{"id":217872,"date":"2026-03-13T08:34:36","date_gmt":"2026-03-13T08:34:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/217872\/"},"modified":"2026-03-13T08:34:36","modified_gmt":"2026-03-13T08:34:36","slug":"trent-mcduffies-wish-of-playing-for-sean-mcvay-rams-comes-true","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/217872\/","title":{"rendered":"Trent McDuffie’s wish of playing for Sean McVay, Rams comes true"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Trent McDuffie<\/a> was a young high school player in Southern California when the Rams returned from St. Louis to Los Angeles in 2016.<\/p>\n

In 2020, McDuffie watched HBO\u2019s \u201cHard Knocks\u201d episodes about the team, and he was enamored by coach Sean McVay.<\/p>\n

\u201cI remember just being like, \u2018Dang, I would like to play for that guy,\u2019\u201d McDuffie said Thursday.<\/p>\n

McDuffie, an All-Pro cornerback acquired by the Rams<\/a> in a blockbuster trade, recalled those thoughts during an introductory news conference at the team\u2019s facility in Woodland Hills after he signed a record-breaking four-year extension that reportedly includes $100 million in guarantees.<\/p>\n

\u201cFast forward all these years, and now I\u2019m here and it\u2019s just a full-circle moment,\u201d he said of getting to play for McVay. \u201cWatched this guy, wanted to play for this guy and now this guy wants me.\u201d<\/p>\n

To land McDuffie, Rams general manager Les Snead sent the Kansas City Chiefs the 29th overall pick and fifth- and sixth-round picks in this year\u2019s draft, and a 2027 third-round pick.<\/p>\n

The Rams also signed former Chiefs cornerback Jaylen Watson<\/a> to a three-year contract that includes $34 million in guarantees<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The moves were a complete departure from last year, when the Rams wrongly gambled that a young and aggressive pass rush could offset their decision to not make a single upgrade to the secondary.<\/p>\n

The additions of McDuffie and Watson to an already deep and talented roster that features reigning NFL most valuable player Matthew Stafford<\/a>, the Rams will be a favorite to play in Super Bowl LXI<\/a> at SoFi Stadium in February.<\/p>\n

And make no mistake: Like they did in 2021, the Rams will do anything possible to ensure that owner Stan Kroenke<\/a> is walking the Super Bowl sideline in the stadium he built in Inglewood.<\/p>\n

McDuffie noted that the Rams have been \u201cknocking on the door, year-in and year-out\u201d since his rookie season with the Chiefs in 2022. A winning culture already is in place.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis team is ready to go,\u201d said McDuffie, a first-round pick out of Washington who starred in high school at Anaheim Servite and Bellflower St. John Bosco highs. \u201cI don\u2019t think I\u2019m coming in here with a team that doesn\u2019t understand the value that they have.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo those little nuggets that I feel I can just pour into guys that can get us over the hump, I\u2019m going to do everything I can.\u201d<\/p>\n

McDuffie and Watson, a 2022 seventh-round pick, were part of Chiefs teams that won two championships<\/a> in three Super Bowl appearances.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe really learned what it takes to win a Super Bowl, get to the Super Bowl, the preparation and the time it takes to be detailed in your craft,\u201d McDuffie said.<\/p>\n

When news about the trade broke last week, one of the first calls McDuffie answered was from Rams star receiver Puka Nacua<\/a>, a former Washington teammate.<\/p>\n

\"Rams <\/p>\n

Rams cornerback Jaylen Watson speaks during his introductory news conference in Woodland Hills on Thursday.<\/p>\n

(William Liang \/ Associated Press)<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was just screaming at the top of his lungs,\u201d McDuffie said. \u201cI\u2019m like \u2018Puka, bro, I miss this energy. I miss what you bring.\u2019 I\u2019m just excited to be back on the field with him.\u201d<\/p>\n

McDuffie and Watson also are excited about continuing their partnership, which began when they were among five defensive backs drafted by the Chiefs four years ago.<\/p>\n

Watson, 27, grew up in Georgia but played two seasons at Ventura College before finishing his college career at Washington State.<\/p>\n

Like McDuffie, he is happy to be back in Southern California weather.<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone\u2019s just so nice here,\u201d Watson said of the region, before quipping, \u201cthen you\u2019ve got your taxes.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 5-foot-11 McDuffie and the 6-2 Watson will give secondary coach Jimmy Lake \u2014 who coached McDuffie in college \u2014 options for matchups.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s why I think me and Trent complement each other so well,\u201d Watson said. \u201cHis strengths are short-area quickness, the small shifty guys. And my strengths are the big receivers.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo we should be pretty diverse. We should be able to match up pretty well against a lot of different looks we get.\u201d<\/p>\n

McDuffie and Watson join a cornerback group that includes Emmanuel Forbes Jr. The Rams have until May 1 to determine if they will exercise a fifth-year option on Forbes, a 2023 first-round draft pick by Washington who was claimed off waivers by the Rams in 2024.<\/p>\n

Forbes will earn about $2 million this season, but would be guaranteed $12.6 million in 2027 if the Rams exercise the option.<\/p>\n

The Rams will begin offseason workouts in April.<\/p>\n

McDuffie is happy to be back home.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s hot, the sun\u2019s out,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s a beautiful thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tutu Atwell heading to Miami \"Rams <\/p>\n

Rams wide receiver Tutu Atwell celebrates in the end zone after catching an 88-yard touchdown pass against the Indianapolis Colts on Sept. 28.<\/p>\n

(Robert Gauthier \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n

Former Rams receiver Tutu Atwell<\/a> found a new NFL home close to his Florida home.<\/p>\n

The Miami Dolphins are signing the five-year veteran to a one-year contract, according to multiple reports.<\/p>\n

Atwell, the Rams\u2019 second-round draft pick in 2021, played last season on a one-year, $10-million contract. But in an offense that included Nacua and Davante Adams, the speedy wideout caught only six passes, including a game-winning 88-yard touchdown pass<\/a> against the Indianapolis Colts.<\/p>\n

With the Dolphins, Atwell will be teamed with new quarterback Malik Willis<\/a>, who signed as a free agent after playing the last two seasons for the Green Bay Packers.<\/p>\n

The Rams have the 13th pick in the draft, and are certain to be in the market for a receiver.<\/p>\n

For the record:<\/p>\n

6:34 p.m. March 12, 2026An earlier version of this story stated that Trent McDuffie watched Sean McVay on \u201cHard Knocks\u201d in 2016. He watched McVay on \u201cHard Knocks\u201d in 2020.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Trent McDuffie was a young high school player in Southern California when the Rams returned from St. Louis…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":217873,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[11600,99895,6135,99892,48,52,51,47,50,49,99891,16714,11706,10947,99894,43889,99893,427,97057,558,72],"class_list":{"0":"post-217872","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-los-angeles","8":"tag-chiefs","9":"tag-college-career","10":"tag-guy","11":"tag-jaylen-watson","12":"tag-la","13":"tag-la-headlines","14":"tag-la-news","15":"tag-los-angeles","16":"tag-los-angeles-headlines","17":"tag-los-angeles-news","18":"tag-mcduffie","19":"tag-option","20":"tag-ram","21":"tag-rams","22":"tag-rookie-season","23":"tag-sean-mcvay","24":"tag-super-bowl-lxi","25":"tag-team","26":"tag-trent-mcduffie","27":"tag-washington","28":"tag-year"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/217872","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=217872"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/217872\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/217873"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=217872"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=217872"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=217872"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}