NEW ORLEANS — Kyren Williams was glad to hear it.
Rams coach Sean McVay and general manager Les Snead have said publicly that working on an extension for the Rams running back was among offseason priorities.
Does Williams want to remain with the Rams?
“Heck yeah,” Williams said Thursday at the Super Bowl’s media center. “I don’t want to go play for anybody else besides the Los Angeles Rams, coach McVay, under Les Snead and just around all my teammates I’ve been with the last three or four years.
“I hope that we can get that done, and I hope it doesn’t take away from all the other stuff that’s going on with the Rams, and we can get that over with and get back to focusing on ball.”
Williams’ situation is not the most pressing for a Rams team coming off a 10-7 record and NFC divisional-round loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.
Cooper Kupp, a cornerstone of McVay’s offense for most of his eight seasons, announced this week that the Rams had informed him they would seek to trade the receiver.
“It sucks,” Williams said. “It’s the nature of this business. Cooper is a guy that before I ever got to the Rams, Cooper was a pillar of the Rams and was somebody that when you think of the Rams, you think of Cooper Kupp.”
Williams said he would miss not having Kupp as a role model for how to be a professional. However, the situation also presents Williams and receiver Puka Nacua the opportunity to grow as leaders, he said.
“To be able to be that person Cooper was in the locker room for the young guys that are coming in,” he said.
The Rams also must work through quarterback Matthew Stafford’s contract situation. The 16th-year veteran has given no indication publicly that he wants to retire, and he is expected to want his contract adjusted for the second year in a row.
In the meantime, Williams will prepare for his fourth NFL season.
Williams, who will turn 25 in August, has rushed for 2,582 yards and 26 touchdowns since the Rams selected him in the fifth round of the 2022 draft out of Notre Dame.
This season, he rushed for 1,299 yards and 14 touchdowns.
“I’m excited to go back, after three years of a body of work, to really know what I’m good at, where I need to get better and continue to keep working,” he said. “I think this is going to be my best offseason. … I’m going to go back to work and get my body right and come out next season on fire.”
