Los Angeles Rams

The Los Angeles Rams will be celebrated across their city after their Super Bowl win with an alteration to the iconic Hollywood sign:

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti announced the sign will read "Rams House" from Monday to Wednesday.

"What a day in Los Angeles," Garcetti said Monday. "This town has the best teams and fans in the world, and we can't wait to show off our L.A. pride with a display that only Hollywood could deliver. Go Rams."

The Rams earned a 23-20 win over the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday, clinching a championship on their home field of SoFi Stadium. It's the franchise's second Super Bowl title but first representing Los Angeles. The Rams moved back to California in 2016 after spending 1995 to 2015 in St. Louis, winning Super Bowl XXXIV in the 1999 season.

One of the most famous landmarks in the area will highlight the Rams' success in time for the victory parade scheduled for Wednesday.

If Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay ultimately leaves coaching for the broadcast booth, then it will be a long time coming.

"At the combine two years ago, I heard he would leave for Monday Night Football," an NFL team executive said to The Athletic's Mike Sando. "I think he wants to win a Super Bowl. If he wins a Super Bowl, yeah, I can see it."

Sando added that "many other execs" echoed a similar assessment.

This follows a January story from ESPN's Jeremy Fowler in which he polled a group of executives and coaches to predict the next year across the NFL. One NFC executive brought up McVay as a candidate to exit coaching relatively early.

"I think he's trying to get that Super Bowl ring quickly so then he can have options," the exec said. "... If he wants to do TV for a while, he'd be great at it and can always go back and coach any team he wants after that."

Leading up to Super Bowl LVI, McVay acknowledged his priorities extended beyond his current occupation, per ESPN's Nick Wagoner:

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.

Even though McVay only turned 36 in January, a transition to broadcasting at such a relatively early stage wouldn't be unprecedented.

John Madden was only 42 in his final season with the Oakland Raiders, and becoming a color commentator worked rather nicely for him.

Jon Gruden was 45 when he was fired by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in January 2009, and he eventually returned to coaching in 2018 after working on the Monday Night Football crew.

Especially with the sums of money being thrown around by the NFL's television partners, a highly regarded head coach such as McVay would be foolish not to at least consider the idea.

Winning a Super Bowl title will probably earn McVay a pay raise from the Rams, but he might be able to earn just as much—if not more—by joining the Monday Night Football broadcast.

And he'd be collecting that paycheck while having to work far less than he currently does. What's not to like?

Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. is a Super Bowl champion, but it may have come at a significant cost.

The MMQB's Albert Breer reported Monday that the Rams are concerned he tore his ACL on Sunday.

Beckham suffered the injury during the Rams' Super Bowl win over the Cincinnati Bengals. He didn't return to the game after exiting during the second quarter. He collected two catches for 52 yards and one touchdown before the injury.

Durability has been a concern at times for the LSU product, who played just seven games during the 2020 campaign with the Cleveland Browns because of a torn left ACL. In 2017, he fractured his left ankle and played only four games with the New York Giants.

The injury in the Super Bowl was poorly timed because he was scheduled for unrestricted free agency after the 2021 campaign.

Still, he tweeted after the Super Bowl, "This was exactly God's plan."

Beckham can be a game-changer. He's a three-time Pro Bowler with five seasons of more than 1,000 receiving yards on his resume. Yet the injuries are an issue at this point in his career.

If he had been healthy, Odell Beckham Jr. might have been the one catching the game-winning reception in the Los Angeles Rams' Super Bowl LVI victory over the Cincinnati Bengals.

Kupp hauled in a one-yard touchdown grab to put Los Angeles on top 23-20 following Matt Gay's extra point with 1:25 remaining in the fourth quarter.

Rams offensive coordinator Kevin O'Connell, who will be the Minnesota Vikings head coach next season, acknowledged the play was originally designed for Beckham, who had exited the game after a non-contact left knee injury in the second quarter.

Beckham, who will be a free agent this offseason, was later revealed to have likely torn his ACL on the play, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. He recorded two receptions for 52 yards with a touchdown prior to the injury and proved to be a reliable No. 2 option for QB Matthew Stafford ever since the Rams signed him following his release from the Cleveland Browns on November 8.

"We said to ourselves, 'We're gonna put Cooper out there,'" O'Connell said, per The MMQB's Albert Breer. "It really would've been Odell in that spot, but we said, 'You know what? We're gonna move Cooper out there, let him go one-on-one to go win a Super Bowl.' And I didn't expect anything else from those guys."

Beckham's absence forced the Rams to lean heavily on Kupp, especially on their pivotal touchdown drive. He finished with eight receptions, 92 yards and two touchdowns, which ultimately earned him Super Bowl MVP honors.

It was the crowning achievement for one of the best individual seasons by a wide receiver in NFL history.

The Los Angeles Rams made no secret of what their plans were in 2021. From the moment they traded two first-rounders, a third-rounder and quarterback Jared Goff for Matthew Stafford, they were all-in on making a Super Bowl run. That philosophy only continued when Los Angeles made in-season moves for wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. and edge-rusher Von Miller.

The plan worked perfectly. After coming back to defeat the Cincinnati Bengals 23-20, the Rams are winners of Super Bowl LVI. But life comes at you fast in the league, and while there was no doubt plenty of partying Sunday evening, by Monday the Rams will already be looking forward to 2022 and defending their title.

Staying at the mountaintop can be even more difficult than reaching it, and general manager Les Snead could have quite a few holes to fill and not many resources with which to fill them.

Stafford will be back, but it's another story for the man who protected his blindside. Andrew Whitworth has had a phenomenal career that has included four Pro Bowl nods, two first-team All-Pro selections and the 2021 Walter Payton Man of the Year Award. Five years after he retires, there will be plenty of pounding the table for Whitworth as a Hall of Famer. He played 926 snaps for the Rams this season, and while he allowed five sacks, he remained one of the better left tackles in the league.

But Whitworth is also the oldest active player, and the 40-year-old intimated to reporters last week that while he hadn't decided whether to retire, a Super Bowl win would likely lead him in that direction.

"What an unreal way to walk off," Whitworth said. "I don't think there's anything else I would have to do. I may have cried wolf so many times that nobody will believe me when I actually do retire, but it's gonna have to happen sometime."

Assuming that Whitworth does retire, he will leave a massive hole on the offensive line. And that's not the only potential issue on that side of the ball. Beckham, who played a major role for the Rams after joining the team, is set to hit free agency. So is running back Sony Michel, who led L.A. with 845 rushing yards in the regular season. Pro Bowl kicker Matt Gay also has an expiring contract.

Now, Beckham has had nothing but good things to say about the Rams, and his teammates have lauded him as an exemplary teammate. But the potentially serious knee injury he suffered in the first half could cloud his availability for the start of next season and absolutely clouds contract negotiations.

Losing Beckham would be bad. Losing Whitworth would arguably be worse. But there could be a loss on defense that would be nothing short of catastrophic.

During NBC's pregame show, Rodney Harrison dropped a bombshell when he relayed that superstar defensive tackle Aaron Donald might call it a career if the Rams won.

Donald is on the wrong side of 30, but his level of play remains in a league of its own. He tallied 12.5 sacks in the regular season, added two more against the Bengals and made the play that sealed the win by pressuring Joe Burrow into a fourth-down incompletion with 39 seconds to go. Donald has done everything a player can do short of becoming the first to win Defensive Player of the Year four times. If he were to walk away tomorrow, he would do so as arguably the best 3-technique tackle in NFL history.

While speaking to Michele Tafoya of NBC Sports after the game, a tearful Donald didn't deny the rumors.

"I'm in the moment right now. I'm just going to enjoy this right now with these guys," he said. "My kids are coming on the field—this was a promise I made to my daughter when she was five years old. I'm just going to live in the moment."

Donald's leaving would be a disaster for the defense, and he's not the only veteran who could be out the door. Miller, who tallied five sacks in eight regular-season games and added two more in the Super Bowl, will be 33 when the 2022 season begins and will reportedly explore his options in free agency, according to NFL Network's Mike Garafolo. Cornerback Darious Williams (who started 13 games) and linebacker Troy Reeder (who was third on the team with 91 tackles) are also set to hit the open market.

Now, not all those players will leave, but it's also unlikely Snead will be able to keep the band together the way the Tampa Bay Buccaneers did this season. There are going to be holes.

Snead also doesn't have a lot of resources with which to address them.

Per Over the Cap, the Rams are in the fifth-worst position relative to the projected salary cap (about $13.6 million in the red). Teams have shown that the cap can be fungible. Deals can be restructured to create space, and Stafford, Donald, cornerback Jalen Ramsey and edge-rusher Leonard Floyd could be candidates for that. If Whitworth and Donald were to retire, that would also free up cash, though it'd be a rough way to do it.

But whether it's trying to find the money to re-up Beckham and Miller or pay for their potential replacements, the Rams aren't going to have a ton of cash to throw around.

Things aren't any better where the draft is concerned. L.A. hasn't made a first-round pick since selecting Goff No. 1 overall in 2016 and won't again until at least 2024. The team's second- and third-rounders belong to the Denver Broncos as part of the Miller deal. The awarding of compensatory picks could change that, but as of right now, the Rams have just three selections, and none before the fifth round.

The odds of finding a day one starter that late are not good.

The Rams have at least one thing going for them: As the reigning champions and a team in one of the nation's biggest markets, Los Angeles is an attractive free-agent destination. It's possible that a veteran tackle such as Eric Fisher of the Indianapolis Colts or a wide receiver such as the Chicago Bears' Allen Robinson II could take a little less scratch for the chance to chase a ring and live it up in SoCal. But it's equally likely (if not more so) that if outside help is brought in, it will have to be an aging vet such as Colts wideout T.Y. Hilton or a lower-cost option such as Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon.

Snead's all-out onslaught to make the Super Bowl worked, as the Rams are the second straight team to win football's biggest game in their own stadium and claimed the franchise's second title and first in Los Angeles. But that "live in the present, future be damned" philosophy has a price, and the bill is coming due—a bill that could be compounded by players who have climbed the mountaintop and are ready to ride into the sunset.

There's a lot of work to be done, and staying in the hunt for another Super Bowl may well prove to be more difficult.

A handy tip? Begging Donald to stay would be a good first step.

Los Angeles Rams cornerback Jalen Ramsey had a polarizing performance in Super Bowl LVI on Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals.

But after the Rams escaped with a 23-20 win, Ramsey took to Twitter to emphatically express his pleasure with winning the first championship of his career.

Ramsey finished with four tackles and a pass deflection in Sunday's win. But he also had multiple blown coverages, allowing long passes to Bengals receivers Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins.

The latter went for a 75-yard touchdown, though Ramsey had a case for offensive pass interference as he fell to the ground after Higgins grabbed his facemask. It was one of the worst overall performances of Ramsey's storied career, per ESPN Stats & Info:

Luckily for L.A., Ramsey's shortcomings in Sunday's title game were overshadowed by crucial plays by his teammates. Los Angeles quarterback Matthew Stafford found Cooper Kupp for the go-ahead touchdown with under 90 seconds left in the fourth quarter.

On Cincinnati's ensuing possession, Rams star defensive tackle Aaron Donald pressured Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow on fourth down and caused an incomplete pass that sealed the game.

Regarded as one of the best cornerbacks in the league, Ramsey was selected to his fifth straight Pro Bowl this past season after recording 77 total tackles, four interceptions, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. He also earned first-team All-Pro honors in 2021 for the third time in his six-year career.

And now he can add "Super Bowl champion" to his list of accolades.

Odell Beckham Jr. won the first Super Bowl of his career when the Los Angeles Rams defeated the Cincinnati Bengals 23-20 on Sunday, but he was unable to finish the game because of a knee injury.

Still, he believes everything worked out according to plan:

Beckham appeared well on his way to being a dominant difference-maker during the game when he hauled in two catches for 52 yards and the game's opening touchdown. The Bengals devoted so much attention to stopping Cooper Kupp that it opened Beckham up multiple times, which seemed to be part of the game plan for the eventual victors.

Unfortunately for the wide receiver and the Rams, those would be his only two catches before he exited the game.

Injuries are nothing new for Beckham, who suffered a torn ACL in 2020 as a member of the Cleveland Browns and played just four games in 2017.

Still, that this season ended in a championship is quite the fairy-tale ending for the LSU product. After all, he began the campaign on the Browns and was part of the team's disappointing start to a season that didn't feature a playoff appearance.

There was eventually something of an ugly breakup between the two sides with Beckham's father posting a video on Instagram of instances when Baker Mayfield missed open opportunities.

"I've had conversations with his dad before, man-to-man, face-to-face, and I was pretty surprised by the video and the intentions and the feelings behind it," Mayfield told reporters. "I would be lying if I said otherwise."

Not only did Beckham make it out of Cleveland, but he also ended up joining a dominant Rams team that already had a game-changing wide receiver in Kupp. That allowed him to take advantage of single coverage that wasn't always there in Cleveland, and he finished with five touchdowns in eight regular-season games for Los Angeles.

And he also hauled in a touchdown in the dramatic Super Bowl win.

Outside linebacker Von Miller is a two-time champion after the Los Angeles Rams' victory Sunday over the Cincinnati Bengals in Super Bowl LVI. After the game, Miller said he was playing for multiple people, including former teammate Demaryius Thomas:

I don't think I've ever played for more in my career. I was playing for D.T.; he passed away suddenly in December. I was playing for my son; he was born in August. I was playing for [sports psychologist] Trevor Moawad; he passed away after the very first game of the season.

Playing for all of my teammates here—so many hard-working, so many talented guys, so many guys on my team that were deserving of this moment—and it feels good to give it to them. It feels good to give it to Aaron Donald, Andrew Whitworth, Jalen Ramsey, all of these guys that have been working their whole careers to get to this point.

Miller and Thomas won their first title together with the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl 50. They were teammates from 2011 to 2018. The receiver reportedly died of a seizure Dec. 9, 16 days before his 34th birthday.

Moawad worked with professional athletes and co-founded the firm Limitless Minds with Seattle Seahawks star Russell Wilson. He died of cancer in September at age 48.

Miller, who was acquired by L.A. midway through the season in a trade with Denver, also mentioned his son and how important it was for him to deliver a title to his teammates.

Sean McVay knows big players make big plays in big moments, and Aaron Donald did exactly that.

The Los Angeles Rams star defensive lineman overwhelmed the Cincinnati Bengals' offensive line throughout Sunday's Super Bowl, and his pressure on Joe Burrow on Cincinnati's final fourth down forced the game-winning incompletion for his side.

McVay told reporters he knew Donald was going to make the winning play when he saw Burrow in shotgun because "Aaron Donald is the f-in' man."

That was far from Donald's only big play, and he and Von Miller each ended up with two sacks and three quarterback hits. Cincinnati's offensive line has been a concern throughout the season, and it let Burrow down throughout Sunday's 23-20 loss.

Much of the credit goes to the dominant duo of Donald and Miller, which didn't surprise McVay in the slightest.