Tag: Sean McVay

Texans WR Brandin Cooks considers 2019 Rams season an ‘off year’

Newly acquired Houston Texans WR Brandin Cooks says what happened with his production in Los Angeles with the Rams in 2019 was just an ‘off year.’

[jwplayer QP4smq9i]

Houston Texans receiver Brandin Cooks had one of the worst seasons of his career in 2019.

In Cooks’ final season with the Los Angeles Rams, he caught 42 passes for 583 yards and two touchdowns. Aside from the receiving yards, the other two totals were career lows compared to his rookie season when he played in 10 games. What exacerbated the quality of his decreased production was the fact he started in all 14 of his games with Los Angeles.

The 26-year-old, who is on the fourth team of his career, just chalks it up to an off year with the Rams.

“I think there were a lot of nuances that was going on last year, not just for me but from a team standpoint,” Cooks said on a video conference with the Houston media April 30. “We had a lot going on and at the end of the day I dealt with some things on the field, but that does not go to show what type of player I am, the production I’ve been putting in year in and year out since I’ve been in the league.”

Indeed the 2019 season broke up Cooks’ streak of 1,000-yard seasons that had stretched for four seasons, and included two trips to the Super Bowl with the New England Patriots in 2017 and the Rams in 2018. Since entering the league, Cooks also managed to catch at least 50 passes a season.

“That was just one of those off years, but it comes with the game,” Cooks said. “That definitely is not the trend that you should be looking for from me as a player.”

Though Cooks is not able to join the Texans in a formal capacity due to the complications from the COVID-19 pandemic, Cooks has been communicating with members of the Texans’ receiving corps, including Will Fuller and Kenny Stills, who was a teammate of Cooks’ with the New Orleans Saints in 2014.

“We’ve been meeting in our Zoom meetings as a team, but just on the side texting both of them, two great guys,” Cooks said. “I played with Kenny my first year in the league. They’re doing a great job of just helping me along the way and I appreciate it.”

If Cooks can get back to having a 1,000-yard season with the Texans and giving quarterback Deshaun Watson another speedy receiver to target, it should help Houston defend their AFC South title.

[vertical-gallery id=48752]

Rams head coach Sean McVay has funny response to Trent Williams trade

Sean McVay had a funny response when told about the 49ers trade for left tackle Trent Williams.

The 49ers made the NFL’s biggest splash on Day 3 of the draft when they traded a 2020 fifth-round pick and a 2021 third-round pick for Washington’s seven-time Pro Bowl tackle Trent Williams.

The trade came as a precursor to Joe Staley’s retirement. With Williams in at left tackle, San Francisco’s offensive line should be at least as good as it was a season ago, and perhaps better. That’s not good news for the 49ers’ division rivals.

Rams head coach Sean McVay had a funny response to the trade when NFL Network’s Omar Ruiz asked him about the 49ers’ addition.

“Thanks for reminding me,” McVay said. “I need to go drink a couple of more beers.”

McVay is more than familiar with what Williams is capable of. The Rams’ head coach was in various coaching roles with Washington for seven seasons. His first year as an offensive assistant there was in Williams’ rookie year when the team made him the No. 4 overall pick. McVay went on to work as their offensive coordinator from 2014 to 2016.

It’s worth noting that Williams, 31, didn’t play football last year while working through a holdout and the removal of a cancerous growth on his skull, so there’s some chance Williams isn’t back at Pro Bowl form right away. If he does make it back to peak form, McVay knows first hand how good he is, and he’s not excited to face him.

[vertical-gallery id=655507]

Sean McVay was ready to ‘run through a wall’ after Clay Johnston pick

Clay Johnston’s post-draft call with the media was epic.

[jwplayer 3OozFzBp-ThvAeFxT]

If the Rams ever need a boost in morale, new linebacker Clay Johnston will be happy to provide it. The rookie seventh-round pick couldn’t contain his excitement after being drafted by the Rams on Saturday, and it was apparently contagious.

After the Rams made the pick and called up the former Baylor linebacker, McVay was ready to run through a wall.

If you’re wondering what kind of person Johnston is on and off the field, this video clip will give you a glimpse. He’s as fiery as they come, oozing intensity even when he’s not between the white lines of a football field.

On his conference call with Rams media members, Johnston was elated that he was drafted by Los Angeles.

“Ah, come on bro, yeah,” he said. “I’m hyperventilating. I wanted to get under the squat rack, wanted to get some pads on. I’m freaking stoked.”

He repeatedly said how excited he was, and even made up a story about putting on pads and running through his front door – for dramatic effect, of course.

Here’s how the exchange went.

“When I got a call and they said, ‘Do you want to be a Ram?’ I said, ‘By God, I want to be a Ram, let’s freaking go.'” he said. “I screamed and everyone was screaming, going nuts in here. Instantly put some pads on, ran through our front door, broke the windshield, it was awesome.”

Reporter: Is that true?

“No, not at all. Totally fictional, I just had to say that,” he joked. “The way I feel right now, I don’t blame you for asking that because I’m about to run through the door right in front of me right now.”

Johnston concluded the call by once again expressing his excitement for being a member of the Rams – even after having to wait until the seventh round to hear his name called.

“I’ve never been this excited in my life. This is the most excited I’ve ever been,” he said.

I think we already know who will be one of the most popular rookies in the locker room next season.

[vertical-gallery id=631825]

What Sean McVay and Les Snead said about Rams’ Day 2 draft picks

Les Snead and Sean McVay had some high praise for the team’s rookie draft picks on Friday night.

The Los Angeles Rams surprisingly stayed put with all four of their picks on Friday night, making each selection without trading up or down the draft board. That’s a testament to their confidence in each player they drafted, feeling good enough to stand pat and draft them rather than trading back and recouping more picks.

So it comes as no surprise that GM Les Snead and coach Sean McVay had some high praise for Cam Akers, Van Jefferson, Terrell Lewis and Terrell Burgess after the conclusion of the third round on Friday night.

Here’s a sampling of what McVay and Snead said of their four new draftees and what they bring to the table for the Rams.

RB Cam Akers

McVay said he isn’t sure how the share of touches will work out at running back next season, but he loves Akers’ ability and feels “he adds great value” to the Rams’ backfield.

Snead: “First of all, go back to high school, he runs like a warrior, he runs angry, he runs like he wants to punish a defense. One of the things you really appreciate about him is, they struggled a little bit at Florida State these last few years, wasn’t as stout upfront on the OL. He was one of their better players. A lot of teams went into those ACC matchups saying, ‘We’ve got to stop that man.’ They had a hard time stopping him, so you get an appreciation for someone who looks like he’s enjoying running into, I call it a lot of defenders. A little bit more defenders than maybe guys at Clemson run in to based on the skill they have on the field. I think that’s the thing other than, ‘Hey, this is a big man that’s fast and explosive and powerful and looks like he has fun punishing defenses.’”

Pages: Page 1, Page 2, Page 3, Page 4

Sean McVay poked fun at Kliff Kingsbury for extravagant home draft setup

Sean McVay said Kingsbury was “trying pretty hard” with his draft setup.

The NFL had to call an audible this year with the draft due to the coronavirus, tweaking the structure of the big event. Instead of coaches and GMs being at their teams’ facilities, they were forced to work from home and go through the draft remotely.

The broadcast on ESPN showed the setups of every coach, and Kliff Kingsbury’s view during the draft went viral on Twitter. He was sitting back on the couch in his living room with a TV on the wall and two monitors in front of him.

Sean McVay’s war room was much simpler, sitting at his kitchen table. McVay caught wind of his friend’s setup and gave him a hard time about it.

For comparison’s sake, here’s a look at how McVay’s war room looked next to Kingsbury. Their patios admittedly look similar, but McVay wasn’t lounging on a coach sockless in loafers like the Cardinals coach.

McVay and Kingsbury are good friends and their relationship goes back a while. McVay even tried to bring Kingsbury to the Rams as an assistant before the Cardinals hired him.

And this isn’t the first time McVay has given Kingsbury a hard time. He played a cruel prank on him last year, fooling him into thinking he violated the tampering rules by having a meal with Patrick Mahomes.

[vertical-gallery id=631741]

Sean McVay: ‘There’s a lot of depth’ in draft at Rams’ positions of need

Sean McVay says the Rams will balance need and value in the draft.

It’s not ideal that the Los Angeles Rams don’t have a first-round pick in this year’s (or next year’s) draft, but that doesn’t mean they can’t come away with a handful of impact players on Friday night and Saturday. With four picks in the top 105, including two in the top 60, the Rams are well-positioned to improve on both sides of the ball.

Even better, this draft class is deep at several positions of need for the Rams – including wide receiver, offensive line and running back. Sean McVay pointed out that very fact on the Rams’ pre-draft livestream Wednesday night when asked about weighing need vs. value in the draft.

“It’s always a balance. For us, fortunately at some of those positions that we do feel like we need to address, there’s a lot of depth in this draft class,” McVay said. “It’s something that you’re trying to put together the puzzle and trying to figure out what’s the best way to navigate this for our football team. … It’s always a combination of both [need and value], but to say there’s not an element of ‘best player available, you don’t take into consideration the depth on your team,’ that wouldn’t be accurate, so it is a little bit of both.”

The Rams have shown in the last few years that they do prioritize talent over positional need. They didn’t reach for offensive line help last year despite that being arguably their biggest hole, selecting safety Taylor Rapp in the second round. And in 2018, with the offensive line looking strong, the Rams went with lesser-known prospect Joseph Noteboom.

That doesn’t mean they’ll go with a quarterback or tight end at No. 52 overall, but don’t rule out a running back or wide receiver if the right prospect falls to them.

Sean McVay debunks ‘unfair narrative’ about Brandin Cooks

Sean McVay and Les Snead explain why the Rams traded Brandin Cooks.

Brandin Cooks is one of just nine players in the NFL with four seasons of at least 1,000 yards receiving since 2015. Yet, he’s been traded three times in that span and will play for his fourth team next season. For comparison, no other player with at least one 1,000-yard season since 2015 has played for more than two teams.

So what gives?

That’s the question many fans are asking about Cooks, with some wondering if there’s a lesser-known reason for Cooks being traded so frequently. Is he a bad teammate? Does he not work hard enough? Was there a rift with his coaches?

Sean McVay put those false narratives to rest Wednesday, saying Cooks is one of the best players he’s ever worked with.

“He’s a great player. I think the one thing I want to address immediately is I think there’s been an unfair narrative of, ‘all right, he’s been traded now for the third time, maybe this guy isn’t a great teammate’ and that really couldn’t be further from the truth. This is one of my all-time favorite players I’ve ever worked with,” he said.

McVay talked highly of Cooks, and has ever since he arrived in Los Angeles two years ago. He confirmed recently that teams were calling about him as a possible trade chip, but said the Rams valued him just like other teams do.

It begs the question of why the Rams traded Cooks, especially considering they stood to lose $5 million in cap space compared to how much he would’ve cost to keep on the roster.

“It’s the result of a lot of tough decisions that we really had to make organizationally as a whole this offseason, losing a lot of great players that have been instrumental in our success, and Brandin is one of those guys as well,” McVay said. “But it’s also a reflection of the confidence that we do have in some other players on our roster.”

General manager Les Snead was also on NFL Network, and while he didn’t comment on Cooks as a person, he did shed some light on what led to the trade. He said teams believed at the start of the offseason that the Rams might cut Cooks due to his inflated salary.

The front office never planned to do that, and when other teams realized that, they began to make trade offers. A second-round pick was too good for the Rams to pass up, given the depth they have at wide receiver.

“First and foremost, I think teams came into this offseason thinking we might cut Brandin Cooks based on salary. When that timeline passed and teams realized we weren’t going to cut him and that we actually liked Brandin, some teams that were needy started knocking on our door a little bit more,” Snead said. “We’re just fortunate we have depth there and when we were offered the second-round pick, we felt like maybe that second-round pick would help us establish depth or even starters at other positions than just having a very powerful four-man wide receiver rotation.”

The Rams don’t necessarily need to draft a receiver at No. 57 overall, which is the pick they got in return for Cooks. They already have Josh Reynolds on the roster and feel confident in him being able to step up as a starter, just as he did in 2018 when Cooper Kupp missed half the season.

Trading Cooks was a difficult decision to make, but ultimately one the team felt comfortable with because of the value of a second-round pick and their depth at wide receiver.

[vertical-gallery id=630942]

Report: Rams’ center Brian Allen first NFL player to test positive for coronavirus

Rams center Brian Allen is recovering after a bout with coronavirus.

Los Angeles Rams center Brian Allen has battled coronavirus, according to Jay Glazer of FOX Sports. That makes Allen the first current NFL player to test positive for the virus.

Per Glazer:

First active NFL player to test positive for the corona virus, Rams C Brian Allen, told me he tested positive for COVID-19 three weeks ago and then again early last week.

Lost all smell and taste to where he couldn’t even smell an ammonia smelling-salt. Has no taste. Then the flu began. Says he’s now finally symptom-free and thankfully expecting the “all clear” this week!

Rams had to close their facility weeks ago to injured players (facilities are only open for medical) but are able to re-open next week.

Allen told Glazer he lost his sense of taste and smell first and then suffered other impacts of the virus. He was selected by the Rams in the fourth round (111th overall) of the 2018 NFL Draft out of Michigan State. Allen was re-tested and remained positive. He believes he will be cleared Thursday.

 Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports

“My case wasn’t as bad,” Glazer said Allen told him.

Doctors told Allen it could be anywhere from 6-8 months before he regains his senses of taste and smell.

The 6-foot-2, 303-pound Allen is 24 years old.

“He is feeling good and on the road to recovery,” Rams coach Sean McVay told Glazer.

Once Allen tested positive, the Rams had to shut down the facility. It has been closed for the last couple weeks as McVay said the team “was being smart and safe.

“They are going to keep safe with social distancing.”

Allen is the first active player to have the virus. Saints coach Sean Payton also suffered coronavirus and self-quarantined.

Former Jacksonville Jaguar Tony Boselli and his son, Andrew, a Florida State lineman, are recovering after serious cases of COVID-19.

 

Why the Brandin Cooks trade is so disastrous for the Rams

The Rams are trading Brandin Cooks to the Texans for a draft pick, and somehow losing money in the process.

On Thursday news broke that the Los Angeles Rams were trading Brandin Cooks, along with a future fourth rounder, to the Houston Texans in exchange for a second-round pick.

Cooks has struggled since a breakout first season with the Rams, after the team acquired him from the Patriots and gave him an $81 million contract. After a shaky second year, they’re moving on from him.

That’s partly why this trade is bad. You’d expect an elite wideout to fetch more than a second-round pick, but sadly for the Rams, that’s not the worst part of this deal.

The worst part of this deal is that the Rams are somehow losing money by trading away Cooks and his contract. The Rams paid Cooks a $4 million contract bonus earlier this year, something they would have avoided had they traded him before the bonus kicked in.

They waited, however. So that money is his. And, for now at least, his cap hit for the team is even worse than if they just kept him on the roster.

Rams Wire’s Cameron DaSilva has the breakdown here:

Had they traded Cooks before his bonus was owed, they would’ve taken on $17.8 million in dead money. Since they waited, that dead cap charge jumped to $21.8 million – $5 million more than it would have cost them to just keep Cooks on the roster.

Basically, the Rams (right now) are paying $5 million extra in cap space to have Cooks play for the Texans.

The Rams can get some relief, however. If the deal doesn’t officially process until June 1st, which you’d have to imagine the Rams would insist on, they could split the dead cap between the next two seasons, per NFL salary rules.

Even if they are splitting that over the next two years, that’s still $21.8 million of cap space, dead, for a wide receiver who’s going to play for the Texans. A second round pick doesn’t make that better. Los Angeles must have really wanted to move on from Cooks.

[jwplayer Vkz7in3g-q2aasYxh]

Aaron Donald is talking to Sean McVay again after Rams got Brockers back

Aaron Donald was upset with McVay about Brockers initially leaving.

Aaron Donald wasn’t hesitant to share his feelings after Michael Brockers left the Rams to join the Ravens on the first day of the legal tampering period. He shared a photo on Instagram, questioning what the Rams were doing.

Donald and Brockers are extremely close and have played together for six years, so it’s understandable that Aaron would be upset about his friend’s departure. But Brockers didn’t actually leave after the Ravens got spooked by his ankle injury and backed out of the deal.

Brockers quickly agreed to a three-year deal with the Rams and all was well again for Donald. Sean McVay even said Donald is finally talking to him again now that Brockers is back.

“We always wanted to be able to retain him and fortunately, when things didn’t continue to work out with the Ravens, we were able to pounce on that opportunity,” McVay said on a conference call. “I think there was a mutual excitement about getting a chance to reconnect,” McVay said. “I know Aaron finally was talking to me again once we got Michael back. He was a little upset with me, I think, for a couple days.”

Brockers is now part of a defensive line that’s deeper than it has been in recent years, primarily because the Rams also signed A’Shawn Robinson. He was expected to be Brockers’ replacement at defensive end, but now he could kick in to nose tackle.

That complicates things for Sebastian Joseph-Day and Greg Gaines, but the more players a team has to rotate up front, the better off it will be. And the Rams certainly aren’t thin on talent along the defensive front.

[vertical-gallery id=630772]