With three weeks until the trade deadline, the Los Angeles Rams struck their second deal of the season. On Tuesday, they sent Van Jefferson and a 2025 seventh-round pick to the Falcons for a 2025 sixth-rounder – minimal return for a wide receiver who was selected in the second round in 2020.
Many are wondering why the Rams got so little for Jefferson in this trade, even with him being in a contract year. And unsurprisingly, it’s partly because the Rams wanted to do right by Jefferson and help him out.
Jefferson played just two snaps on Sunday against the Eagles, which was the first real sign that he’d have no role on offense with Cooper Kupp back. So rather than keeping him as a depth piece and giving him very little playing time, Sean McVay said the Rams preferred to accommodate Jefferson by sending him somewhere he was wanted.
“This was something that we had kind of talked about the possibility of and felt like it was able to work out for both sides,” McVay said Wednesday. “I know he’s excited about the opportunity to go contribute in Atlanta and I got a ton of respect for (Falcons coach) Arthur Smith. Have a great relationship with (Falcons OC) Dave Ragone. He was somebody that they had been interested in and it worked out and Van was excited about that opportunity, but he did a great job for us here. I love Van and I was grateful for the conversations and the clarity that we had going into that. I know he’s excited about that and just appreciative of him. And he’s, like I said, special person, special player, and it was a lot of good memories that we had here and a lot of things that I really appreciate about the person as much as the player.”
McVay called this trade “bittersweet” for him because while he’s sad to see Jefferson go, he’s also happy for the receiver in his new opportunity where he’ll get more playing time to prove himself than he would have in Los Angeles.
This wasn’t a traditional trade situation, and certainly not similar to the one involving Cam Akers last month. With Akers, it was about moving a disgruntled player who didn’t fit the culture. With Jefferson, it was about giving him a fresh start with a new team that would give him more snaps than the Rams would’ve.
“Every situation is a little bit different so I don’t think you want to pigeonhole yourself into saying this is the standard operating procedure, but it was special because of who he is, the way he’s handled himself, the unique circumstances that presented himself that you had some other guys that have done a really good job,” McVay said. “You get Cooper back in the mix and he’s a really capable player. Even when I said to you guys the other day, I didn’t anticipate him playing two snaps but I think he felt like those opportunities would be better for him. He’s in the last year of his contract and that was something that we felt like we were kind of able to accommodate both sides.”
McVay said he and Jefferson had “honest dialogue” about what the receiver’s role would probably look like the rest of the season, but McVay stopped short of saying Jefferson requested a trade.
“I’m going to keep all that stuff in-house,” he replied.
As for why the Rams moved Jefferson now instead of closer to the trade deadline when teams might’ve been more desperate for receiver help, McVay went back to the same reasoning: He wanted to help out Jefferson and accommodate him.
“I think there was partly a consideration for the person too and you do have to make decisions that are best for the team, but based on some of the things that we felt like were possible down the road and looking out for him and for us, that was just what we felt like was the best decision. A huge part of it was trying to be considerate to a really special person,” McVay said.
“There’s so many layers to it,” he continued. “Like I said, some of it is about the team, some of it is about the individual person. There was a huge part of it too that he’s in the last year of his contract and felt like Atlanta was going to be an opportunity where he felt good about that. That was really important to me and to us and so that was kind of how it unfolded.”
With Jefferson gone, Ben Skowronek and Demarcus Robinson become the immediate backups to Kupp, Puka Nacua and Tutu Atwell at wide receiver. McVay’s confidence in those two players was also part of the reason the team felt comfortable trading Jefferson, knowing the Rams had the depth to overcome that loss.
Since McVay took over in 2017, the Rams have always tried to do right by their players and take their desires into consideration. It’s partly what makes the Rams a destination team for players, and further cements McVay as a player’s coach who guys want to play for.