The Rams will begin preliminary talks on an extension for running back Kyren Williams with his agent, Drew Rosenhaus, at annual league meetings this week, per The Athletic’s Jordan Rodrigue.
General manager Les Snead said that the team wants to “engineer a long-term partnership” with Williams, who is entering the last year of his rookie deal. The 2022 fifth-rounder only carried the ball 35 times as a rookie before taking over a starting role in 2023.
Since then, Williams has been the focal point of the Rams’ rushing attack. In 2023, he led the NFL with 95.3 yards per game, earning a selection to the Pro Bowl. His efficiency went down in 2024 with significant drops in success rate and yards per carry, but he still finished with the seventh-most rushing yards (1,299) and the fifth-most rushing touchdowns (14) in the league. Across the last two seasons overall, Williams has rushed for 2,443 yards and 14 touchdowns, which both rank among the top three running backs in the NFL.
Williams will be looking to capitalize off of that production, as well as an increase in the running back market over the last year. From a negotiating standpoint, he may look at his league ranks and aim for a top-three APY at the position. That would push Williams’ initial demands over $14MM per year, a number that Los Angeles would likely be hesitant to match this offseason.
The Rams’ current valuation for Williams’ extension is different than his own asking price, per Rodrigue. He has only one full season under his belt after landing on injured reserve with ankle sprains in each of his first two years in the league. The former Notre Dame standout is a solid receiver with 66 catches in the last two years, but he doesn’t profile as a pass-catching weapon out of the backfield like some of the league’s highest-paid running backs.
Snead indicated that Williams could enter the 2025 season without a new deal, but that doesn’t rule out the possibility of an extension in the future.
“If it doesn’t happen this year, it doesn’t mean that Kyren is not going to be a part (of) next year, doesn’t mean that we don’t do something a year from now,” he said (via Rodrigue).
As a result, the Rams will likely keep a close eye on Williams’ health and efficiency in 2025 as they continue negotiations. His Pro Bowl selection upgraded his 2025 salary to $5.35MM via the Proven Performance Escalator, per OverTheCap. Combined with his $78k signing bonus proration, his cap hit will be $5.42MM, though an extension could reduce that number by $3.4MM.