Why Locking Down Williams Is Wise Move for Rams

Les Snead likes to say the Rams are constantly “chasing special.” He might as well have been describing NFL tacklers trying to corral his fourth-year running back, Kyren Williams.

Since Snead snagged Williams in the fifth round of the 2022 draft, he’s certainly proven himself as a special back who can help Sean McVay and the Rams to another special finish. And the more Los Angeles trusts Williams, the more he comes through.

Both Snead and head coach Sean McVay confirmed they were sitting down with Drew Rosenhaus, the running back’s agent, to discuss a long-term extension at this week’s annual league meeting in Palm Beach, Fla.

“We've had dialogue with Drew,” McVay said Tuesday morning. “We've sent something to him. We are actually scheduled to meet with Drew today at some point, and so I've had conversations with Kyren. He knows how important he is to us. Obviously, he's got another year left on his contract, so we'll see if we can get something done. But he knows how important he is to us.

"As far as just bridging that gap, we'll see. You know how far that we have to go for that, but he is a very important part of what we want to be moving forward what he's meant to us, his toughness, his physicality, just the energy at which he plays. He knows how much I love him, and so we'll see. We'll see if we can get something done."

Getting something done is important because Williams is important. As the league shifts from the philosophy that teams can plug in any back off the street to more of an appreciation for Saquon Barkley, Derrick Henry and other older backs who can still excel as they age, Williams is at his best price right now for the Rams.

The Raiders opted against exercising the fifth-year option on the rookie contract of Josh Jacobs. He answered by leading the league in rushing, then signed a lucrative deal with the Packers as an unrestricted free agent and helped lead the team to a playoff berth in 2024.

And in the unlikely event Williams sustains an injury or other circumstances that significantly affect his career trajectory, he’ll have financial guarantees by signing an extension before he reaches the final year of his rookie deal.  

Williams also wants to finish the Rams chapter of his NFL story in much better fashion than how he finished the 2024 playoffs, with a crucial fumble in the playoff loss at Philadelphia. But McVay, Snead and Williams’ teammates see his larger body of work.

Last year, Williams ranked third in the NFL with 316 carries. He also finished fifth among running backs in rushing-success rate (45.3 percent), according to Next Gen Stats. And, all 14 of his rushing scores came inside the 20-yard line.

Williams posted career bests in nearly every offensive category, including rushing yards (1,299) and rushing touchdowns (14). And while his rushing yards in 2024 ranked seventh, he finished even higher the year before with 1,199, trailing only Christian McCaffrey (1,459) and Henry (1,167) in 2023.

Coming to terms on a multi-year contract extension is an excellent move on the part of the Rams.

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