The Los Angeles Rams announced they have acquired wide receiver Tutu Atwell from the Miami Dolphins in a trade for running back Jarquez Hunter.
Atwell is obviously a very familiar face after being drafted by the Rams in the second round out of Louisville and spending his first five NFL seasons with the team. In 64 games (27 starts) in his first stint in Los Angeles, Atwell had 105 catches for 1,535 yards and five touchdowns.
His best season came in 2024 when Atwell had career-bests in both receptions (42) and yards (562). That led to his re-signing with the Rams on a one-year, $10 million contract last offseason with plans to use the speedster even more in the team’s offense.
That is not how things played out in 2025, however. Atwell only played in 10 games and had six total receptions for 192 yards and a touchdown. He often found himself as a healthy scratch towards the end of the year.
This offseason, Atwell was set to return to his hometown after signing a one-year, $1.4 million contract with the Dolphins. They are obviously going through a rebuild though and felt Atwell may not have been the best fit, trading him back to the Rams for Hunter.
The Rams drafted Hunter in the fourth round last year out of Auburn, but he only appeared in five games during his rookie season and all of his snaps came on special teams. L.A. has a lot of running back depth with Kyren Williams, Blake Corum and Ronnie Rivers, which made Hunter expendable in their eyes.
Considering L.A. was a bit short on depth at the wide receiver position, bringing back a familiar face who knows the offense makes sense. Atwell will give the Rams a downfield threat to complement Puka Nacua and Davante Adams, which they previously were missing from the roster.
It remains to be seen if they will get him more involved this season, but at the very least, Atwell gives the Rams some quality depth at a position of need with the ability to make big plays on offense and special teams if needed.
Rams star Puka Nacua ranked No. 7 player in NFL
The receiver position is a massive strength for the Rams and the main reason for that is the play of Nacua, who has developed into one of the bright young stars in the NFL. Heading into the 2026 season, he was ranked the No. 7 overall player in the league, a huge sign of respect from his peers.
