PHOENIX – Between the installation of new leadership for the Rams' cornerbacks, who was added to that position and who was not retained, it became clear that group was being taken in a new direction in 2026.
How that unfolded: Los Angeles acquiring All-Pro Trent McDuffie in a trade with the Chiefs and signing him to a four-year contract extension to keep him in the fold through the 2030 season, then reuniting him with his former teammate in Kansas City's secondary in cornerback Jaylen Watson by signing Watson to a three-year deal.
"I think the first thing is, when you're looking at different avenues of upgrading your roster like we've talked about, whether it's the draft, free agency, ... there's a lot of different avenues, trades," head coach Sean McVay said from the NFL's Annual League Meeting. "And so when we were aware that McDuffie was available, and then you have this unique opportunity where you have (defensive backs coach) Jimmy Lake, who was his college coach, who's going to be coaching the secondary this year, and you hear about number one, you look at the four years of his body of work and the versatility where he can do a lot of things that were similar to what made Jalen Ramsey such a special player for us when our defense was really operating at a high clip. He can play into the boundary, can play to the field, he can play in the slot, he can blitz. He's rare, and then he's a rare human. And that was really important."
With a lot of cornerbacks scheduled to become free agents, McVay the Rams had done "a lot" of work on the position, whether it was exploring re-signing their own or studying the landscape of the NFL.
General manager Les Snead in a separate press conference said they were trying to identify players in the secondary who could help the team this year. Watson was part of the group of unrestricted free agents, and as they were watching tape on Watson, "you can't help but notice Trent." There were also "whispers" that McDuffie could potentially be available via trade.
Snead also said that once the Rams traded for McDuffie, they were monitoring the players who were going to become unrestricted free agents.
"I was telling someone recently, it's probably us sitting around a table like this, maybe a little more comfortable than this, and we're going through the scenarios, and you're watching the corners that would be available," Snead said, referring to the roundtable he was speaking with reporters at inside a conference room in the Arizona Biltmore hotel. "You're looking at the draft, you're looking who might be available at (pick) 13, who might be available at (pick) 29, you're talking about that probably for 2-3 weeks straight, and then that's (how) the puzzle kind of comes together that way. But if you're watching Mr. Watson, you can't help but notice Mr. McDuffie."
What stood out to McVay about Watson was the physicality he plays with, as well as the different techniques shown on tape that could be evaluated within Kansas City defensive coordinator Steve Spanguolo's system, plus Watson's experience in big games.
"The guy's played on a team that's won a lot of games," McVay said. "He's been in a lot of big-time atmospheres and environments, and he's got some of the length, he's got some of the different traits. But this is about what does the tape look like? What is the toughness, the techniques that you're able to evaluate, the ability to play field and into the boundary."
The additions of Watson and McDuffie in particular also signaled a specific playing style the Rams want out of their defense in 2026, because of the "physical presence" both bring to that unit, according to McVay.
"All eleven are going to be tough," McVay said. "You're not going to play if you're not going to be tough for us. Both of these guys check those boxes, and we're very excited to get to work with those guys."
The investment into the 25-year-old McDuffie was substantial, as the lucrative contract he signed reportedly made him the league's highest-paid cornerback. Asked about his initial reaction when Snead says the Rams are trading for McDuffie and signing him to a long-term extension, chief operating officer Tony Pastoors – who, along with senior manager of football administration Matthew Shearin, manages the team's salary cap – jokingly said "we didn't budget for this."
"(But) no. I can actually say that's the fun part with Sean and Les, we are always prepared and always working through all of those things," Pastoors said in a separate media availability. "We are always prepared and always working through those things. And so I do think that's part of the reason you're able to go do (that), and why we are able to do that, is those are things we talk about in the offseason. How do we budget for this? How do we plan for this? What does it look like today, tomorrow and two, three years from now, hopefully longer given Trent's age."
Those moves came after an in-season, multi-year extension of Quentin Lake and re-signing Kam Curl to a three-year deal to maintain continuity at safety, which Chris Beake will continue to coach.
Meanwhile, Los Angeles parted ways with last season's assistant head coach/defensive backs coach Aubrey Pleasant and assistant Mike Harris, replaced by Lake (pass game coordinator/defensive backs coach) and new hire Mike Hunter (assistant defensive backs coach). Additionally, cornerbacks Ahkello Witherspoon, Roger McCreary and Cobie Durant became unrestricted free agents and signed with new teams: Witherspoon the Commanders, McCreary the Lions and Durant the Cowboys.
It will be a different-looking cornerback group when offseason workouts begin this spring, and McVay is looking forward to working with them.
"I loved meeting them and their families when they came in," McVay said of McDuffie and Watson. "And like I said, I can't wait for the offseason program to start and really start being around them and watching the way they move on a daily basis."
