Latest news with #SeanMcVay
USA Today
2 hours ago
- Sport
- USA Today
'It's different': Andrew Whitworth feels confidence oozing from Rams' building
Whitworth says there's an 'arrogance' about this team, but 'in a good way' Andrew Whitworth just got back home after spending a few days with the Los Angeles Rams in Maui for minicamp and he seems to have a good feeling about Sean McVay's squad in 2025. Having been around the Rams for part of the offseason, Whitworth sees a team that's exuding confidence and arrogance – 'in a good way.' During an interview with Rich Eisen, Whitworth said he would put the Rams in the category of being Super Bowl contenders and believes there's no question they feel the same way about themselves. 'There's no doubt about that. I would definitely put them in that category,' Whitworth said. 'In that building, being around them, being around them this week, there's a confidence that these guys carry of who they think they are right now and where they think they can go. You can definitely feel that. It's different. I can tell that they really believe this football team is built – if it stays healthy – to try to go after winning a Lombardi. Not that that's, like, 'Hey, that's the only thing we care about and the only thing we're saying.' But they really have this arrogance in a good way of, 'You know what? We're a good football team and we're going to go to work every single day, have a whole lot of fun doing it.'' Davante Adams, Sean McVay and Matthew Stafford have all talked about the close-knit locker room the Rams have this year, blending young energy with veteran leadership. Whitworth loves the camaraderie he's seen from the team, too, whether it's on the practice field or outside of football. 'They've got a great locker room and one that's going to be really competitive on the football field this year so I'm excited to see what their year looks like,' he added. While in Maui with the Rams, Whitworth went out and played a round of golf with several players, including Stafford, Adams, Tyler Higbee and Colby Parkinson. He was particularly impressed by Adams' golf game, saying the receiver shot 76 and has a ton of talent on the course. As Whitworth said, the Rams are going to be a fun and exciting team to watch this season. They could be building something special as they pursue another Super Bowl ring.
NBC Sports
2 hours ago
- Sport
- NBC Sports
Sean McVay: Rams' minicamp in Hawaii is about quality time together
The Rams made the unusual decision to have this week's mandatory minicamp in Maui, and coach Sean McVay said the trip was as much about togetherness as it was about football. Players were encouraged to bring their families with them for a Hawaiian vacation, and McVay said that meant a lot for the team's bonding. McVay also said that Los Angeles and Maui have in common that they're rebuilding from wildfires, and that the Rams wanted to bring some goodwill to the area. 'It's about connection and being able to get some time,' McVay said, via Sarah Barshop of ESPN. 'It's cool to be able to really, for me, meet a lot of these guys' families that maybe I haven't met quite yet or see their wives or girlfriends or their kids, and so that's been a really cool thing so far. This is about being able to get some good quality time with each other and then being able to use the platform that we're blessed with to be able to get back to a community that went through some similar things that we can all understand and kind of empathize with, and you see how excited they are to see our players and that's fun.' There was a time when summer practices in the NFL were brutal, and coaches were taskmasters. McVay represents a new generation of coaches who see the summer as a time to build camaraderie and make sure players are taking care of their bodies so they're healthy when the season starts. That buys him plenty of goodwill with his players.
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Rams primed to be Super Bowl contenders, but two critical areas of concern remain
Sean McVay's Rams are among the favorites to win the Super Bowl, but glaring needs on the offensive line and in the secondary could prove problematic. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) Warm, breezy and feeling good. That was the prevailing feeling among the Rams this week as they ended their off season with a 'Mauicamp,' a low-key event heavy on bonding and light on drills for a team expected to contend for a championship. Advertisement Star quarterback Matthew Stafford is under contract for another potential Super Bowl run. The Rams also added star receiver Davante Adams, drafted tight end Terrance Ferguson and bolstered depth to an ascending defensive front. The Rams, however, have areas of concern as they head into a break before reporting to training camp at Loyola Marymount in July. Read more: Puka Nacua's rapid ascent an inspiration to Polynesian athletes and Hawaiian fans Offensive tackle and cornerback could be vulnerabilities for a team aiming to improve upon last season's 10-7 record and an NFC divisional round loss to the eventual Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles. Advertisement Here's how confident the Rams were in those positions going into free agency and the draft: They did not sign or select a player at either spot. Whether that was wise is another matter. Stafford, 37, remains the Rams' most important player and — other than coach Sean McVay — their most valuable asset. So the tackles must foil edge rushers hellbent on hitting the quarterback while playing perhaps the most pressure-packed position other than Stafford's. With his play last season, Alaric Jackson convinced the Rams he was their longtime solution at left tackle. They awarded him a three-year contract that included $35 million in guarantees. Advertisement But uncertainty now reigns. Jackson sat out the final week of offseason workouts because he is dealing with blood-clot issues for the second time in his career. If, or when, he will be able to practice and play is unknown. Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford passes during organized team activities on June 3. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) The Rams hurriedly signed D.J. Humphries, but the veteran is of late something of an unknown quantity. He played only two games last season for the Kansas City Chiefs after returning from major 2023 knee surgery and then suffering a hamstring injury. Right tackle Rob Havenstein, 33, is entering his 11th season and the final year of his contract. He is coming off two shoulder surgeries. Advertisement Swing tackle Warren McClendon Jr. started five games last season, but he has not established himself as a frontline player. The Rams also recently signed eight-year pro David Quessenberry, who made 17 of his career 30 starts in 2021. The Rams are confident in the secondary — in large part because of the defensive front. A rush led by rookies Jared Verse and Braden Fiske helped the Rams rank 20th among 32 teams in pass defense last season. That rush is expected to improve with the addition of tackle Poona Ford and rookie edge rusher Josaiah Stewart. Read more: Rams' Jared Verse and Braden Fiske look to run it back again Advertisement So the Rams stood pat with the same defensive backs from last season. Cornerback Darious Williams, 32, does not have salary guarantees beyond this season, according to Ahkello Witherspoon, 30, is playing on a one-year deal for the third consecutive season but was signed early enough this time to participate in offseason workouts. Cobie Durant is in the final year of his rookie contract, and Emmanuel Forbes Jr. is trying to prove that the Washington Commanders erred by releasing the 2023 first-round pick last season. Derion Kendrick, coming off a knee injury that forced him to sit out the 2024 season, was waived last week in a cost-cutting move and then re-signed with the Rams for a veteran-minimum contract. Josh Wallace and Charles Woods, undrafted free agents in 2024, also are on the roster. Advertisement McVay this week indicated that there were probably too many obstacles to trade for Miami Dolphins cornerback Jalen Ramsey, the three-time All-Pro who was an integral part of the Rams' Super Bowl LVI championship team. Read more: Rams' chances of trading for cornerback Jalen Ramsey appear to be fading Two-time Pro Bowl cornerback Jaire Alexander was recently released by the Green Bay Packers, but McVay said last week that was 'not a direction' the Rams would go. Alexander signed with the Baltimore Ravens, the Rams' Week 6 opponent. While the NFL largely shuts down until the start of training camp, general manager Les Snead in the past has added players before it opens and after it begins. Advertisement But for now, with their Hawaiian excursion behind them, the Rams appear ready to go with what they've got. Get the best, most interesting and strangest stories of the day from the L.A. sports scene and beyond from our newsletter The Sports Report. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Miami Herald
13 hours ago
- Sport
- Miami Herald
Rams coach Sean McVay ‘open-minded' to reunion with Dolphins corner Jalen Ramsey
Just go ahead and get the deal done already. Los Angeles Rams coach Sean McVay called the team 'open-minded' when it comes to bringing back Miami Dolphins cornerback Jalen Ramsey, only further fanning the flames of a reunion. 'Usually, those are scenarios and situations that you have to have plans in place prior to executing some of the decisions that have occurred,' McVay said Tuesday. 'Definitely don't want to rule anything out because we're always open-minded to onboarding and acquiring quality players and people like him if we're able to do that, but there would be some obstacles that are real that are in the place of maybe preventing that from occurring.' Speculation about Ramsey's return to Los Angeles have swirled since he and the Miami Dolphins mutually agreed to deal the seven-time Pro Bowler in mid-April. Even Rams general manager Les Snead confirmed that he and the Dolphins front office had a conversation about Ramsey. 'I've had discussions with Miami,' Snead said April 22, later adding that 'there are a lot of nuances to that situation based on all the things that come with a trade, contracts and things like that. I'm not sure where they're at in the process.' The All-Pro corner, for one, has not been shy about his love for Los Angeles. Ramsey, of course, spent 2019 to 2022 with the Rams, even helping to bring Los Angeles a Super Bowl during the 2021 season before the team dealt him to Miami in 2023. 'L.A. is like a second home for me,' Ramsey said prior to his 2024 return to SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, later adding that 'the community always treated me and my family with nothing but love and respect.' A potential reconciliation between the Dolphins and Ramsey was always a long shot yet effectively fell apart when the nine-year veteran skipped last week's mandatory minicamp. 'He is not here,' Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said June 10, calling Ramsey's absence 'excused.' 'We are focused on building the Dolphins today, and anything outside of that, any sort of distractions I'm not focused on.' The biggest obstacle to the blockbuster deal, however, is Ramsey's price tag as he will make approximately $25.1 million in 2025. Los Angeles, however, waived fellow corner Derion Kendrick on Friday, a move that saved them about $3.4 million. The Rams did re-sign Kendrick Tuesday yet the extra cap space would certainly be necessary if a deal for Ramsey manifested. 'We've had conversations through the weekend with some teams about it as well,' Dolphins general manager Chris Grier said in late April following the 2025 NFL Draft, 'so depending on what happens and if and when it'll happen — whatever it is — we'll make the deal at the appropriate time.' Despite the Dolphins' willingness to move on from Ramsey, the 30-year-old still remains one of the best corners in football. During his 27 game stint in Miami, Ramsey had five picks, 16 pass deflections and 82 combined tackles. Quarterbacks only completed roughly 59-percent of their passes with a rating of about 71.8 when throwing in his direction over the last two years. The Rams, meanwhile, could desperately use an injection of talent in their secondary as the team finished the 2024 season ranked 20th against the pass.
Yahoo
17 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Jalen Ramsey spotted at UCLA — fueling Steelers trade rumors due to DK Metcalf connection
Jalen Ramsey's UCLA training pic has gone viral after weeks of Steelers trade rumors and speculation. UCLA Football posted several pictures of Ramsey's training session, which sent social media pages into a frenzy. Polymarket Football quickly speculated that the workout could be connected to DK Metcalf, as the Steelers wide receiver had his famous throwing session with Aaron Rodgers there. Back in April, insider Ian Rapoport reported that the Dolphins and Ramsey had mutually agreed to seek trade options. Over the past several weeks, Ramsey has been connected to both the Rams and Steelers as potential landing spots for the three-time All-Pro corner — while HC Sean McVay claimed "obstacles" may prevent Los Angeles from acquiring him. Advertisement Steelers fans should take the now-viral UCLA workout speculation with a grain of salt, as Ramsey's choice of training facility being similar to that of Rodgers and Metcalf is likely coincidence — but it definitely adds more fuel to the rumored Pittsburgh trade narrative this offseason. For up-to-date Steelers coverage, follow us on X @TheSteelersWire and give our Facebook page a like. This article originally appeared on Steelers Wire: Steelers' trade target Jalen Ramsey goes viral for UCLA training pic
