The Los Angeles Rams completely remade their secondary this offseason. They brought in Kam Curl, reunited with Darious Williams, drafted Kamren Kinchens and signed two-time All-Pro Tre’Davious White.
It was the last name on that list who elicited the most excitement among fans, even though everyone knew there was some risk because of his injury history. He was a big name and a beloved player in Buffalo, bringing excellent ball skills and leadership to a young Rams defense.
A perfect match, right?
Unfortunately, that signing went about as poorly as it could have, with the Rams getting only four games out of the star cornerback. After requesting a trade, he was dealt to the Ravens before Tuesday’s deadline in a seventh-round pick swap – just about the lowest possible return for a trade in the NFL.
Trade: Rams are sending CB Tre’Davious White and a 2027 7th-round pick to the Ravens for a 2026 7th-round pick, per sources.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) November 5, 2024
The Rams were hoping to take it slow with White as he continued to recover from a torn Achilles, but they were forced to play him right away because of Williams’ hamstring injury in camp. In the first four games of the season, White looked like a shell of himself.
According to Pro Football Focus, he was targeted 13 times and allowed nine receptions. That’s not even the bad part. He gave up a total of 151 yards and four touchdowns, breaking up only two passes and committing five penalties.
After Week 4, the Rams benched him. He was a healthy scratch in Week 5 and hasn’t played a single snap since then, being inactive in each of the last four games. His contract was structured to mitigate the risk of a veteran cornerback with a brutal injury history, but it’s not as if the Rams got him for free.
His contract included $3.25 million fully guaranteed, plus $1 million in per-game bonuses. He was active for four games, so we can assume the Rams also paid about $235,292 for those bonuses.
What they got out of nearly $3.5 million was four starts and four touchdowns allowed in coverage, including penalties that gave their opponents free yardage. It’s hard to imagine the signing going much worse than that.
Fortunately, the Rams were proactive and swallowed their pride by benching him after four games once Williams returned. Yet again, Les Snead and Sean McVay moved on at the right time rather than waiting too long, realizing that White wasn’t playing at a starting-caliber level and making him inactive – not only because he was playing poorly, but because it’d also save them money.
They got just about nothing in return for White in Tuesday’s deal, but they did right by him instead of forcing him to sit on the bench for the rest of the deal. Now he’ll at least get a shot in Baltimore on a team that could use cornerback help.