Kyren Williams, Rams Have Made 'Positive Progress' in Contract Talks, Sean McVay Says

Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay told reporters on Thursday that the team has held "really healthy" extension talks with running back Kyren Williams and there's been "positive progress, for sure" in those negotiations.

Williams is entering the final year of his rookie contract and is set to make a base salary of $5.3 million in 2025 because of the Proven Performance Escalator program, which triggered after making the Pro Bowl in 2023. His original rookie deal was for four years and $3.9 million.

His rookie deal was a modest one, given that he was a fifth-round pick, but his inevitable extension will be a significant raise for Williams.

The fourth-year running back has rushed for at least 1,100 yards and double-digit touchdowns in each of the past two seasons, emerging as a reliable playmaker for the Rams, and one of the more productive running backs in the sport.

Because he isn't nearly as dangerous a weapon in the passing game (34 catches for 182 yards and two scores last season), he isn't going to see the sort of extensions that Christian McCaffrey (two-year, $38 million extension) and Saquon Barkley (two-year, $41.2 million extension) received, resetting the running back market in the process.

But a contract that falls somewhere between the average annual value of Aaron Jones' deal with the Minnesota Vikings ($10 million AAV) and Derrick Henry's extension with the Baltimore Ravens ($15 million AAV) would make sense.

The Rams may not be willing to go toward the higher side of that range after drafting  Blake Corum in 2024 and Jarquez Hunter in April. If negotiations break down, the Rams could use the franchise tag on Williams after the 2025 season and revisit extension talks down the line.

Williams is hopeful something comes together eventually.

"I would love for it to get done so I can take care of my family and the loved ones that helped me get here," he told Gary Klein of the Los Angeles Times. "I've always got trust in God. Whether it happens now or I play out the season, I know it's going to happen eventually. And so, time will tell. I just know I've got to do what I need to do each and every single day to make sure that it does happen in my favor."