When the Los Angeles Rams trimmed their roster down from 90 to 53 players on Saturday afternoon, they knew at least a couple of the players they cut would be claimed off waivers. What they probably didn’t expect was that five of them would find new homes so quickly.

That’s exactly what happened as John Franklin-Myers, Brandon Allen, KhaDarel Hodge, Kevin Peterson and Steven Parker were claimed off waivers. It prevented the Rams from signing any of them to the practice squad, which certainly left Sean McVay and the front office disappointed.

It’s extremely rare that a team has five players claimed off waivers, but the Rams just joined a small group of franchises to have that happen. It’s only been done four times in the last 20 years, in fact.

#Rams had 5 players claimed off waiver wire today. Only 4 other teams have had 5+ players claimed off initial waiver in the last 20 years

2018 CLV: 5

2013 GB: 5

2010 GB: 5

2010 NE: 6

5 claims is tied for the 2nd highest in last 20 years — Vincent Bonsignore (@VinnyBonsignore) September 1, 2019

The Rams’ five players lost to waivers was the most in the league this year, topping the Patriots, Bills and Ravens, who all had at least three players claimed by other teams. It should come as no surprise that the Rams and Patriots were first and second on the list.

Nine teams had multiple players claimed. The two Super Bowl teams lead the pack. 5: Rams

4: Patriots

3: Bills, Ravens

2: Eagles, Packers, Vikings, Cardinals, Bengals These become a point of pride for personnel departments, as players getting claimed are a show of depth. — Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) September 1, 2019

While it’s sad to see players like Hodge and Peterson depart via waivers, it is a testament to the job Les Snead and the rest of the personnel executives have done building this Rams roster. Not too long ago, the Rams were cutting players who had little chance of making it in the NFL. Now, they’re forced to waive guys who other teams can’t wait to get their hands on.

The Rams have a good mix of young and old on their 53-man roster and 10-player practice squad, many of whom have experience in either Wade Phillips’ and Sean McVay’s systems, or within the organization itself. It’s no coincidence that the majority of the players on the active roster and practice squad are homegrown.

Snead touched on that very fact Saturday after the Rams made their final cuts.

“Here’s the similarity which is nice from last year,” Snead began. “We did a lot of moves last year and a lot of those players are still here. Now, they’re over 400 days in the system, per se, so they’re only going to continue to get better. What I like about this roster is a nice mix of veteran players that may be on their third, fourth contracts, but have a lot of wisdom, experience and want to be a part of something special. You got a lot of guys in their prime and a lot of guys that are young, that are going to help us in areas and you never know when. (DT) Sebastian Joseph(-Day) was inactive most of last year, this year he’s going to start in our base. That’s the similarities, but the names can be different. The nice thing is there’s going to be a lot of continuity. The difference is probably some of the guys in that younger category changing a little bit.”

Los Angeles will be a Super Bowl contender once again this season and it’s largely because of the job Snead, McVay and the front office have done building the roster. Few teams can match the talent present in Thousand Oaks.