Rams keep WR Robert Woods with four-year, $65mln contract extension

Robert Woods, wide receiver of the Los Angeles Rams. /VCG

The Los Angeles Rams and their wide receiver Robert Woods have agreed a four-year contract, 65-million-U.S.-dollar extension worth a potential 68 million U.S. dollars with 32 million guaranteed, according to ESPN.

Earlier this month, the Rams signed a new three-year contract with another wide receiver, Cooper Kupp, before their opener against the Dallas Cowboys. On Tuesday, the Rams' head coach Sean McVay said the team would extend Woods' deal "very shortly." Woods himself expected to sign it before the Rams second game against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday.

"Just praying that it gets done on time and really just trying to go out there and execute what I do on the field and let my play do the talking for me. Which it has," said Woods.

Robert Woods, wide receiver of the Los Angeles Rams, catches the ball in the game against the Dallas Cowboys at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, September 13, 2020. /VCG

Back in 2017, Woods signed a five-year, 34-million-U.S.-dollar contract with the Rams. Since then, he has ranked in the top 11 of the NFL's wide receivers in receptions, receiving yards and yards after catch. Woods not only finished the 2018 and 2019 season with over 1,000 yards in receiving, he also produced 577 yards after the catch last season. In the Rams' 20-17 win over the Cowboys last Sunday, Woods had six receptions and produced 105 yards.

The excellent performance explains why the Rams were willing to give him a bigger contract after spending some 150 million U.S. dollars extending the contracts of Jalen Ramsey and Kupp.

Robert Woods #17, wide receiver of the Los Angeles Rams, celebrates with his teammates after scoring a touchdown in the the game against the Arizona Cardinals at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, California, December 29, 2019. /VCG

"This is a billion dollar industry. I feel like there's always money. especially with Denver doing well – the Nuggets. There's a little bit of money somewhere," said Woods who was referring to the fact that the Rams' owner Stan Kroenke is also the boss of the NBA's Denver Nuggets. The Nuggets, by the way, reached the Western Conference Finals.

According to Woods, coach McVay told him how much the Rams wanted to keep him after Kupp's contract extension. "(McVay) just kind of put his arm around me and said he's happy to have me here, been a true competitor since I stepped on his team. He kind of just reassured me that this deal would be taken care of this week, and really have no other concerns. We take each other's word, we believe in it, we go forward and we're locked on to get this thing done and look forward to Philadelphia."