The Rams made a couple of big changes to their receiver room to kick off the offseason.
Cooper Kupp was released and quarterback Matthew Stafford said on NFL Network Wednesday that “it’s tough when you’ve played with a guy and had as much success as we’ve had together and then move on.” Any sadness about the move was softened when Davante Adams signed with the team as a free agent to give the team another strong complement to Puka Nacua in the passing game.
Stafford said that Adams “fits right in” with the list of talented players that he’s been able to play with over the course of his career.
“That’s the kind of guys since I’ve been here in L.A. we’ve had, I’ve been lucky enough to throw to a bunch of guys that take the game seriously, love going out and competing and trying to find a way to get better,” Stafford said. “He’s no different, and we’re definitely excited to have him and I know for me as a quarterback I feel lucky for all the guys I’ve been able to throw to, and he’s definitely up there.”
Stafford and Adams will keep working for the next few months before unveiling their partnership at home against the Texans in Week One.
When the Lions and Rams swapped quarterbacks Matthew Stafford and Jared Goff in 2021, few could have imagined how well it would work out for both teams: Stafford has won a Super Bowl with the Rams, while the Lions have become one of the best teams in the NFL with Goff as their quarterback — and with the draft picks they got in that trade.
The Rams and Lions should both be playoff contenders again this year, and that makes their Week 15 matchup a big one. They’ll meet on Sunday, December 14, at 4:25 p.m. ET on Fox, and there’s a good chance the game will have NFC playoff implications for both teams. Stafford said on NFL Network that he’s looking forward to facing off against Goff, Lions coach Dan Campbell and the rest of his former team.
“That’ll be fun,” Stafford said. “We’ve had some great matchups. Dan and Jared and those guys did a hell of a job the last couple years getting that thing turned in the right direction. They’re playing really good football. Lost some coordinators and that’s a challenge. Every season is a new season when you step out there and go play. Definitely had some great matchups the last couple years against those guys. It’ll be interesting having it in our place in December. I’m sure it’ll be another good battle.”
Stafford has faced the Lions three times, twice in the regular season and once in the playoffs. His Rams won the first meeting at home in 2021. The other two matchups have been in Detroit, and the Lions won both, in the playoffs after the 2023 season and then in Week One of the 2024 season. Stafford will hope to even the score in Week 14.
Thursday Night Football will begin its fourth season on Prime Video with a matchup between the Commanders and Packers in Week 2.
Both teams reached the postseason in 2024 and feature exciting young quarterbacks in Washington’s Jayden Daniels and Green Bay’s Jordan Love.
The Dolphins, Bills, Seahawks, Rams, and Broncos will each have a pair of Thursday night games on Prime Video. While the Eagles also will be featured on Prime Video twice, one of those games will be on Black Friday against the Bears.
Prime Video’s final regular season game will be the Christmas Night matchup between the Chiefs and Broncos, with Dec. 25 falling on a Thursday in 2025.
Prime Video will also host an exclusive Wild Card round postseason matchup on Jan. 10 or Jan. 11 to round out its slate.
The full Prime Video Thursday Night Football schedule for the 2025 season is:
Week 2: Commanders at Packers
Week 3: Dolphins at Bills
Week 4: Seahawks at Cardinals
Week 5: 49ers at Rams
Week 6: Eagles at Giants
Week 7: Steelers at Bengals
Week 8: Vikings at Chargers
Week 9: Ravens at Dolphins
Week 10: Raiders at Broncos
Week 11: Jets at Patriots
Week 12: Bills at Texans
Week 13 (Black Friday): Bears at Eagles
Week 14: Cowboys at Lions
Week 15: Falcons at Buccaneers
Week 16: Rams at Seahawks
Week 17 (Christmas night): Broncos at Chiefs
The Rams have four of this year’s draft picks under contract.
Edge rusher Josaiah Stewart, defensive tackle Ty Hamilton, linebacker Chris Paul, and wide receiver Konata Mumpfield agreed to four-year deals with the team. Second-round tight end Terrance Ferguson and fourth-round running back Jarquez Hunter remain unsigned.
Stewart was a third-round pick after leading Michigan with 13.5 tackles for loss and 8.5 sacks during the 2024 season. Hamilton, who went in the fifth round, was a collegiate rival of Stewart’s and wrapped up his time at Ohio State with 51 tackles.
Paul was also a fifth-round selection and Mumpfield went in the seventh round. Paul, who also goes by Pooh, led Ole Miss in tackles and Mumpfield had 52 catches in his final season at Pitt.
The NFL announced today which six games will be played in Europe in 2025 — including two in a row for the Vikings.
All six games will be played on Sundays at 9:30 a.m. ET, which means they will be afternoon games in Europe and early-mornings for American fans. In the U.S., all six games will air on NFL Network.
A new twist this year is that the Vikings will play in Dublin one week and then play in London a week later, which could function for the NFL as an experiment to see how travel within Europe goes. The league is exploring playing more games in Europe, and possibly even locating a team or multiple teams across the pond, and every new scheduling wrinkle is a step toward determining the logistics of that. The Vikings will be the first NFL team ever to play back-to-back-to-back games in three countries, going from the United States to Ireland to England.
The six games in Europe are:
September 28: Vikings at Steelers in Croke Park in Dublin.
October 5: Vikings at Browns at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London.
October 12: Broncos at Jets at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London.
October 19: Rams at Jaguars at Wembley Stadium in London.
November 9: Falcons at Colts at Olympic Stadium in Berlin.
November 16: Commanders at Dolphins at Santiago Bernabeu Stadium in Madrid.
The NFL has also scheduled a Chargers “home” game on Friday, September 5, at Corinthians Arena in Sao Paulo. The Chargers’ opponent has not yet been announced.
When the Olympics return to Los Angeles, the Coliseum will play a major role in the events. SoFi Stadium will, too.
Via Thuc Nhi Nguyen of the Los Angeles Times, the two stadiums will co-host the opening ceremony. It’s the first time the opening ceremony will unfold in two separate venues.
The precise plan for the two-site ceremony has yet to be determined. There’s still time to figure it out — the ceremony happens on July 14, 2028.
Los Angeles previously hosted the Olympics in 1932 and 1984.
During the Olympics, SoFi Stadium will host both track and field and the swimming competition. The schedule of those events has been flipped, with track and field happening in the first week of the games, and swimming in the second.
Not long after the games end, the 2028 preseason will begin at SoFi Stadium for the Rams and the Chargers.
Sean McVay couldn’t be more excited to have Davante Adams on the Rams.
McVay introduced Adams to his teammates in a team meeting by showing tape of some of the best plays from Adams’ career, showing them what has made Adams an All-Pro wide receiver.
“Glad to be able to have Davante Adams,” Mcvay said in the meeting, a portion of which the Rams posted on social media. “Guy’s got a lot of respect, he’s earned it with the way he works over the course of his career, it’s always cool to be able to see some of the cool shit guys have put on tape. Looking forward to being able to see you guys partner up with Tae.
McVay then showed a few selected plays and narrated what makes Adams special.
“Up top, recognizing man coverage, you can appreciate it from this angle,” McVay said. “The over the shoulder, but when you see it from the end zone, talking about being able to win, iso, sideline awareness.”
As the big screen in the Rams’ meeting room showed Adams making an impressive sideline catch while playing for the Jets last year, a teammate let out a celebratory whoop.
“Yes, woo is right,” McVay said. “Give it up for Tae on that play.”
McVay continued showing Adams’ work and explaining why the Rams are happy to have him.
“We’re not done yet, we’ve got a couple more,” McVay said. “One of the things that guys have seen about Davante. You can tell he was a hooper, can get parallel, can work edges on people, these are the things you love to be able to see. Isolation fades. This is going to make us better collectively on both sides, being able to add a great player like Davante Adams, and he’s got the ability to finish and make plays. Very excited to add him, more importantly because of the person he is. But he is a total G on the field. Give it up for Davante Adams.”
Rams players applauded, as their coach got them excited about their new teammate.
The Rams trimmed their roster on Wednesday.
The team announced that they have waived defensive tackle David Olajiga. There was no corresponding move.
Olajiga signed with the Rams’ practice squad last August and remained with the team on a future contract in January. Olajiga was born in England and became part of the NFL’s International Player Pathway Program after playing at Butler Community College and Central Missouri. He was also drafted by Edmonton in the 2024 CFL Draft.
The Rams signed Poona Ford and drafted Ty Hamilton in the fifth round in other moves involving a defensive line that also includes Kobie Turner, Braden Fiske, Tyler Davis, Desjuan Johnson, and Larrell Murchison.
The Rams will be taking their June minicamp on the road.
The team announced that they will be traveling to Maui from Monday, June 16 to Thursday, June 19. The team will hold two days of workouts at War Memorial Stadium in Wailuku, take part in a variety of other activities with local children, and assist in rebuilding homes in Lahaina with Habitat for Humanity.
“We are thrilled to return to Hawai’i and for the first time in the NFL bring Minicamp to Maui,” Rams president Kevin Demoff said in a statement. “Los Angeles and Hawai’i share a special relationship and we are grateful to HTA for teaming with us for this historic partnership. Not only will this trip be a great opportunity for our players, coaches and their families to spend time together in a special setting, but also for our organization to celebrate and pour into youth football programs and players who call Maui home.”
The June minicamp is the only mandatory work of the offseason program, although participation in a trip to Hawai’i would probably be pretty high even if it were part of the voluntary schedule.
New Jaguars General Manager James Gladstone is bringing someone with him from the Rams.
Per Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports, Brian Xanders is joining Jacksonville in a front office role.
Xanders had been with the Rams since 2017 as a senior personnel executive. He was previously the Broncos’ G.M. from 2009-2012 and a senior personnel executive for the Lions from 2013-2016.
Gladstone, Xanders, and new Jaguars head coach Liam Coen all worked together with Los Angeles.
