Los Angeles Rams

Despite teasing running it back during the Super Bowl LVI parade, Los Angeles Rams star Aaron Donald may not return to the NFL in 2022. 

Per Sports Illustrated's Greg Bishop, "Donald's confidants believe he's split" between wanting to keep playing and retiring. 

Bishop did note anyone placing bets "should put their money on another season," but it is "far from the certainty that has been hopefully described."

Talk of Donald potentially retiring came out of nowhere shortly before kickoff in the Super Bowl.

Rodney Harrison of NBC Sports said on the network's pregame show that Donald told him there is a "strong possibility" he'd walk away if the Rams won the Lombardi Trophy. 

Los Angeles beat the Cincinnati Bengals 23-20, with Donald making the final two stops during the Bengals' final drive to seal the win. 

When the Rams were celebrating with their fans in Los Angeles during the championship parade on Feb. 16, Donald did tease running it back after some encouragement from head coach Sean McVay:

Speaking to Bishop about his thought process, Donald said he's considering retirement because he's "thinking about my kids, first, always."

Bishop noted that Donald and his wife, Erica, live in Southern California with their six-month-old son, Aaric. Donald also has two children from a previous relationship, Jaeda and Aaron Jr., who live in Pittsburgh. 

"Jaeda, now 8 and his oldest, started first grade in 2018, and because of school and activities, she couldn’t fly out to visit as often as before," Bishop wrote. "Her father won his second DPOY that season, but it wasn’t only the Rams' loss to the Patriots in Super Bowl LIII that left him in a 'bad place mentally.' What tugged at him felt bigger, more existential, filling him with anxiety and dread."

ESPN's Jeremy Fowler reported Sunday that Donald and the Rams are working on a contract extension "that could be done sooner than later." 

Donald has been the most dominant defensive player in the NFL since being drafted No. 13 overall in 2014. He has never finished lower than fifth in Defensive Player of the Year voting except for his rookie campaign, when he won Defensive Rookie of the Year,  and has earned the DPOY award three times. 

The eight-time Pro Bowler has 226 quarterback hits, 150 tackles for loss and 98 sacks in 127 career regular-season games.    

Odell Beckham Jr. was excellent for the Los Angeles Rams after signing with the team during the 2021 season, most notably catching a touchdown pass in the Super Bowl and notching two scores during the postseason.

So it's no surprise that general manager Les Snead and the Rams want him back, as he told reporters Wednesday:

Beckham, 29, was released by the Cleveland Browns in early November after parts of three ineffective seasons with the team, as his partnership with quarterback Baker Mayfield never developed any chemistry.

He was expected to be the No. 3 receiver in Los Angeles after joining the Rams, behind superstar Cooper Kupp and Robert Woods, though the latter tore his ACL in practice shortly after Beckham signed.

That left the veteran wideout as the No. 2 option for Matthew Stafford, and he responded, catching 27 passes for 305 yards and five touchdowns in eight games. And he was excellent in the postseason, with 25 catches for 316 yards and two scores in four games, helping the Rams win a title.

Beckham clearly enjoyed his time with the Rams, telling reporters he would take less money in free agency to return to the team next year:

Having the three-time Pro Bowler back in Los Angeles would be a plus for Stafford and the Rams offense. But like Woods, he'll carry injury uncertainty into the 2022 campaign after tearing his ACL during the first half of the Super Bowl.

"The positive is that you may get someone with very fresh legs for the stretch mark, similarly to maybe how we did it this year," Snead told reporters about the possibility of re-signing Beckham, even if the injury costs him a major chunk of the upcoming season.

So it sounds as though all sides are in favor of a reunion. Whether the Rams can afford to bring him back, however, remains to be seen. Players like Von Miller, Darious Williams, Austin Corbett, Brian Allen and Sebastian Joseph-Day are set to hit free agency, while a reworked deal for Aaron Donald and an extension for Stafford both seem likely.

There was some discussion about Aaron Donald potentially retiring after helping lead the Los Angeles Rams to a Super Bowl victory over the Cincinnati Bengals, but general manager Les Snead doesn't seem to think that will happen.

Jordan Rodrigue of The Athletic reported Snead said the team and Donald have discussed a new contract, which is notable amid the retirement speculation since he has a potential out in 2022 on his current one.

"I never say anything with certainty, [but] that's not a concern right now," Snead said.

Donald told ESPN's Dianna Russini shortly after the Super Bowl win that he was going to "take some time before he makes a decision" and "just be in the moment" after accomplishing the sport's ultimate task.

He was dominant in that Super Bowl with two sacks and three quarterback hits, and his pressure on quarterback Joe Burrow during the Bengals' final fourth-down play all but sealed the win.

It was more of the same for the future Hall of Famer who has consistently destroyed opposing offensive lines since the Rams selected him with a first-round pick in the 2014 NFL draft. His resume includes three Defensive Player of the Year awards, seven All-Pro selections, a Defensive Rookie of the Year and eight Pro Bowl nods.

Donald finished the 2021 campaign with 84 tackles, 19 tackles for loss, 12.5 sacks, four forced fumbles and four passes defended despite being consistently double-teamed in the middle of the line.

That is the type of production of someone who could be the highest-paid defensive player in the league, and that may be the case with a potential new deal.

ESPN's Jeremy Fowler and Dan Graziano reported last month that Donald "might need to become the league's highest-paid defensive player in order to play in 2022."

According to Spotrac, Chicago Bears pass-rusher Khalil Mack's contract features the highest total value at $141 million, while Pittsburgh Steelers pass-rusher T.J. Watt's deal has the highest per year total at north of $28 million.

Perhaps those are the baselines in discussions between the Rams and Donald, and Snead's comments indicated those conversations are happening at this stage of the offseason.           

After suggesting he could retire following the Super Bowl, Sean McVay is returning to the Los Angeles Rams in 2022. 

McVay told ESPN's Adam Schefter on Friday that he won't pursue any television opportunities and is going to help the Rams defend their championship next season. 

During a press conference leading up to Super Bowl LVI, McVay hinted he could retire soon because of the demands of being an NFL head coach:

I love this so much that it's such a passion but I also know that what I've seen from some of my closest friends, whether it's coaches or even some of our players, I'm gonna be married this summer, I want to have a family and I think being able to find that balance but also be able to give the time necessary. I have always had a dream about being able to be a father and I can't predict the future, you know? I jokingly say that.

I don't really know. I know I love football and I'm so invested in this thing and I'm in the moment right now. But at some point, too, if you said what do you want to be able to do? I want to be able to have a family and I want to be able to spend time with them.

In the midst of the Rams' Super Bowl parade in Los Angeles, McVay led the crowd in a "run it back" chant when Aaron Donald was asked about his future. 

Per Peter King of NBC Sports, McVay could have received offers in excess of $15 million per year from ESPN or Amazon to work in the broadcast booth if he chose to walk away from coaching. 

Schefter noted Sean Payton and Tom Brady are the two highest-profile candidates to become NFL television analysts in 2022 with McVay off the board. 

Michael McCarthy of Front Office Sports reported Friday that Payton is negotiating with Fox Sports on a deal that could be worth $10 million annually. He'd work alongside Joe Buck as the No. 1 broadcast team for NFL games. 

Per Andrew Marchand of the New York Post, Fox and Amazon will call Brady even though it's unclear if he has aspirations of moving into broadcasting right now. 

The Rams signed McVay and general manager Les Snead to contract extensions in 2019 that run through the 2023 season. 

Per Joe Rivera of Sporting News, McVay's $8.5 million annual salary from the Rams ranks fifth among all head coaches. Only New England's Bill Belichick ($12.5 million per season), Seattle's Pete Carroll ($11 million per season), Baltimore's John Harbaugh ($9.8 million per season) and Carolina's Matt Rhule ($8.9 million per season) earn more. 

McVay remains the youngest head coach in the NFL (36 years old) despite having been in his current job for five seasons. He was hired by the Rams in January 2017 to replace Jeff Fisher, who was fired after a 4-9 start in 2016. 

The Rams have a 55-26 record with four playoff appearances, three NFC West titles, two NFC titles and a victory in Super Bowl LVI under McVay.     

Lita Abella, a Los Angeles Rams fan, is suing SoFi Stadium for unspecified damages alleging she suffered life-altering injuries during Super Bowl 56. 

Per TMZ Sports, Abella said in the lawsuit she suffered a forcible blow to the back of her head in the third quarter of the Rams game against the Cincinnati Bengals on Feb. 13. 

In the lawsuit, Abella alleges a man in the row behind her fell into her after high-fiving another man, causing her face and head to collide with a seat in front of her. 

She said she suffered a concussion, orbital fracture, fractured nose, fractured shoulder and had to miss the Lombardi Trophy presentation because she was in the hospital being treated for her injuries. 

Abella says in the lawsuit that SoFi Stadium is liable for "dangerous and defectively planned" seating that led to her injuries. She formally accused the stadium of negligence and premises liability. 

According to TMZ, Abella is a Los Angeles resident and she spent almost $9,000 on her ticket to the Super Bowl. 

SoFi Stadium did not respond to TMZ's request for comment on the lawsuit. 

The stadium officially opened in September 2020. It serves as the home of the Los Angeles Rams and Los Angeles Chargers. 

Despite technically being the away team for the game, the Rams became the second team to win the Super Bowl in their home stadium. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat the Kansas City Chiefs at Raymond James Stadium on Feb. 7, 2021. 

The Rams defeated the Bengals 20-17 to win the franchise's first Super Bowl since the 1999 season.     

Andrew Whitworth could retire on top after helping the Los Angeles Rams win the Super Bowl, but a surprising source might convince him to stay on the field in 2022.

The veteran offensive tackle told NFL Total Access that hockey legend Wayne Gretzky has given him advice regarding his decision (via Nick Shook of NFL.com).

"I'll never forget after we won the game, 'The Great One' Wayne Gretzky called me, cause I live out here near him in Sherwood (California)," Whitworth said. "He was like, 'Hey Whit, there's only one thing better than winning one, and that's winning two.' And I said, 'You know what, I can't argue with you.' It's gonna be tough. One way or another, it's gonna be a tough decision."

Whitworth, 40, is coming off his 16th year in the NFL and just won his first championship as the Rams defeated his former longtime team in the Cincinnati Bengals. If he does return in 2022, he would be the oldest player in the league.

The four-time Pro Bowler hasn't made a definite decision but admitted retirement is more likely.

"I'm definitely leaning toward probably being done," Whitworth said Wednesday. "I think that that's probably best for me at this time in my career."

Gretzky played until he was 38 years old and retired with plenty of NHL records, including the most goals and assists in history. He also won four Stanley Cup titles, although all of them came by the time he was 27.

Fresh off winning Super Bowl LVI with the Los Angeles Rams, wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. shared some big news Wednesday.

Beckham posted a photo of himself and girlfriend Lauren Wood on Instagram announcing he had become a father and had successful knee surgery over the course of a few days (h/t ESPN's Lindsey Thiry):

Wood gave birth to baby Zydn last Thursday, and OBJ had knee surgery Tuesday.

During the Rams' 23-20 Super Bowl win over the Cincinnati Bengals, Beckham suffered a torn ACL, causing him to miss the second half of the contest.

Prior to getting injured, Beckham was trending toward having a big game. He had two grabs for 52 yards on three targets and scored the opening touchdown of the game.

L.A.'s offense stagnated without Beckham, and it took a one-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Matthew Stafford to wide receiver Cooper Kupp with 1:25 remaining in the fourth quarter to put the Rams ahead for good.

The 2021 season was a roller-coaster ride for the 29-year-old Beckham, as he began the year with the Cleveland Browns.

After what Browns general manager Andrew Berry called "a level of frustration that exists that just really makes it difficult to have a productive reconciliation," the Browns released Beckham after failing to find a trade partner before the Nov. 2 deadline.

The Rams then signed Beckham, and his addition became a crucial one as No. 2 wideout Robert Woods tore his ACL and was lost for the season immediately afterward.

Beckham established himself as the No. 2 option behind Kupp, and he racked up 27 receptions for 305 yards and five touchdowns in eight regular-season games for the Rams.

OBJ was even better in the playoffs, registering 21 catches for 288 yards and two touchdowns in four games.

Even though he was unable to finish the Super Bowl, the three-time Pro Bowler played a huge role in getting the Rams to the big game and putting them ahead early in the contest.

Beckham's future is uncertain since he is set to hit free agency while recovering from a torn ACL.

The Rams don't need to re-sign Beckham since receivers Kupp, Woods and Van Jefferson are all returning in 2022, but given how OBJ changed the dynamic of the offense, perhaps L.A. would be willing to keep him and bring him along slowly in his injury recovery.

Los Angeles Rams star Matthew Stafford and his wife, Kelly, addressed their reactions to Kelly Smiley's fall from the stage of the Rams' Super Bowl celebration.

Video of the incident quickly went viral, in no small part because Stafford quickly walked away after watching Smiley fall.

"Matthew looked at me and said, 'Check her please,' and turned around," Kelly said on her podcast, The Morning After (via TMZ Sports).

Stafford was also apologetic and said he had reached out to Smiley after the fact: "That obviously happened really quickly and suddenly and unexpectedly, and I wish I had a better reaction in the moment. I didn’t. I apologized to her for that. But I’m glad that all in all she’s doing all right."

Smiley confirmed she suffered a fractured spine and that both of her cameras broke as a result of the fall. The Rams and the Staffords released a joint statement saying they planned to cover Smiley's medical bills and help replace her broken cameras:

A GoFundMe for Smiley also raised almost $48,000 toward her recovery.

Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Van Jefferson and his wife, Samaria, chose the perfect name for their newborn son.

Speaking on The Adam Schefter Podcast, Jefferson said he and Samaria named their son Champ, which is fitting considering his wife gave birth the same night the Rams won the Super Bowl.

Jefferson said (via Yahoo Sports' Cameron DaSilva):

It wasn't always picked. We were really thinking about 'Wynn' and 'Miles' but then it was like, I think it's very fitting to name him Champ. And we just looked it up and Champ is like a warrior. And my wife is a warrior. What she did that whole game and what she did throughout the whole week of the Super Bowl, the week of Super Bowl being so crazy, he's a champ and she's a warrior, so Champ Curtis Jefferson. That's the name we got.

Samaria went into labor during Super Bowl LVI, and after the final whistle of the 23-20 win over the Cincinnati Bengals, the 25-year-old Van rushed to the hospital.

He told Schefter that traffic prevented him from getting there in time, so he watched Samaria give birth on FaceTime.

Jefferson, a 2020 second-round pick, finished the postseason with nine catches for 102 yards. He had four catches for 23 yards in the Super Bowl.

The Los Angeles Rams have reportedly hired University of Kentucky offensive coordinator and former Rams assistant Liam Coen as their new offensive coordinator.

According to SI.com's Albert Breer, the Rams are also adding Greg Olson to the offensive coaching staff and giving assistant head coach Thomas Brown "more responsibility within the offense and team."

Rams head coach Sean McVay is adding Coen to replace previous OC Kevin O'Connell, who was hired to be the Minnesota Vikings' new head coach after L.A. won Super Bowl LVI over the Cincinnati Bengals.

The 36-year-old Coen got his start as an NFL coach thanks to McVay in 2018 when he hired him to be the Rams' assistant wide receivers coach. Coen served in that role for two seasons before becoming assistant quarterbacks coach in 2020.

Coen then made the move back to the college ranks where he served as offensive coordinator for a Kentucky team that went 10-3 and ranked 36th out of 130 FBS teams with 32.3 points per game.

Additionally, Coen was the offensive coordinator at Maine from 2016-17, so he returns to L.A. with a few years of collegiate OC experience to his credit.

Since McVay calls the plays, Coen is likely to have a role similar to the one O'Connell possessed before he took the Vikings' head coaching position.

The reported hiring of Olson is also significant since he is an experienced offensive coordinator at the NFL level.

Olson, 58, has been an offensive coordinator for the Detroit Lions, Rams, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Jacksonville Jaguars during his career, and he had two separate stints as the Raiders' OC, including a run from 2018-21.

He is familiar with McVay's system as well since Olson served as the Rams' quarterbacks coach under McVay in 2017.

As for Brown, he was hired as the Rams' running backs coach in 2020 and was elevated to running backs coach and assistant head coach last season. He has OC experience as well, serving the role at the University of Miami from 2016-18.

The influx of offensive coaching hires is significant since the Rams are not only losing O'Connell but are likely losing passing game coordinator and tight ends coach Wes Phillips, who is following O'Connell to Minnesota to be the Vikings' offensive coordinator, per NFL Network's Ian Rapoport.

L.A.'s new offensive coaching staff will have no shortage of talent to work with next season.

Matthew Stafford will return as the starting quarterback after leading the Rams to a Super Bowl win this past season, as will reigning Super Bowl MVP Cooper Kupp at wide receiver.

Other key offensive players under contract next season for a Rams team that ranked ninth in total offense and seventh in scoring offense in 2021 include running backs Cam Akers and Darrell Henderson, wide receivers Robert Woods and Van Jefferson, and tight end Tyler Higbee.