Tag: Kyren Williams

Which Rams received votes for awards at NFL Honors?

Jared Verse won Defensive Rookie of the Year at the NFL Honors, but he wasn’t the only member of the Rams to receive votes for awards

Jared Verse was the big winner for the Los Angeles Rams at the NFL Honors show on Thursday night, taking home Defensive Rookie of the Year. He was the only player or coach to win an award this year, a well-deserved honor for the standout rookie from Florida State.

However, he wasn’t the only member of the Rams to receive votes for various awards. Sean McVay was in the hunt for Coach of the Year, Braden Fiske made a run at Defensive Rookie of the Year and Kyren Williams even got more votes for Offensive Player of the Year than Patrick Mahomes.

Here are the final voting results for each member of the Rams.

Coach of the Year

Sean McVay (9th)

1 third-place vote
1 fourth-place vote
4 fifth-place votes

McVay finished ninth in Coach of the Year voting, an award that was won by former Rams offensive coordinator Kevin O’Connell, now with the Vikings. McVay did a phenomenal job coaching this year with such a young and injury-ravaged team, but it wasn’t enough to win him the award for the second time.

Defensive Rookie of the Year

Jared Verse (1st)

37 first-place votes
10 second-place votes
2 third-place votes
1 fifth-place vote

Verse took home Defensive Rookie of the Year honors, winning the award and becoming the first Rams player to do so since Aaron Donald in 2014. He was dominant as a rookie, leading all first-year players in pressures.

Braden Fiske (3rd)

1 first-place vote
5 second-place votes
11 third-place votes
11 fourth-place votes
6 fifth-place votes

Fiske made a run at Defensive Rookie of the Year but finished third behind Verse and Quinyon Mitchell. He ended the year with 8.5 sacks to lead all NFL rookies this season.

Offensive Player of the Year

Kyren Williams (T-11)

2 fifth-place votes

Saquon Barkley ran away with Offensive Player of the Year, but Williams actually got two fifth-place votes, finishing tied for 11th in the race. He scored 16 rushing touchdowns and rushed for a career-high 1,299 yards, which earned him more votes for this award than Patrick Mahomes (1).

Josh Jacobs explains why Kyren Williams is his favorite RB in the NFL right now

Josh Jacobs had some seriously high praise for Kyren Williams, calling him his favorite RB in the NFL

Kyren Williams has turned into an incredibly productive player for an undersized running back who was drafted in the fifth round three years ago. He’s rushed for 2,443 yards and 26 touchdowns in the last two seasons alone, gaining more yards on the ground than all but two players in that span: Derrick Henry and Saquon Barkley.

He’s garnered a ton of respect from his peers around the NFL and Josh Jacobs had some particularly high praise for Williams in a recent interview with ProFootballTalk. He called Williams his favorite back in the NFL right now.

“Kyren Williams is my favorite running back (in the league) right now,” he said. “He’s small, so you wouldn’t think he runs as powerful as he does. And he’s as shifty as he is. He finds holes. He kind of reminds me of me. I love his game.”

Williams and Jacobs both run with great power despite not being the biggest backs, which is what makes them such impressive players. And they’re both absolute workhorses, each carrying the ball more than 500 times in the last two seasons.

It’s always cool to hear one running back praising the skill set of another and Jacobs is clearly a big fan of Williams’ game.

Rams will discuss extending Kyren Williams before 2025 season

Kyren Williams will be a free agent in 2026, but the Rams are open to extending him before next season begins

Kyren Williams has become an integral part of the Los Angeles Rams’ offense in the last two seasons, playing the majority of the snaps in the games that he’s been healthy for. He went from barely playing as a rookie in 2022 due to multiple injuries to carrying it 544 times in the last two seasons with 31 total touchdowns.

The 2025 campaign is shaping up to be a big one for Williams with his contract expiring after next season, but there’s a possibility he’ll be extended before the year even begins. In speaking with reporters on Thursday, Sean McVay said the Rams will discuss a potential contract extension for Williams this offseason.

“I think that’s something that definitely would be of a discussion,” he said. “Like you mentioned, when you look at it and you have an evaluation of your roster and it starts with those free agents or those guys that based on their contract status, what does that look like for you moving forward? You sit down and you say, ‘Alright, let’s put this puzzle together.’ It is an imperfect thing, but we try our best to make the best decisions for the football team. I’m really proud of the body of work that Kyren has put together, what he represents, and all the different things that we really want to be about as a football team. He’s checking a lot of those boxes. I think that’s certainly something that will be discussed as well.”

Thanks to his Pro Bowl selection in 2023, Williams has already earned a raise in 2025 through the Proven Performance Escalator – a system that rewards players drafted outside the first round for either playing significant snaps or making the Pro Bowl.

As a result, Williams’ base salary will be north of $5 million, matching whatever the amount is for the second-round RFA tender. For comparison, his salary ranged from $705,000 to $985,000 in each of his first three seasons.

So his projected cap number of $5.3 million is already slated to be among the 20 highest at his position. An extension would certainly bump that up, paying him more than he’s set to make in 2025.

It’s a matter of how much higher the Rams will (or are willing to) go. He could get something in the range of Chuba Hubbard’s deal, which is for $8.3 million per year. He could even approach David Montgomery at $9.125 million per year. But after Joe Mixon ($9.875 million), there’s a big gap to the next running back, Josh Jacobs ($12 million).

It won’t be easy for the Rams to find the right value for Williams with how unstable the running back market is, but if they believe he’ll remain their starter in 2025, signing him sooner rather than later could save them money.

If they don’t believe he’s the RB1 again, letting him play out his contract is probably the way to go.

Kyren Williams explains what happened on his costly fumble in loss to Eagles

Kyren Williams knows he has to improve his ball security after fumbling six times his season, including once in the Rams’ playoff loss

Kyren Williams just turned in his most productive season yet in the NFL. He set career-highs in rushing yards (1,299), rushing touchdowns (14) and yards from scrimmage (1,481), as well as total touches (350).

Unfortunately, he set a career-high in fumbles, too, with five.

Ball security has been a problem for Williams and it reared its ugly head again on Sunday in the team’s loss to the Eagles. Williams lost a fumble on the first play of the fourth quarter, which set up the Eagles deep in Rams territory with a chance to pad their lead.

In the locker room on Monday, Williams explained what happened on the play, acknowledging it’s something he needs to improve.

“It was a mid-zone play to the left and I should’ve had the ball in my left hand, and I didn’t,” he said. “And the ball was kind of low, too, and he was able to get a good punch at it and I lost it. That’s something that I need to obviously work on because those things aren’t good and it’s never good to keep fumbling.”

Williams’ five fumbles in the regular season were tied for the third-most among running backs. His three lost fumbles were tied for the most among all non-quarterbacks, and he made it four with his costly mistake in the playoff loss to Philadelphia.

When asked what Williams wants to work on this offseason, he mentioned ball security as one of his focal points.

“My ball security, that long-field speed to get out of there and really just continue to keep staying strong, continue to keep working on my body because I was able to play a complete season, so continue to keep racking those up and continue to keep having those seasons,” he said.

Williams works as hard as anyone, which is what Sean McVay loves about him. Whether it was rehabbing multiple injuries as a rookie, coming back from an ankle sprain in 2023 or continuing to get better in Year 3, Williams never stops working on his game.

There are questions about whether he’ll remain the Rams’ workhorse in 2025 but he should remain a valuable piece of the offense moving forward – even if the final memory of his season might be that untimely fumble.

Eagles to host Commanders in NFC Championship game after 28-22 win over Rams

Eagles to host Commanders in NFC Championship game after 28-22 win over Rams in the NFC Divisional Round

The Eagles are headed to the NFC title game and host their division rival, the Washington Commanders. After holding on for a 28-22 win over the Rams in the NFC divisional round, the Eagles will play the Washington Commanders.

In what can only be described as a barn burner, Philadelphia looked like they put the game away after going up 28-15, but the Rams scored a late fourth-quarter touchdown to pull within seven. After the Eagles could not maximize their final offensive drive, the Rams had one final shot on a ten-play, 60-yard drive that fell short with an incomplete pass to Puka Nucau at the Philadelphia 22-yard line.

The No. 2 seed Eagles will host the No. 6 seed Washington Commanders (12-5), who defeated the No. 1 seed Detroit Lions (15-2) 45-31 at Ford Field on Saturday night.

Washington’s 45 points were the most in a playoff game in franchise history.

Detroit quarterback Jared Goff threw three interceptions and was uneven all night. He went 23-40 passing for 313 yards (7.8 avg), one touchdown, and a 59.7 quarterback rating. The Lions’ running game was dynamic but underused, as Jahmyr Gibbs had 14 carries for 105 yards (7.5 avg) and two rushing touchdowns.

NFL Playoff picks: Unlock exclusive data-driven predictions

For Washington, Offensive Rookie of the Year favorite and Pro Bowler, Jayden Daniels was 22-31 passing for 299 yards (9.6 avg), two touchdowns, no interceptions, and a 122.9 quarterback rating.

In an offensive shootout, the two teams combined for over 1,000 yards of offense and 57 first downs.

Philadelphia and Washington split the season series, with the Commanders pulling off a 36-33 home win in Week 16 after Jalen Hurts was ruled out with a concussion.

Sights and sounds from first half as Eagles holds a 13-10 lead over Rams in divisional round

Sights and sounds from first half as Eagles holds a 13-10 lead over Rams in divisional round

The weather came as expected, but there were plenty of big plays in the first half as the Eagles hold a 13-10 lead over the Rams at home in the divisional round game on Sunday. A Philadelphia win and Nick Sirianni would host the Washington Commanders in the NFC title game next week. The Eagles lost rookie cornerback Quinyon Mitchell in the first half with a shoulder injury, and Isaiah Rodgers matched up with Rams wide receivers on the outside, which will be something to watch. With the second half quickly approaching, here sights and sounds from the first 30 minutes. ***

Eagles vs. Rams: Pregame sights and sounds from NFC Divisional Round game

We’re looking at pregame sights and sounds from the Philadelphia Eagles matchup against the Los Angeles Rams in the divisional round

We’re now minutes away from the Eagles, and Rams kicking off their divisional-round matchup at Lincoln Financial Field.

Philadelphia is look to reach 7-0 in the Divisional Round at home in their franchise history and advance to another NFC Championship Game. With kickoff moments away, here are the pregame sights and sounds from a gigantic matchup.

***

Kyren Williams reveals he brilliantly improvised on his TD catch vs. Vikings

Kyren Williams wasn’t supposed to be a receiver on the play where he caught a touchdown pass but he thought on his feet and improvised

Sometimes, the best plays are the ones that don’t go exactly the way they were drawn up.

Just ask Matthew Stafford and Kyren Williams.

During Monday night’s win over the Minnesota Vikings, the two connected for an opening-drive touchdown to put the Los Angeles Rams up 7-0 in the early goings. It appeared to be a beautifully designed play where Stafford rolled out to his left and Williams came wide open in the middle of the field, but that’s not how it was supposed to go.

Williams told Kurt Warner after the game that he improvised and leaked out late, giving his quarterback a wide-open target in the end zone. That’s a cool little nugget about a play that didn’t go according to plan, but it worked to perfection because of Williams’ awareness.

Williams isn’t just a tough, physical running back who plays bigger than his listed size. He’s an incredibly smart player in all phases of the game, which is why he plays more snaps than any running back in the NFL.

Sean McVay never wants to take him off the field and it’s not hard to see why. Plays like that don’t happen without a player of his caliber.

Watch: Matthew Stafford hits wide-open Kyren Williams for TD to cap off perfect opening drive

The Rams took an early 7-0 lead after a perfectly designed play that resulted in an easy touchdown pass to Kyren Williams

Sean McVay couldn’t have asked for a better start by his team on Monday night. The Los Angeles Rams marched down the field and scored a touchdown on their opening drive, going 70 yards in seven plays.

It was capped off by a beautiful play design that resulted in an easy touchdown from Matthew Stafford to Kyren Williams for six points. Stafford rolled out to his left and Williams slipped through the line, coming wide open in the end zone for the score.

That came one play after Stafford got the Vikings to jump offsides on fourth-and-1 with a hard count, forcing a mistake by Jonathan Bullard.

Is Kyren Williams playing today? Latest updates for Rams RB

Kyren Williams will be among several Rams starters sitting out today’s game against the Seahawks

Kyren Williams has handled a bigger workload than just about any running back in the NFL this season. His 316 carries rank third in the NFL and his 140 pass-blocking snaps are 46 more than any other player at his position.

So with the Los Angeles Rams locked in as the No. 3 or 4 seed in the NFC playoff bracket, Sean McVay is going to give his workhorse a well-deserved break.

Here’s the latest on Williams heading into the season finale against the Seattle Seahawks today.

Kyren Williams update

Williams will not play today against Seattle. McVay is choosing to rest him for this game, along with several other starters on offense. The running back has taken a beating this season with all the touches he’s received, so McVay is holding him out to keep him fresh for the playoffs.

Rams RB depth chart

With Williams resting today, rookie Blake Corum will have a heavy workload in the backfield. McVay said he’s excited to see Corum handle the starting role, while also giving Cody Schrader his first opportunities of the season, too.

Ronnie Rivers also figures to get some work in today’s finale, too.