Kyren

Williams

Williams enters the fourth, and final, year of his rookie contract this offseason, making him eligible for an extension, if the Rams are willing to negotiate one. Team reporter Stu Jackson notes that the Rams have not extended a running back contract since doing so with Todd Gurley in 2018. Gurley remained a Ram through 2019 but was ultimately released, having been plagued by worsening knee issues. Williams remained healthy through the 2024 season but dealt with foot and ankle issues in 2022-2023. Sean McVay adds that Williams has “probably played more than any running back over the last two years, so that’s something to think about.” Snead and McVay’s comments can potentially be read as public negotiation tactics. An extension seems likely.

Williams also caught one pass that went for a one-yard loss. The Ram’s bell cow back from 2023 reprised his role in 2024, handling 38 percent of the team’s opportunities while posting a regular season line of 316-1299-14 on the ground while adding another 34-182-2 through the air. Far from the league’s most efficient back (50.9 percent rushing success rate, ranked 30th) William’s high-volume role continues to make him a stud for his fantasy managers. The 356 opportunities he saw this season set a new career-high, as the oft-injured back seemingly kicked the injury bug in 2024. The only game he “missed” was a meaningless Week 18 contest against the Seahawks after the Rams already had the division title secured. The Rams drafted Blake Corum in the third round of this year’s draft, but the rookie out of Michigan was a non-factor in his first year in the league. Whether or not he sees an increased role next season is anybody’s guess, but Williams should continue to see enough volume to make for a solid top-12 fantasy option.

Williams got the scoring started for the Rams on the opening possession of the game, catching a five-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Matthew Stafford on a leak play to the middle of the end zone. The Rams ran only 51 offensive plays as their defense clamped down on the Vikings, resulting in only 19 opportunities for the running back that led the league in percentage of team touches in the regular season at 43%. Williams and the rest of the Los Angeles skill position players could be called on at greater frequency in the Divisional Round against the Eagles.

Williams will join Kupp, Nacua, and Stafford on the sideline with the Rams having nothing to play for in the final regular season game. Blake Corum should be in for a solid workload as the Rams’ lead back, and TuTu Atwell and Jordan Whittington should function as LA’s top pass catchers. Jimmy Garoppolo will be under center for the Rams.

No surprises here as McVay already told reporters earlier in the week that Matthew Stafford will get the week off as well. The Rams have already locked up the NFC West, giving them almost nothing to play for on Sunday. Offensive linemen Alaric Jackson, Kevin Dotson, and Rob Havenstein will also be held out. Jimmy Garoppolo will start at quarterback. McVay mentioned an increase in touches for rookie running back Blake Corum as well.

Jimmy Garoppolo will start. With nothing but a minor change to their playoff seed to play for, the Rams will give their big names the week off. Expect Puka Nacua, Cooper Kupp, and Kyren Williams to rest as well. If the Bucs win and the Rams’ backups fail to pull off the upset this week, LA will face the loser of the Lions/Vikings showdown.

Williams plunged in from short-yardage for the Rams’ only touchdown of the contest. The tailback wasn’t able to break off many long runs with a top gain of 18, but he was able to keep the chains moving just enough. Williams has now scored 14 rushing touchdowns on the year, and he’ll likely get a chance for at least one more in Week 18 against the Seahawks.

The Jets were without starting DT Quinnen Williams, and the Rams made it their plan to pound the ball on the ground in the freezing cold. It worked, for the most part, with Williams averaging 5.3 yards per carry, but he was also unable to break any run for longer than 13 yards. The 24-year-old is more of an accumulator than a big-play running back, but he is shifty enough to make people miss close to the line of scrimmage, and he runs hard in the red zone, which will maintain his fantasy value next week against the Cardinals.

The Jets’ defensive line is already banged up, so losing Williams in the interior of that line is a big loss. Expect the Rams to try to exploit that with Kyren Williams early and often.

This was ugly, partially due to the rainy weather in Santa Clara, partially due to the short rest for both teams, and partially because, well, it just was. Williams was the most effective weapon for the Rams, and while he didn’t have any big gashes — a long gain of just 10 yards in the victory — he was able to keep the chains moving just enough. That’s now 58 carries over the last two games for Williams, and he’ll be happy to get a long break until Week 16 against the Jets.