LOS ANGELES — As the Rams congregated in a dorm building at Loyola Marymount University on Tuesday for the start of training camp, Kyren Williams made his presence known in a singular way.
The running back rolled up, literally, on an electric scooter, wheeling alongside him a silver suitcase that matched his black-and-gray ensemble. As he saw Rams staffers milling about the dorm, he yelled at the top of his lungs, “Whose house?” Coffees wearing off in the mid-morning, no one replied, “Rams’ house,” but that did little to faze Williams.
“That’s just who he is as a person,” right tackle Rob Havenstein said, “and there’s no faking that. The way he goes about his business, you kind of forget that there’s even contract negotiations.”
Williams is entering the final year of his rookie contract. He has logged 1,720 snaps and 592 carries across the past two seasons and made himself a vital cog in the Rams’ offense in the process. After Williams rushed for more than 1,000 yards for a second consecutive season, General Manager Les Snead expressed a desire to reach an extension with Williams, stating simply, “Kyren is someone who is a Ram.”
With training camp set to open Wednesday, however, there has been no contract agreement. But Williams reported to camp Tuesday, telling reporters he plans on practicing in full while negotiations continue.
“For me, there was no decision. I play football; that’s what I do, that’s what I love,” Williams said. “At the end of the day, I do this not for the money, not for the fame or popularity, but to take care of my family. I got three sisters, I got a mom, I got a dad, I got 10 nieces and nephews that I’m working hard for so they can one day be able to say that they can go to college, they can come to a school like this. So for me, it’s a lot bigger than a contract negotiation. …
“For me, being here right now is a no-brainer because I got people I gotta take care of. So putting my feet on the grass is the only way I know how to do that.”
Williams and head coach Sean McVay shared that they both feel like progress has been made toward a deal, though neither gave a timeline for when it might be completed. McVay said he and senior manager of football administration Matthew Shearin spoke with Williams’ agent, Drew Rosenhaus, on Monday and the two sides would sit down together Wednesday.
“There’s some things that where we’re at, where they’re at, we’ve gotta be able to bridge a gap for that to get over the finish line,” McVay said. “But based on where we are now compared to where we were, there has been a progressive approach toward that finish line. … [Williams] has done everything that he can control that makes you want to say, ‘Let’s figure this out in good faith for this guy because he’s representing everything that’s right about the Rams.’”
A fifth-round draft pick out of Notre Dame in 2022, Williams said he feels he’s tapped deeper into his energy supply this offseason after hiring a chef and changing his diet. He also spent extra time in the weight room this offseason working on grip strength exercises to try eliminate one of the holes in his game after fumbling five times in 2024.
He’ll put it all into motion Wednesday, on the field at practice, not on the sidelines “holding in,” as has become a common negotiating tactic around the league in recent years. He feels like this iteration of the Rams is ready to do something special, working toward a common goal.
So if negotiations continue into the regular season, he says, he won’t be concerned.
“I want to play for the Rams, that’s who I want to stay with and I know it’ll work out,” Williams said. “Negotiations, all that stuff, it’s all going to work out. It’s all part of the plan, it’s all part of the bigger plan that I have no control over.”