With Darious Williams signing a contract with the Jacksonville Jaguars and Eric Weddle going back into retirement, the secondary was a clear focus for the Los Angeles Rams during the offseason.
The team drafted South Carolina State cornerback Decobie Durant with the No. 142 overall pick and traded their 2023 fifth-round selection to the Cleveland Browns for a familiar face in cornerback Troy Hill from the Cleveland Browns.
Hill spent five seasons with the Rams and had his best year in 2020, recording three interceptions and 10 passes defensed and a league-leading three defensive touchdowns. He turned that success into a four-year contract with the Browns, but his stint was short-lived.
Hill revealed he never wanted to leave the Rams in the first place but needed to look out for his family, per Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic:
“I missed them,” Hill said. “I would (joke with my agent), ‘Man, what if I just text McVay and say, “Hey big head?”‘ (But) I had to do what I had to do for my family.”
After a disappointing season with the Browns, Hill couldn’t be happier to be back in L.A.:
“Everything worked out and came full circle. I’m supposed to be here. I want to be here. It’s gonna be fun and I’m excited about the season, for sure,” Hill said. “Ram for life. … I’ve seen that the grass ain’t always greener on the other side.”
As Hill gets set to enter his seventh NFL season, he presumably will resume his role on the outside and in the “Star” position with the Rams. However, he will be doing it in a new number as he is set to don No. 2.
Aside from Hill, the rest of the Rams’ secondary are holdovers from last season as Jalen Ramsey, Taylor Rapp and Jordan Fuller will return to the unit.
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