For their first four pro seasons, Trent McDuffie and Jaylen Watson were teammates on the Chiefs.
Now they’ll continue to be teammates on the West Coast, as the Rams traded for McDuffie and signed Watson in free agency as the club looks to reshape and improve its secondary in 2026.
In his introductory press conference with Los Angeles media on Thursday, McDuffie said he’s glad to continue playing alongside Watson.
“I was stoked,” McDuffie said of hearing the news Watson would be joining him in L.A. “I was calling him two days before they even signed him like, ‘Bro, you never know. We might get you. We might get you. Keep an open mind.’ Literally, it dropped, and I called him again like Puka [Nacua] screaming at the top of my lungs like, ‘Look at this! Can you believe it?’
“He’s one of those guys that I love to tell his story. He is a seventh-round pick. Not a lot of people believed in him. He worked hard day in day out. Again, he’s one of those guys that was able to live out his dreams as a Kansas City Chief. The relationship and the respect I have for ‘J-Wat’ knowing what he’s going to bring to this team, the hard work, the grit, the attitude and the overall swag of being a football player. I think it would be really helpful having both of us in here adding to the culture.”
As for Watson, he called it “the best feeling ever” to continue playing with McDuffie.
“You don’t come in feeling like you don’t know anyone,” Watson said. “It’s not only just any teammate. It’s one of my closest teammates from my previous team. I was super excited. I’m super happy to share the field with him and hopefully we can do some great things here.
“When you play with a corner that good, it raises your level of play,” Watson added. “Whether you are watching him in a game, you are just stealing the little things from him. Watching him in practice reps, it makes you want to play to a higher level.”
