Last season, Kyren Williams established himself as one of the true workhorse running backs in the NFL today. With the Los Angeles Rams dealing with injuries up and down their offense, Williams was the lone constant and Sean McVay rode him throughout the season as he finished the season with 1,299 yards on 316 carries and 14 touchdowns, all career-highs.
Williams was eligible for a contract extension this offseason and the back made it clear that he wanted to remain with the Rams. But contracts for running backs have been difficult to negotiate over the past few seasons, leading many to wonder if the two sides would be able to come to a deal.
But those questions have been answered as Williams and the Rams agreed to a three-year extension worth $33 million, including $23 million guaranteed. And in speaking for the first time since the deal was reached, Williams discussed how surreal everything feels, via Wyatt Miller of TheRams.com:
“This whole day is kind of surreal,” he said. “I’ll never forget this day, but this is the day that I kind of worked for my whole life. I knew I was going to be here. I didn’t know when. I didn’t know how. I didn’t know what the outcome was going to be, but I’m here. And so I just want to say thank you to everybody that played a part in making it happen.”
Williams would continue on, admitting to being at a loss for words and needing to call his mom again to make sure it’s all real:
“I’m so lost for words at times, and I can’t really understand it,” Williams said. “I can’t wait to call my mom again to make sure that it’s real and to make sure that the hard work is finally paying off.”
A fifth-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, the expectations for Williams weren’t exceptionally high and certainly not for him to become one of the top running backs in the NFL. But his hard work paid off and now he is reaping the benefits both on the field and financially.
Aaron Donald jokes about coming out of retirement if Rams trade for Micah Parsons
While Kyren Williams was able to get his contract extension done, one of the biggest stories around the league surrounds Micah Parsons requesting a trade from the Dallas Cowboys as his extension talks have stalled for months. And franchise legend Aaron Donald joked that he might need to come out of retirement if the Rams could pull that deal off.
