seattle seahawks

PHOENIX — Rams coach Sean McVay could not help repeating himself when asked about star receiver Puka Nacua.

“I trust this kid’s heart,” McVay said three times Monday at the NFL owners meetings.

But do the Rams trust Nacua, who has been at the center of several off-the-field situations, enough to break the bank with a massive extension?

Last week, a woman filed a civil lawsuit against Nacua, alleging that on New Year’s Eve he made an antisemitic statement during a group dinner and later bit her shoulder. Nacua’s attorney told The Times before the lawsuit was filed that Nacua “denies these allegations in the strongest possible terms,” and that Nacua would “pursue all available legal remedies in response to these false and damaging statements.”

Last season during a livestream, Nacua criticized NFL officials and made a gesture regarded as antisemitic. Nacua apologized, and the Rams and the NFL issued statements condemning antisemitism and discrimination. But after the Rams’ loss to the Seattle Seahawks, Nacua criticized officials in a social media post from the locker room. The NFL fined him $25,000.

Last week the Seahawks signed receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba to a record-breaking extension that includes $120 million in guarantees, putting Nacua in line to possibly match or exceed that deal.

If Nacua’s off-the-field actions become a pattern that does not reflect well on the organization, are the Rams hesitant to invest in the 24-year-old star who led the NFL with 129 catches?

“The play on the field is amazing, and then with what the play has dictated and determined there is a responsibility in terms of representing all things not exclusive to just that,” McVay said. “He knows that, those are expectations and we are hopeful that … this will be an opportunity for him to learn and grow, and we are hopeful that he’s a Ram for a really long time.

“But he understands what the responsibility is, not exclusive to just the production on the field.”

Nacua was one of several topics McVay addressed during a 30-minute session with reporters.

With the return of quarterback Matthew Stafford, the reigning NFL most valuable player, and the addition of star cornerback Trent McDuffie and Jaylen Watson, the Rams are expected to be a favorite to play in Super Bowl LXI at SoFi Stadium.

The Rams traded for McDuffie, an All-Pro who won two Super Bowls with the Kansas City Chiefs, to a four-year extension that includes $100 million in guarantees, making him the highest-paid cornerback in NFL history.

McVay said McDuffie “can do a lot of things” that made Jalen Ramsey such a force when he helped the Rams win Super Bowl LVI.

“He’s rare,” McVay said of McDuffie. “And then he’s a rare human. … You can’t find anybody that doesn’t love this guy and what he represents.”

Like McDuffie, his former Chiefs teammate, Watson has played in three Super Bowls, winning two titles.

“He’s been in a lot of big-time atmospheres and environments,” McVay said of the 6-foot, 2-inch Watson, “and he’s got some of the length.”

McDuffie and Watson join a secondary that includes safety Quentin Lake, who signed an extension in January, and safety Kam Curl, who re-signed with the Rams this month.

The secondary was not the only position group the Rams considered remodeling.

McVay confirmed a report that the Rams explored trading receiver Davante Adams, who led the NFL with 14 touchdown catches.

“If we felt like it was best for our team, we would have done that,” McVay said, “but we didn’t think it was best for our team, so excited about being able to move forward with him.”

McVay said he spoke directly with Adams about the situation.

“I addressed what those conversations were even though they never really got too far but I did want to acknowledge it,” McVay said. “He’s a grown man, and I think he understood that this is a part of this business.”

McVay said he would “love” for Jimmy Garoppolo to return as Stafford’s backup. But Garoppolo remains a free agent.

Atlanta Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins prepares to take a snap against the Rams in December.

(Danny Karnik / Associated Press)

“At this point, when there hasn’t been a decision, it feels less likely than likely, but I don’t want to rule that out,” McVay said of Garoppolo’s possible return for a third season with the Rams.

McVay said that he has communicated with Kirk Cousins and his agent about possibly signing with the Rams. McVay coached Cousins in the NFL with Washington.

“He’s a guy that I have familiarity with, history and a lot of reverence for because of the gratitude from our experiences together.”

Staff writer Steve Henson contributed to this report.

“Beast Mode” started as a phrase people used to describe the running style of former NFL running back Marshawn Lynch.

“I think it was just my relentlessness and my no-back-down type of demeanor when it came to running the ball, like, ‘Boy, that boy a beast,’” Lynch said. “And it’s like, yeah, when I get the ball, that’s what type of mode I’m in — I’m in beast mode.”

Lynch played 12 seasons for the Buffalo Bills, Seattle Seahawks and Oakland Raiders, amassing 10,413 in 2,453 carries with 85 touchdowns. Somewhere along the way, he said, the phrase “Beast Mode” evolved into “this persona bigger than myself.”

“The way that I get approached by kids and fans, like the way that they approach me is almost as if I am like a character so to speak, and I don’t think that I was doing it justice because I’m like, ‘Well s—, I’m just only a man,” the Super Bowl XLVIII champion said.

“But I believe in their mind what they had made up as Beast Mode is this larger-than-life, kind of surreal individual.”

An early look at a page from the upcoming “Beast Mode 510” graphic novel, starring Marshawn Lynch as the title character. Text will be added closer to the Oct. 6 publishing date.

(Art by Denys Cowan / Courtesy of AWA)

Lynch is embracing that perception of himself … and Beast Mode is about to become a literal comic book hero.

On Friday, Arists Writers and Artisans announced the graphic novel “Beast Mode 510,” which is scheduled to be released Oct. 6. Written by NAACP Image Award-nominated author Sheldon Allen and illustrated by Eisner Hall of Fame artist Denys Cowan, the book was “inspired and guided by” Lynch and is a “deeply personal love letter” to his hometown Oakland, according to a news release from AWA.

“At its center is Beast Mode: the 510’s legendary fixer and freelance sleuth whose rough exterior hides a code of loyalty and willingness to deal with problems others won’t touch,” the release reads. “If you’ve got a problem the authorities won’t handle, Beast Mode will. No invoices. No contracts. Just results.”

AWA chief creative officer Axel Alonso said when he was approached by Lynch and his team about possibly working on a project together, the idea of turning Beast Mode into an almost superhuman crime fighter quickly came to mind.

“To use a football analogy, when Marshawn and his people came to me and said, ‘Can you do anything with this, Beast Mode?’ it was like they gave me the ball on the one-yard line and I had to just walk it in — and Pete Carroll wasn’t the coach, so I could just go right in,” Alonso said, referring to an infamous play at the end of Seattle’s loss to New England in Super Bowl XLIX.

“It was as easy as that. I was like, come on, ‘Beast Mode’? So automatically I talked with Marshawn and said, ‘What’s important to you?’”

Lynch’s input has been key every step of the way, Alonso said, with the five-time Pro Bowl selection getting final say on every aspect. Lynch said he appreciates having his voice heard and being able to put his stamp on the project.

“From the start, we just sat down and had a conversation about where it was that we wanted to go, what is the kind of feel, the look that we want, the kind of tone that we want to tell the story,” Lynch said.

Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch #24 of the Seattle Seahawks runs for a 67-yard touchdown against the New Orleans Saints during an NFC wild-card playoff game Jan. 8, 2011, at Qwest Field.

(Jonathan Ferrey / Getty Images)

An early look at pages from the upcoming “Beast Mode 510” graphic novel starring Super Bowl champion Marshawn Lynch as an underground crime fighter.

(Art by Denys Cowan / Courtesy of AWA)

“I can’t draw or nothing like that, but any type of update or anything Axel will get over to me and, you know what I mean, yea or nay. And then when it comes to like how certain characters would look, certain names, individuals — I would say I’m involved, but I’m not stepping on their toes.”

For Lynch, one of the top priorities was to bring attention to all the unique aspects of his beloved city.

“We kinda have Oakland being a character of its own,” he said. “The personality of what Oakland stands for is something that I would really like to highlight ‘cause I feel that my city gets overlooked. And then the amount of individuals that we have coming out of area, it’s also an opportunity to show a nod to a lot of the Bay Area cultures and icons that we have.”

Even though the book is fiction, Lynch insisted on authenticity in the depictions of the city and the people who live there, including the way they look, act and speak.

“I think the biggest thing will probably be just the way that I speak in general,” Lynch said. “Mother— from where I’m from, we talk with a certain type of a tone, a type of swag.”

An early look at a page from the upcoming “Beast Mode 510” graphic novel. Marshawn Lynch says his character was inspired by the larger-than-life persona fans sometimes associate with him.

(Art by Denys Cowan / Courtesy of AWA.)

And, judging from Lynch’s signature way of talking, a lot of profanity.

None of Lynch’s ideas has been toned down.

“This is an R-rated book,” Alonso said.

“I want this s— to be turned up to the max,” Lynch added, “so if a mother— do pick this up to read, it’s gonna be like, ‘Oh, this some real s—.’ As well as entertaining, as well as insightful and impactful.”

Lynch is used to keeping people entertained, including as the co-host of the “Get Got Pod” with former Seahawks teammate Mike Robinson and as an actor with numerous roles in TV and film (including a breakout performancein 2023’s “Bottoms”).

He said he’s proud of how the project is turning out.

“When you see work and be like, ‘Damn that s— was nice’ and you start thinking about the thought process and how they got to those points, how they got to those things that drew you in, those things that give you that warm feeling,” Lynch said, “I’m feeling like I’m living that as this s— is going.

“Which is crazy as f— because I played in Super Bowls, I walked the red carpet of f—in’ premieres, and this one feels like, out of a lot of s—, this one is capturing that feeling for me. I’m a [Black man] — you know we don’t feel too much. But when we do, we be like, ‘Oh yeah, you know this s— is special.’”