wore in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The problem is the rest of their uniform will remain blue and gold until 2019. It makes for quite the odd sight.

As the month continued, the team made Trumaine Johnson - definitely not the best cornerback in the league - the highest paid cornerback in the NFL by offering him the franchise tag for the second consecutive season. Since then, the Rams have attempted, unsuccessfully, to trade Johnson. He'll make a cool $16 million in 2017.

April

A team in desperate need of more talent proceeded without a first-round pick in the 2017 NFL Draft. L.A. traded the selection last year to acquire Jared Goff. With their second- and third-round picks, the Rams picked tight end Gerald Everett and receiver Cooper Kupp, choices that earned the team poor draft marks from the NFL community.

May

The team announced its palatial new stadium won't open until 2020, which isn't too much of a problem except for the fact the Rams will have to file for a waiver in order to keep their rights as host of Super Bowl LV. Oh, and they may have to wear their blue and gold uniform with the blue and white helmet for the next three seasons.

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