Rams RB Kyren Williams negotiations need surgical precision to end as a win-win

There are many reasons for the Los Angeles Rams to extend featured running back Kyren Williams. He has been a dependable offensive force for the past two NFL seasons. And it's been the productive running of Williams that has turned the Rams seasons around from a pedestrian start to an electrifying finish in both 2023 and 2024.

It's been Williams, coupled with the exploits of wide receiver Puka Nacua, that has continued the tradition of the Rams offense as remaining so very dangerous. So it's no small wonder why Rams fans are so eager for the team to extend Williams. After all, 2025 is his last season with the Rams on his rookie contract. So after 2025, it's either bye-bye to the NFL Free Agency market to sign with a new team, or an extension to stick around.

And right now, Williams is "feeling good" about his chances to hammer out a contract extension.

Cause to celebrate? Let's push a pin in the euphoria and jubilation for a moment.

After the Rams appeared in Super Bowl LIII, the team boasted some of the highest payouts in the NFL for multiple players. But the return on some of those lucrative contracts was bad. The Rams quickly parted ways with RB Todd Gurley, WR Brandin Cooks, and QB Jared Goff. So it appears that handing out sacks of cash is not always a wise strategy.

But surely Kyren Williams is different, right? He is not suffering from any controversy over the durability or health of his knees. He has been productive. But let's not be so blinded by the light that we fail to notice the imperfections in both the Rams' offensive strategy and Williams' performance. We highlighted seven reasons why the Rams should not rush into an extension.

I'm not suggesting that Kyren WIlliams is not deserving of an extension. But if you have ever entered contract negotiations, the best contracts are the ones that address almost every possible scenario and include specific remedies to each scenario that both sides can agree to. The Rams were forced to part ways with Gurley, Cooks, and Goff because their contracts failed to address the scenarios that eventually confronted the team.

Without satisfactory options spelled out in the contract, the team was forced to part ways with players who underperformed the contracts they were on. And that is something that the team, and player, should take the time to avoid this time around.