training camp

Giff Smith addressed the issue head-on.

On the first night of training camp, the Rams’ defensive line coach sat down with each of his charges individually and, among other topics, talked about Aaron Donald.

From the moment the Rams traded for end Myles Garrett, a two-time NFL defensive player of the year, the talk of the offseason was that Donald, a three-time defensive player of the year, might come out of retirement and join a Rams team favored to win the Super Bowl.

The Rams of course would welcome the return of the future Hall of Famer. But if it happens, it also could have ramifications for other players’ playing time and, possibly, future contracts.

So Smith welcomed players’ questions.

“I’m a very open and honest guy,” Smith said, “and they deserve the respect to be able to voice whatever concerns or answers they’re looking for.

“And the answers I have, I give. The ones I don’t, I don’t. But let’s clear the air. What’s your concerns? Let’s get some clarity and make sure we’re on the same page.”

As the Rams worked to trim their roster to 53 players by Sunday’s NFL deadline, they still were waiting on Donald’s decision.

Coach Sean McVay and general manager Les Snead have said Donald can take all the time he needs. And McVay indicated it would not be problematic if Donald decides after the initial roster is set.

“Whenever a decision is made, if that is the direction that he goes where he wants to play, then we have plans accordingly,” McVay said.

Defensive lineman Kobie Turner, a team captain, is in a contract year. Ostensibly, the attention teams would devote to Garrett and Donald might provide Turner with more opportunities for splash plays.

But Donald’s playing time and contract — whether it be for the $30 million he was owed had he not retired, or a more cap-friendly, incentive-laden deal possibly coupled with other contract restructures — could affect the Rams’ ability and timing to extend Turner and other members of the 2023 draft class.

Rams defensive lineman Kobie Turner stands on the field during a win over the Detroit Lions in December.

(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)

Turner played with Donald as a rookie in 2023 and soaked up as much as he could from the eight-time All-Pro before ascending to become a team leader.

Throughout the Rams’ wait on Donald, Turner said it has been “cool” to continue building culture and cohesiveness among the defensive front.

“And then knowing if Aaron does take the opportunity to come back, then he’s just going to be able to add to our group,” Turner said.

Braden Fiske, a third-year pro whose playing time also could be affected if Donald returns, echoed Turner. The opportunity to play with Donald and Garrett, who have a combined 236½ sacks, would be a once-in-a-lifetime experience, Fiske said.

“That’s Hall of Fame talent,” he said. “It’s not every day you get to play next to one, let alone two. So just the opportunity to learn and grow from whatever [Donald’s] able to bring to the table would be awesome.”

Fiske got an up-close look when he went through a speed and agility workout with Donald.

“Clearly, he hasn’t lost much of a step,” Fiske said, laughing.

Smith noted the same after watching Donald go through an on-field workout during training camp. Because Smith and team trainers were present, the session was listed as a “tryout” on the NFL’s transaction wire.

Donald’s natural ability, his attention to detail and fundamental technique remain “off the charts,” Smith said.

“Like I told him, ‘Selfishly, I want you back. I mean want to coach you, the all-time greatest one,’” Smith said. “But he’s going to make the right decision when the time’s right. And I’m all in with AD on whatever.

“If he decides to play, no doubt, he makes us better. If he doesn’t decide to play, come hang out, be a part of the family, help us get better.

“And he’ll make the right decision.”

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Rams shocked fans — and much of the NFL — when they selected quarterback Ty Simpson with the 13th pick in the NFL draft.

Simpson started only 15 games at Alabama before the Rams ostensibly made him the eventual heir apparent to Matthew Stafford.

Now, after offseason workouts, two weeks of training camp and a few preseason practices, Simpson will get his first NFL game opportunity when the Rams open the preseason against Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium on Saturday at 1 p.m. PDT (CBS).

Fourth-year pro Stetson Bennett will start, but Simpson will play in the game.

“I’m really ready to show who I am,” Simpson said this week.

Simpson, 23, acknowledges the pressure that comes with his draft position, especially for a team that is favored to win Super Bowl LXI. But he does not feel it.

Not outwardly, anyway.

“I try to be as present as I can, and make sure every day I understand how much of a blessing it is knowing that I am the No. 13 pick and everything that comes with it,” Simpson said during training camp. “But also understanding that being here every day, and making the most out of every opportunity that I get, is everything I can ask for.”

Simpson started slow in the first few training camp workouts, but he appeared to break through when he stepped up in the pocket and completed a pass across the middle of the field. Simpson said he had begun to “put the puzzle pieces together,” marrying concepts with lessons learned watching Stafford and Bennett.

Star receiver Puka Nacua noticed.

“His arm and the confidence that he’s throwing the ball with has definitely grown a ton,” since offseason workouts, Nacua said before the Rams broke camp. “I think he’s feeling more comfortable in the pocket, understanding and seeing more guys run routes.”

Said offensive coordinator Nate Scheelhaase: “You’ve certainly seen him go and make some throws and go and compete in a really cool way.”

During this week’s joint workout with the Dallas Cowboys, Simpson played a few series, and completed a touchdown pass during a red-zone period.

But there is no tackling during practices. So Saturday will be Simpson’s first time experiencing NFL contact.

“It’s going to be a whole different lifestyle,” he quipped.

Rams quarterback Ty Simpson looks to pass during a drill in training camp at Loyola Marymount on July 27.

(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)

Coach Sean McVay does not play starters or other projected significant contributors during the preseason. In addition to Nacua and Davante Adams being held out, receivers Jordan Whittington and Konata Mumpfield also will not play, McVay said.

Simpson’s fellow rookies — tight end Max Klare, offensive lineman Keagan Trost, receiver CJ Daniels and defensive lineman Tim Keenan — will play.

Scheelhaase will call plays.

This will be Bennett’s seventh — and most important — preseason start.

Jimmy Garoppolo is no longer on the roster and Stafford was on a limited schedule during training camp, so Bennett worked with the first-team offense for the first time in his career. The former Georgia star, who led the Bulldogs to two national titles, played with confidence and made plays in his bid to show McVay and teammates that he can step in if Stafford is sidelined during the season.

McVay is looking to see how Bennett and Simpson manage the offense before and after the snap. He anticipates that both will use their mobility to make plays if the pocket collapses.

“Seeing some of that stuff come to life will be important,” McVay said. “But I think it’s got to occur naturally.”

Stafford, Bennett and quarterbacks coach Dave Ragone are among those who have eased Simpson’s transition to the NFL. As Simpson prepared for Saturday’s game, Stafford offered counsel.

“The best advice he gave me was, ‘Just go let it rip. It’s nothing that you haven’t done before,’” Simpson said.

But this will be the first time Simpson will do it as a pro.

Simpson anticipates that it will be “surreal” to put on his game jersey and fulfill a dream of playing in the NFL.

“There are going to be things that I mess up on,” he said. “I’m going to learn from them and move on, and next week be able to learn from it and make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

A few hours after their season-ending defeat in the NFC championship game last January, the Rams boarded a plane for their flight home from Seattle.

Quarterback Matthew Stafford was seated a row in front of veteran receiver Davante Adams, who once again had fallen just short of finally reaching the Super Bowl.

“He’s turning around, he’s looking at me, like, ‘I’m sorry, man, I wanted that for you so bad,’” Adams recalled. “Not for him, but he wanted it for me.”

Adams, 33, is expected to get another shot at playing on the NFL’s biggest stage.

The star-studded Rams are favored to not only play in but win Super Bowl LXI at SoFi Stadium.

Since the Green Bay Packers selected him out of Fresno State in the second round of the 2014 draft, Adams has played in and lost five NFC championship games, including last season’s 31-27 defeat by the eventual Super Bowl-champion Seahawks.

Adams was visibly upset in the locker room — “a mess” he said — so he is aiming for a happier result if the Rams reach the conference championship game for the fourth time under coach Sean McVay.

Last season, his first with the Rams, Adams led the NFL with 14 touchdowns catches.

And that was after the three-time All-Pro got no training-camp reps with Stafford, who sat out because of a back issue.

Stafford, an 18th-year pro, and Adams struggled to consistently connect on the field through the first six games. But that changed when the Rams traveled to London to play the Jacksonville Jaguars.

McVay described what happened at Wembley Stadium as “a turning point” for Stafford and Adams.

Rams wide receiver Davante Adams jogs with the ball during training camp at Loyola Marymount on July 26.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

In the 35-7 rout, Adams caught three touchdown passes, all from two yards or closer.

“They really hit their stride,” McVay said.

Adams was sidelined the next game and the final two games of the regular season because of a hamstring injury. He returned for the playoffs and made several huge plays, including a spectacular sideline catch in a divisional-round victory over the Chicago Bears in Chicago.

Last spring, with the Philadelphia Eagles shopping wide receiver A.J. Brown, McVay acknowledged that Adams’ name had come up in trade talks.

“It’s just the way that this business goes,” Adams said at the outset of training camp. “You gotta evaluate, you gotta look at certain things, and ultimately I’m still a Ram and I’m here and I’m happy to be here.”

Stafford and Adams had scheduled rest days during camp but they still got plenty of reps together as the Rams prepared for next month’s opener against the San Francisco 49ers in Australia.

“We’re getting a whole different start than what we did last year,” Adams said, adding, “Any time you can have these grinding days where you come out here, play ball and lock in on the details, that’ll help you be in a much better position when it’s time to really go.”

During the offseason, the Rams added All-Pro cornerback Trent McDuffie, cornerback Jaylen Watson and defensive end Myles Garrett, the reigning NFL defensive player of the year.

McDuffie and Watson have helped Adams and fellow star receiver Puka Nacua hone their skills.

“It’s the epitome of iron sharpens iron,” Adams said when asked about McDuffie.

For both.

Adams is the best route runner in the NFL, McDuffie said.

“The more we can keep ping-ponging back and forth against each other, the more we can keep rising our standard,“ McDuffie said. “It’s going to be a great year for both of us, so I enjoy it a lot.”

Despite being the oldest wide receiver on the roster — “This is dog years out here,” he said, laughing — Adams is learning from and being pushed by his younger teammates.

“I am the old man and I feel young because I can still go out there and do young-man stuff,” he said. “But then my body don’t necessarily feel the same way. … If I can continue to play at a high level, I’ll deal with the other stuff, whether it’s talking about me being old or a little bit of extra pain.

“It’s just a little extra work you have to do to come out of it.”

Davante Adams catches a pass at Rams training camp on July 26.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

Stafford and Adams are aiming for a celebratory postgame exchange if the Rams once again reach the NFC championship.

Of his interaction with Adams on the plane after their loss to the Seahawks, Stafford noted that Adams had been a part of good teams that fell short of playing in the Super Bowl.

“As much as I wanted to go play in that game, and a lot of other guys did too, I wanted it more for other guys that haven’t either gotten the opportunity to be there or win it,” Stafford said, adding, “[It was] on my heart at the moment and I decided to tell him how I was feeling.”

Adams appreciated the sentiment from Stafford and all of his teammates.

“For them to feel that way about me and to care that much to want to get me a [Super] Bowl before I get out of here, it says a lot about who they are,” he said, “and a little bit about who I am.”

If there’s a day of uncontaminated enthusiasm on the NFL calendar it’s the first day of training camp. Everyone’s healthy, everyone’s hopeful, and the Super Bowl is seemingly in reach for everyone.

A few thousand Chargers fans were at the team facility Wednesday to watch the inaugural practice, and afterward coach Jim Harbaugh and many of the players stuck around to sign autographs, pose for selfies and make small talk. It was the kind of scene unfolding all around the NFL.

“It was amazing,” said All-Pro safety Derwin James of the practice. “Kind of like the first day of school.”

Were they to receive a grade for their first two seasons under Harbaugh, the Chargers might get an incomplete. They played well enough to make the playoffs in both seasons — overcoming a dizzying array of injuries on the offensive line a year ago — yet failed to show up in the postseason, suffering lopsided losses at Houston and New England.

Harbaugh said the first day of camp feels like “Christmas morning” to him. When asked whether the entire team was full speed and ready to go, he made the analogy of an airplane gathering speed down a runway before achieving flight. There’s a deliberate ramp-up to the intensity of training camp, he said.

So now it begins again, and with a rebooted offensive line with two of the most promising bookend tackles in the game, first-round picks Rashawn Slater and Joe Alt, both of whom were sidelined for most or all of last fall.

Slater suffered a season-ending knee injury in training camp. Alt missed three games with a high-ankle sprain in Week 4, then suffered a more severe injury to the same ankle upon his return.

For those players in particular, each medically cleared to return, every day off crutches is a good day.

That said, Slater is determined not to dwell on what happened a year ago.

Chargers fan Christian Cavanias cheers while attending the team’s training camp in El Segundo on Wednesday.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

“I’ve been injured before in the NFL, and I learned a lot from that experience,” he said. “I don’t think analyzing it any deeper than what it was is really worthwhile. I attacked the rehab and moved on, didn’t really give any thought to it. Trying to set the tone for the season, show up and be the best version of myself I can be.”

A healthy offensive line isn’t the only big change for the Chargers. They have a new offensive coordinator in former Miami Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel, and a new defensive coordinator in Chris O’Leary, who is replacing his mentor, Jesse Minter, new coach of the Baltimore Ravens.

McDaniel began making small adjustments to Justin Herbert’s footwork during organized team activities, and those changes have become second nature for the Chargers quarterback.

“I’ve had a few weeks as well to work on it when I was back home,” Herbert said. “I thought it was a great time to be able to master my footwork, and then to come back out and just play fast and not have to worry about it.”

Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert speaks during a news conference at training camp on Wednesday.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Like Harbaugh, McDaniel has the kind of boundless energy that almost has him looking like a player when the team is running drills.

“He’s all hands on,” James said of McDaniel. “I feel like he’s almost out there running the route, how close he is to the receiver sometimes.”

McDaniel needles the other side of the ball too, James said, warning defenders to be ready for a deep pass before hitting them with a quick out.

“He’s playing some mind games,” James said with a smile. “It’s cool, though.”

Chargers free safety Derwin James speaks to reporters at training camp on Wednesday.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

There was a bit of buzz at camp about Herbert getting engaged to girlfriend Madison Beer, with the couple posting photos Tuesday of the proposal, complete with the quarterback dropping to a knee to pop the question.

Harbaugh called the development “awesome” and said the coaching staff didn’t know in advance. He said Herbert had mentioned earlier in the summer that a proposal was coming, but didn’t let the coaching staff know about the particulars until after it happened.

For his part, Herbert conceded that he was more nervous about proposing than he was before the first start of his NFL career. Then again, he had a lot more time to dwell on asking his girlfriend than he had to prepare for playing, as he was immediately pressed into action on the Sunday of his NFL debut.

Tuli Tuipulotu wants to get paid.

Although Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh expected everyone to be full-go for training camp, the fourth-year edge rusher is holding in amid contract negotiations.

Tuipulotu, who was a full participant in minicamp, did individual work off to the side during Wednesday’s practice and was in general workout attire rather than in a helmet, jersey and football pants like his teammates. On Thursday, Tuipulotu suited up normally and participated in drills alongside fellow defensive linemen but didn’t participate in team sessions.

A hold in is one way players can exercise leverage during contract negotiations. Hold-in players fulfill basic requirements outlined in the collective bargaining agreement — such as attending meetings and doing individual work — to avoid mandatory fines from teams for not reporting to training camp.

“We keep it rolling in practice,” Chargers defensive coordinator Chris O’Leary said. “You know, you get into a game, and you spend a little bit more time game planning and figuring out how to fill that void. … So we haven’t felt it as much. Obviously, we miss [Tuipulotu] out there. We miss how vocal he is and plays that he makes. But for us, we’re just keeping it rolling with the guys we got out there.”

The No. 54 overall pick in the 2023 NFL draft, Tuipulotu has steadily climbed into a key role in the Chargers’ defense and is coming off a career year.

He collected 13 sacks in 2025 as a pivotal part of former defensive coordinator Jesse Minter’s system, which helped the Chargers finish the season fifth in yards allowed per game (285.2) and ninth in points per game (20.0).

“I just let my agent — let the guys — handle that,” Tuipulotu said during minicamp in June. “I’m just trying to be here with the team, you know what I’m saying? Be close with the guys.”

Tuipulotu, a Hawthorne native, has earned 26 sacks and 144 tackles over 36 starts with the Chargers. He made 16 starts last season.

“It’s just the process of it, man,” said Chargers safety Derwin James, who has earned a pair of hefty paydays after a training camp hold in of his own four years ago. “We love Tuli. Like, I knew the team loved me too when I had [a] similar situation.

“Sometimes, that stuff takes longer to iron out. But man, everyone knows we love Tuli here. … And he loves the team. So it’ll get worked out. … I can’t wait to have him out there. It’s just part of the business, man.”

James, a five-time Pro Bowl selection set to earn more than $24 million this season, is someone Tuipulotu can lean on during his hold in. Another is fellow edge rusher and future Hall of Famer Khalil Mack, who has mentored Tuipulotu.

The two said they discussed Tuipulotu’s situation privately. Like James, Mack is seasoned in contract negotiations, having famously signed a record six-year, $141-million extension with the Bears in 2018 after a holdout with the Raiders had him shipped to Chicago.

“I would be doing [Tuipulotu] an injustice not to talk to him about business or just life in general, of how to handle your business off the field and on the field,” Mack said, referencing Raiders teammates such as Charles Woodson and Justin Tuck who helped him navigate his early NFL years. “He kind of bounces questions off of me, and I say what I did or what I saw other people do — just give the best example or the best advice I can. But every situation is different.”

“I just hope you know everything works out in his favor,” Mack added. “And whatever works in his favor works in the organization’s favor as well.”

Tuipulotu said he didn’t have a timeline for his contract negotiations, but reiterated he’d show up.

But as a key cog in the Chargers’ defense who loves practice and training camp, the Chargers won’t feel quite complete on the field until Tuipulotu is practicing with his teammates again.

“There’s always something to get better at,” Tuipulotu said. “There’s always something you miss. Man, I love practice, you know what I’m saying? I bring the juice during practice.”

Ty Simpson listens to himself in the evening before he falls asleep. And also when he gets up in the morning and heads to work at the Rams’ practice facility.

The rookie quarterback hears his own voice on audio recordings as he recites the team’s play calls.

“I want to make sure it’s the last thing I think about when I go to bed,” he said recently, “and the first thing that I wake up to.”

The Rams ended their offseason program last week. But Simpson, a Tennessee native, said he would remain in Southern California and continue to study in preparation for training camp at Loyola Marymount in late July.

Simpson began the practice of recording himself at Alabama, where he was the starter in the last of his four seasons with the Crimson Tide.

Now he is the heir apparent to Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford, the reigning NFL most valuable player.

The Rams surprised many when they used the 13th pick in the draft to select Simpson, who started only 15 games. But Simpson is doing everything he can to fit into a position group that includes Stafford, 38, fourth-year signal-caller Stetson Bennett and undrafted free agent Matthew Caldwell.

“Feel like I’m a freshman again — drinking from a fire hydrant,” he said, adding that he knows and is comfortable with high expectations. “The quarterback runs the show here, just how I like it.”

Stafford, entering his 18th season, has said that Simpson has not been shy about asking questions.

“I hope I’m not annoying him,” Simpson said, “but I really appreciate the big brother kind of role he’s playing in my development.”

Stafford is “the MVP for a reason,” Simpson said. “Everything he does, he’s so just aware of everything, aware of how everything works. … I really appreciate him and Stetson taking me in and answering all the questions I have.”

Bennett got limited reps during the offseason program. But his opportunities are expected to increase during training camp as the Rams manage Stafford’s workload.

When asked about Bennett, coach Sean McVay and offensive coordinator Nate Scheelhaase seemingly have gone out of their way to speak generally about rookies.

“They’re way behind in terms of just the overall teaching progression but they’re learning,” McVay said. “Ty, like the rest of the rookies, are doing a really nice job.”

Scheelhaase, who went through several head coach interviews during the offseason, is in his first season as the Rams’ coordinator.

“I’ve been encouraged with all of our rookies, including Ty,” Scheelhaase said. “First things first, you want to see, do they come in? Are they coachable? Are they willing to work? And you’ve seen that from Ty from Day 1.”

Simpson said that, so far, the jump from college to the NFL has not been daunting. Quarterback coach Dave Ragone and teammates have helped ease the transition.

“The biggest thing is just how detail-oriented everybody is,” Simpson said, adding, “It’s really, really cool because, coming from Alabama in the SEC, that’s how pro-ready I felt.”

With Stafford under contract through the 2027 season, Simpson might not play for a few years. But if Stafford were to suffer an injury, his time could come sooner.

Simpson is expected to play extensively during preseason games later this summer.

To make sure he’s prepared, Simpson recites and listens to his play calls.

“So when I get in the game and hear a play call, I can just imagine it and see it,” he said. “That’s a big thing, just knowing the terminology and being detail-oriented just like Matthew and Stetson.”

Unless they are in Maui, as they were last year, Rams coach Sean McVay annually opts to cancel mandatory minicamps after the initial report day.

This year, McVay avoided any pretense of suspense.

On Thursday, he announced to his players that after fulfilling some broadcast media responsibilities on Monday, they would not have a minicamp and break until they report to training camp at Loyola Marymount in late July, a Rams official said.

McVay’s announcement came about a week after San Francisco 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan canceled minicamp, and Seattle Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald did the same.

The Rams play the 49ers in their Sept. 10 season opener in Melbourne, Australia.

So Thursday’s final practice of organized team activities — the offseason program is voluntary — wrapped up the offseason for a team that advanced to the NFC championship game before losing to the eventual Super Bowl champion Seahawks.

Now, after trading for All-Pro cornerback Trent McDuffie and end Myles Garrett — a two-time NFL defensive player of the year — the Rams will enter the season as a favorite to play in Super Bowl LXI at SoFi Stadium.

“We’re not naïve to the things that are said,” McVay said this week, “but that doesn’t affect us and we have to be humble. … You acknowledge it, but you also understand that that means absolutely nothing.”

The Rams made news on several fronts while building what is arguably the NFL most star-studded roster.

In March, star receiver Puka Nacua checked into a rehab facility after several incidents during and after the season. One incident led to a civil lawsuit by a woman who alleges that Nacua made an antisemetic remark during a group dinner and later bit her during a ride in a vehicle.

The Rams sent the No. 29 pick in the 2026 draft and three other picks to the Kansas City Chiefs for McDuffie, and then gave him an extension that makes him the highest-paid cornerback in NFL history. The Rams also signed free agent cornerback Jaylen Watson, McDuffie’s former teammate on two Super Bowl championship teams.

The Rams then stunned many by selecting Alabama quarterback Ty Simspon with the 13th pick in the draft, leading to an awkward news conference that featured a dour McVay, who later explained that he was attempting to be respectful of quarterback Matthew Stafford’s status as the team leader.

A few weeks later, the Rams signed Stafford — the reigning NFL MVP — to a one-year, $55-million extension through the 2027 season.

And then came the trade for Garrett.

The Rams sent edge rusher Jared Verse, a 2027 first-round draft pick and future second- and third-round picks to the Cleveland Browns for Garrett, who last season amassed an NFL record 23 sacks.

“The biggest thing is that this organization really trusts and is buying into this year,” safety Quentin Lake said this week. “You look at how close we were last year, and it gives you the confidence to say what will take us the extra step.”

The Rams plans for a smooth transition to training camp, however, were roiled this week when veteran left tackle Alaric Jackson was arrested on suspicion of felony domestic violence.

In August 2024, the NFL suspended Jackson for two games for an unspecified violation of the league’s personal conduct policy.

Three months later, a woman filed a lawsuit against Jackson alleging that in May of that year he recorded her without her consent during sex. The woman alleged that Jackson repeatedly refused to delete the video and then taunted her with it. The woman reported the incident to the NFL, but the civil case was dismissed.

If the NFL were to determine that Jackson violated its personal conduct policy, he could be subject to a six-game suspension or banishment from the league, with an opportunity to appeal.

Jackson, who joined the Rams as an undrafted free agent in 2021, signed a three-year deal with the team in February 2025 that included $35 million in guarantees. He is scheduled to earn $18.4 million this season.

Warren McClendon Jr., a fourth-year pro who started in place of Jackson in the past, has mostly played right tackle, and he is expected to start at that spot now that Rob Havenstein has retired.

David Quessenberry is a nine-year veteran, but he played as a full-time starter only once — in 2021 — and has not started a game in the last two seasons. The Rams selected offensive lineman Keagen Trost in the third round

So the Rams have plenty to ponder before regrouping for training camp, the start of a process they aim to complete with another Super Bowl title.