While the Los Angeles Rams have made some significant changes on the defensive side of the ball this offseason, cornerback Troy Hill is among the players they made sure to keep around.
Hill had initially signed a one-year tender as a restricted free agent early in the offseason. Fortunately, both sides were able to come to terms to a two-year deal that will keep him around through the 2020 NFL season.
The new deal obviously provides the 27-year-old with further financial security for two more years. More importantly, it allowed him to focus all of his attention on improving his game moving forward.
According to Clarence Dennis of the team’s official website, Hill admits it is nice to finally get the business side of things out of the way:
“Now I feel like I’m free to play, I can be myself, I can go out there and just work on football and not have to worry about all the other things,” Hill told therams.com just after signing on Thursday.
Hill added that he has made himself at home in Los Angeles, which further contributed his desire to stay with the team.
“I moved out here when I was 15 and I didn’t really have my family, so this became a real family-oriented group with me,” Hill said. “I feel like that was just that extra — ‘alright it’s all love over here.’”
Although Hill is a Youngstown native, he made a name for himself at St. Bonaventure High School in nearby Ventura before playing college ball at the University of Oregon. He began his professional career with the Cincinnati Bengals, however, ended his rookie year as a member of the Rams and has since helped provide some much-needed depth ever since.
It is safe to say that his football career has somewhat come full circle at this point. He will be looking to provide the Rams with plenty of bang for their buck in order to beef up his resume for the near future.
Los Angeles has made their secondary a point of emphasis in recent years and for good reason. While Hill may have largely played a backup role throughout his career, he saw his role increase with all the injuries and ultimately finished the 2018 campaign with 34 tackles, two interceptions, and a career-high seven passes defensed.
The Rams are still going to be relying heavily on the tandem of Marcus Peters and Aqib Talib. Regardless, Hill can expect to see a solid amount of snaps come his way moving forward.
