Rams meeting with Drew Rosenhaus could result in huge payday for Kyren Williams

The Los Angeles Rams' contract with running back Kyren Williams has entered its fourth and final season. That gives the Rams front office some options. In essence, the team can opt to do nothing, allow the current contract to run its course, and then try to re-sign Williams to an extension at the end of the 2025 NFL season. Or the team can act now, work towards a contract that pays Williams handsomely now, in the hopes that the team gets significant savings on what will eventually be a contract extension anyway.

It appears that the Rams are choosing option B.

Rams GM Les Snead had talked about his offseason priorities when the Rams season ended. The top priority was resolving the contract challenges that existed between the team and veteran quarterback Matthew Stafford. The next priority extending starting left tackle Alaric Jackson. Then the team had to sort through the 2025 NFL Free Agency market, deciding who to extend, who to part ways, and new players to add to the roster.

Now, the team intends to meet with Kyren Williams' agent, Drew Rosenhaus, to begin the arduous task of initiating extension talks.

What are the Rams looking at over Kyren Williams' cost to the team? A lot, I'm afraid. As it stands, Kyren Williams is playing on a rookie contract that he signed when he joined the NFL in 2022. That contract was worth up to $3,970,408 over four years with $310,408 guaranteed. However, he will get a pay increase in 2025, due to his 2025 Proven Performance Escalator (3rd tier). That kicked in millions, setting his base salary in 2025 to over $5.3 million. Even with that huge bump, Williams remains at the bottom of the Top 20 parid NFL running backs in 2025 (average per year).

He finished third and seventh overall in terms of NFL production in the past two seasons. So his agent, Drew Rosenhaus, will undoubtedly make a push to get Williams among the Top 5 compensated running backs in the NFL.

To do that, Williams would need to fall in at over $12 million per year. That seems a bit pricey. What seems more logical and doable is a contract that averages on or about $10 million per year for Williams. That places Williams among the top seven compensated running backs in the NFL, but does not overpay for an offensive skill player who needs to do better with ball security.

Even as the team commits to Kyren Williams for years to come, the team must sort out the logjam of Kyren Williams clones in the running back room. Blake Corum, Ronnie Rivers, and Cody Schrader are all talented running backs in their own right, but none will usurp WIlliams as the featured running back for the offense. And none offer any variety that allows them to find a niche role. They are clones of Williams.

The Rams are not backed into a corner if negotiations turn sour. The Rams have plenty of talent at the running back position. But if the team is to optimize the final NFL seasons of QB Matthew Stafford, the team needs Williams in the backfield.

That is the goal right now. How quickly will the team manage to accomplish that goal? This could take some time, so patience is warranted.

As always, thanks for reading.

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