Will the Rams extend their star running back before the season?
Sean McVay called extension talks with Kyren Williams’ agent “really healthy” and made it sound as though the Rams could be re-signing their starting running back in the near future. In meeting with the media on Wednesday, the head coach said that there has been “positive progress” on getting a contract extension for Williams done with agent Drew Rosenhaus, so it’s possible L.A. could enter the season without any lingering issues there.
Williams has rushed for 2,443 yards and 26 touchdowns over the last two seasons, which means those numbers came in a total of only 28 games because he has missed or sat out of six contests since 2023. He has also had 388 receiving yards and five more touchdowns.
Sean McVay said the dialogue between the Rams and Kyren Williams’ agent, Drew Rosenhaus, about a contract extension has been “really healthy.” Williams, who is entering the final season of his rookie deal, is at Rams OTAs. McVay said there’s been “positive progress, for sure.”
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On the downside, Williams has fumbled eight times over the past two seasons.
In terms of contract numbers, Kyren Williams probably wouldn’t be able to command a top-of-the-market running back deal, so that means he isn’t going to get $20 million per season like Saquon Barkley or $19 million per year like Christian McCaffrey.
However, the next tier below them, with Derrick Henry’s recent re-do putting him at $15 million per season with the Baltimore Ravens, is likely what Rosenhaus would be shooting for on the next contract.
The Colts gave Jonathan Taylor a three-year, $42 million contract with $19 million guaranteed in order to end any talks of a holdout or stalemate. That deal, combined with the four-year, $48 million deal that the Packers gave Josh Jacobs in 2024, is probably the wheelhouse for Williams.
The Rams could potentially sign Kyren Williams to something like a three-year, $39 million contract that has $20 million guaranteed, guaranteeing his place with the team for 2025, 2026, and 2027. The last year of the deal would be in 2028, which is also probably when the Rams would think about having Jarquez Hunter or Blake Corum take over the starting role.
It is curious why the Rams would draft Corum and Hunter, then extend Williams anyway, but according to Sean McVay that is the plan and has always been the plan.
