The Los Angeles Rams look to be exploring their next internal contract extension.
Rams general manager Les Snead told reporters Monday that the team will meet with Kyren Williams' agent, Drew Rosenhaus, at the annual NFL owners' meeting in Palm Beach, Florida.
Snead told reporters the Rams want to "engineer a long-term partnership” with Williams, per The Athletic, but admitted the two sides aren't in agreement on what a new contract looks like. However, Snead noted that not signing a new deal this offseason doesn't mean one won't happen in the future for Williams.
“Kyren’s a great human,” Snead said. “We all want this to work out. It’s just, ‘Can we agree upon a contract where … we feel like it’s a win-win?’ And 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.”
That is the big question for paying running backs: What are they worth? Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley signed a new deal this offseason that puts him at the top of his position with an average annual salary of $18 million. Williams is currently in the final year of his rookie deal and will make a base salary of $5.346 million in 2025.
Williams, who has expressed interest in returning to the Rams, is not Barkley. However, he's proven to be among the better running backs in the league during his past two seasons as the Rams' starter. Williams is one of the hardest running backs to tackle and put together consecutive 1,000-yard rushing seasons with 26 total rushing scores. He'll be 25 in August, too.
The Rams have an exciting young core that extends to both sides of the ball between Williams and Nacua on offense and Jared Verse, Braden Fiske, Kobie Turner and Byron Young on defense. Keeping that core together is crucial for the Rams' long-term success, but Snead and company will have to weigh the cost of a running back versus the impending deals for other positions. That, and figuring out what the offense looks like when Matthew Stafford eventually leaves at some point.
This article originally appeared on Rams Wire: Rams talking with Kyren Williams' agent about contract extension
