Rams coffers miraculously fund this popular veteran's return to LA

Social media polls confirmed it. Optics from the 2025 NFL season did as well. Los Angeles Rams safety Kam Curl was productive and popular on a defense that seemed to wane as the year dragged on. Still, he was an unexpected surprise of the positive kind. And so, fans wanted him to return for 2026.

Well, fans get their wish as LA has agreed to a three-year deal worth up to $39 million with Curl. And so, the young man who bet on himself in free agency in 2024 just hit the jackpot.

The curious thing is that LA has historically not invested in follow-up contracts with either safeties or inside linebackers. The thought was that the team could invest heavily into a stout pass rush and elite cornerbacks, and carry inexpensive rookies or mid-tier talent elsewhere on the defensive side of the football.

Clearly, that's all changed.

Perhaps it should. After all, the team has asked defensive coordinator Chris Shula to coach up a Super Bowl-worthy defense while devoting most of the salary cap space to pay offensive players. It became obvious that the strategy was unsustainable in 2025. Now, general manager Les Snead appears to be distributing LA's money more evenly.

Rams needed to re-sign Kam Curl for multiple reasons

No, Kam Curl's extension was not a knee-jerk reaction to the appearance of All-Pro cornerback Trent McDuffie. In fact, the funds needed to extend Curl may have been imperilled by McDuffie's need for an immediate extension. But retaining Curl may have become all the more vital. After all, McDuffie is only an upgrade if the secondary's foundation remains intact.

Kam Curl is a keystone to the secondary's best attributes.

No, this is not some emotional appeal to justify paying a fan favorite. Curl is essential to the secondary's versatility, a point that Ramblin Fan's Dean Jones made quite clearly in November 2025. And now, with both Curl and Lake back for more, the team's secondary only needs to sprinkle in some cornerbacks to restore its luster.

Curl has been solid in LA's secondary. At 6-foot-2 and 207 pounds, he hits like a linebacker. While he allowed a disappointing 73.4 percent of the passes targeting his receiver to find their mark, he intercepted two passes while only surrendering one touchdown. And the quarterback rating when picking on him was an impressive 89.4 QBR.

Better still, Curl slashed his missed tackles rates to a cool 5.4 percent in 2025. As a result, Curl was one of the top projected free agents this year. Now, he will be back in the Horns, and fans can cheer him on for many more years to come.

As always, thanks for reading.