The Colorado Rapids are expansion draft-ready. And they’ve got their first action of 2025 lined up.
The club announced its list of protected players Tuesday for San Diego FC’s expansion draft, which will begin at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday.
All Homegrowns and Generation Adidas players (Kimani Stewart-Baynes is the only GA on the roster) were automatically protected league-wide. The Rapids selected 12 other players to be protected, which included the two newest Rapids: Chidozie Awaziem and Ian Murphy.
After the automatic and selected protections, the Rapids had to leave five current players vulnerable to the newest MLS club: Andreas Maxsø, Daniel Chacón, Nate Jones, Jasper Löffelsend and Omir Fernández.
The list also included Lalas Abubakar, Jonathan Lewis, Ethan Bandré and Rémi Cabral, but their contracts either expired or had options declined and will likely not return to Colorado, San Diego selection or otherwise.
While some of those names, like Maxsø, Löffelsend and Fernández, may be surprising to see go unprotected, the chances SDFC picks any of them up are relatively low given the league total of 354 available players. And even if SDFC used any of its five picks on a Rapid, new signings and future offseason targets would likely supplement the loss.
Rapids draw LAFC in first round of CONCACAF Champions Cup: Colorado earned a spot in the CCC for the first time since 2022 after taking third place in the 2024 Leagues Cup in a thrilling shootout win over the Philadelphia Union. On Tuesday, the Rapids were drawn into a first-round matchup against LAFC.
Recent history isn’t too friendly to the matchup from the Rapids’ perspective, particularly in tournament matches. The Rapids did earn three points at home in comeback fashion back in March but have lost two games by a combined score of 7-0 on the road since then in all competitions, including a 4-0 loss in the Leagues Cup semifinals.
LAFC narrowly advanced past a tricky Vancouver Whitecaps team in the first round of the MLS Playoffs but was upset by the Seattle Sounders in Los Angeles in the Western Conference semifinals. LAFC also reached the final of the 2024 U.S. Open Cup but lost to Sporting Kansas City.
The black and gold last featured in the CCC in 2023 when it lost in the final to Liga MX’s Club León. In 2022, the Rapids were bounced in the round of 16 in penalties to Guatemalan club Comunicaciones after a 1-all aggregate score in two games.
CONCACAF has not set a date for any matches yet, but the tournament will start in February. The winner of Colorado and LAFC will face 2023 MLS Cup champion and 2024 Leagues Cup winner Columbus Crew.
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