Kyren Williams future discussion

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TSFH Fan

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I don't want to inevitablly waste money adding an additional vet FA to "stabilize the position" after spending annual mid-round picks on Cam Akers/Darrell Richardson types, who only do just enough to give them a chance but never really provide a consistent run game....

This sort of clinched it for me. I still think that "running backs are interchangeable and replaceable" in the big picture of things. But, as for the small picture, as to how the Rams do, yeah, finding "good" backs that fit and produce has been a bit challenging for our team (Zach Evans and Jake Funk say "hi" too).

So sign KW to #1 money, up to and including his age 28 year, and make it more incentive-based after that. Age 28? Yeah, for running backs, it seems that 28 is the magic age, not 30 - it's also just a rule of thumb thing, not a hard rule. An exception to the rule of thumb would be Frank Gore, who KW is about the same size as.

As to 28, I think something like 7 of the top 50 rushers this year are older than 28. If you check the numbers for Steven Jackson, Marshall Faulk, and ED, you'll see that their yardage and ypc were all lower after age 28 than their age 28 years. Sony Michel and TG never made it to their age 28 years. Greg Bell, who was in the ED trade, played his last year at 28. Also, Christian McCaffrey and his achillies and knee problems turned 28 before the start of this season. (FWIW, Saquon is younger than 28).

Pay KW . . . for a while.
 

rdlkgliders

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I would love to keep KW, I ask can we afford not to before can we afford to.
The 2nd contract at the RB position is tough being that often it is the most profitable contract that position will ever see.

This is where the length becomes important to player/team negotiations.
At the moment 7mil is what the 10th highest RB makes and at that market price and in a 3 year deal
if we could lock up KW @ 20 - 23 mil for 3 years I do it. Again I ask where do we find the player before I ask where do we find the money in this situation

The market will once again raise positional values and the RB market is trending up not down.

Make the deal if you can for the known commodity, can we afford not to have a complete back touching the ball that many times per game? I don't think so

Blake may be that guy and if so he becomes a quality problem
 
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So Ram

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That's definitely part of the concern. He's only 5'9" 202. He's already at 334 touches this year. He had 260 last year. If he puts up another 300ish touches next year, odds are that he'll only have 3 or 4 very productive years left in him. HBs wear down quickly.
Well. Will he have more career yards than Todd Gurley & is there a Super Bowl in his future? Hard call to predict any of it .Still having Blake Corum as a backup could be a blessing in disguise.
Look at las season & what happens when Kyren Williams got hurt.Even Puka for that matter this season.
They both mean a lot to The Rams & if healthy The Rams probably beat Detroit the last 2 times they played as an example.
 

DzRams

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This is where the length becomes important to player/team negotiations.
At the moment 7mil is what the 10th highest RB makes and at that market price and in a 3 year deal
if we could lock up KW @ 20 - 23 mil for 3 years I do it. Again I ask where do we find the player before I ask where do we find the money in this situation
If you look at production over the last two years, we could make an argument that KW is a top 5 RB. Top 10 money would be a discount.

What reason would he have to do that?
 

HE WITH HORNS

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Nobody has yet talked actual numbers here.
What would be an acceptable amount to pay him?
3 years 30 million? That would bring considerable risk at that cap amount.
What do the top 5 RBs in the league make per year?
 

HE WITH HORNS

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Screenshot_20241223-181321.png

Ouch, that's a lot of money for a good running back.
 

blackbart

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I don’t think it is necessary to replace a guy who is going to be 26 at the beginning of the 2026 season.

He’s not as good as the top 5 in pay??? He’s probably only behind Barkley this year and better than the other 4. Last year he trailed only McCaffery?

What is the cap going to look like after next year? They have a lot of young guys on rookie contracts. He could get 3/$15m offers if he produces again next year. I’d hate to see that for someone else with no one to replace that production. Can Corrum do it? Maybe
 

tempests

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Rams got burned paying Gurley money to a player who had a Gurley knee. I don't think it's the same for Kyren. I think he gets paid. But it's going to be based on today's market value, which may be different from 2018. Much as I never liked Belichick, they had a theory where they didn't pay players not named Brady too much, let them walk, and had a good replacement. Rince and repeat. Does McVay want to borrow that theory from him?
Think the Rams want to be a place where their best players get the bag and also able to compete for championships. The best of both worlds.

Still think the rookie wage scale is deeply unfair to guys like Kyren. Rams pay him very little and he is far out performing his contract. Not saying they need to make him the highest paid back in the game but I hope they make him a good offer. And if he chooses to hit FA, I hope he gets a good deal there.
 

rdlkgliders

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If you look at production over the last two years, we could make an argument that KW is a top 5 RB. Top 10 money would be a discount.

What reason would he have to do that?
that is the going price for a top 10 RB and his being considered top 5 is subjective. 20 -24 over 3 would be a 5-10 RB salary
 

DzRams

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that is the going price for a top 10 RB and his being considered top 5 is subjective. 20 -24 over 3 would be a 5-10 RB salary
Is that subjective? Maybe.

What isn't subjective is that he's 3rd in rushing yards and tied for 1st in TDs over the last 2 years.

Given the NFL salary cap inflation is 8-10% per year, your top players ask for top tier money. Kyren will rightfully ask for, and likely receive top tier money from some team.

Josh Jacobs and Kamara just got $12m+. Jonathan Taylor recently got $14m per year.

BTW, the 10th highest paid RB is Hubbard at $8.3m per year. 5-10 money would be closer to $30 over 3 years. IMO, KW can make a strong case for $14-15m per year.
 

jrry32

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Jonathan Taylor is a better HB.
Is that subjective? Maybe.

What isn't subjective is that he's 3rd in rushing yards and tied for 1st in TDs over the last 2 years.

Given the NFL salary cap inflation is 8-10% per year, your top players ask for top tier money. Kyren will rightfully ask for, and likely receive top tier money from some team.

Josh Jacobs and Kamara just got $12m+. Jonathan Taylor recently got $14m per year.

BTW, the 10th highest paid RB is Hubbard at $8.3m per year. 5-10 money would be closer to $30 over 3 years. IMO, KW can make a strong case for $14-15m per year.
Somebody else can pay him $14-15m per year.
 

rdlkgliders

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Is that subjective? Maybe.

What isn't subjective is that he's 3rd in rushing yards and tied for 1st in TDs over the last 2 years.

Given the NFL salary cap inflation is 8-10% per year, your top players ask for top tier money. Kyren will rightfully ask for, and likely receive top tier money from some team.

Josh Jacobs and Kamara just got $12m+. Jonathan Taylor recently got $14m per year.

BTW, the 10th highest paid RB is Hubbard at $8.3m per year. 5-10 money would be closer to $30 over 3 years. IMO, KW can make a strong case for $14-15m per year.
Sorry, I am only showing my support for resigning KW. That point seems to have been lost here.

I apologize if the sources I read stating Pollard is #10 at appx 7.3 are wrong,

I hope the numbers work out

You will need someone else to argue with about his merit, because I am in on signing him to a reasonable contract
 

DzRams

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Sorry, I am only showing my support for resigning KW. That point seems to have been lost here.

I apologize if the sources I read stating Pollard is #10 at appx 7.3 are wrong,

I hope the numbers work out

You will need someone else to argue with about his merit, because I am in on signing him to a reasonable contract
I understand your position. It's a reasonable one.

If it was possible to resign KW to $7m or $8m per year, I'm all aboard.

Given his production, I feel he'll command double that at which point I'm no longer for it.
 

HE WITH HORNS

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For 15 million a year, we will roll with Corum and a mid round draft pick.

The only thing I can put my finger on about KW being elite is maybe his acceleration.
He can go 0-60 as fast as anybody, he just doesn't have the high end speed to take it the distance on any given carry.

A 3 year contract with an out on the third year would be a good deal as long as we don't have to give him close to 15 million a year.