Watch: Byron Young on video
The Los Angeles Rams are positioned to get one more season from Byron Young, and the reporting suggests one more may be all. Nate Atkins of The Athletic writes that it is “very unlikely” the Rams keep Young on a second contract, per a roundup from Pro Football Rumors’ Adam La Rose.
Young has been one of the best value plays on the roster since the day he arrived. A third-round pick in 2023, he stepped into a full-time starting role immediately and posted eight sacks as a rookie. Last season he took the next step: 12 sacks, 40 quarterback pressures, and his first Pro Bowl nod. He is now entering the final year of a rookie contract that has paid him a fraction of what that production commands on the open market — which is precisely the problem.
Why it matters
The Rams’ books explain the rest. Myles Garrett arrived this offseason in a trade that cost Los Angeles fellow edge rusher Jared Verse, and his restructured $40 million-per-year deal runs through 2030. Behind that contract, the Rams don’t have another edge deal averaging more than $1.6 million annually. Meanwhile, two more members of that productive 2023 draft class — defensive tackle Kobie Turner and wideout Puka Nacua — are in line for significant extensions of their own. Atkins notes Young, at 28, is the player best positioned to land a big-money contract next spring, and that it will likely come from another team.
From a pure value standpoint, this is a familiar and defensible play: take the last cheap year of a premium pass rusher’s rookie deal, run him next to Garrett on a front built to win now, and collect a compensatory pick when he signs elsewhere in March. The cost is continuity, and it lands a year from now rather than today. For 2026, a contract-year Young opposite Garrett may be the best pass-rush pairing in the NFC West.
What to watch when camp opens July 25: whether the Rams engage on an extension at a discount before the season inflates the price, or whether both sides simply let the year play out. Nothing in the current reporting suggests talks are underway.
