The Los Angeles Rams continue to make splashes in the secondary. The Rams are signing former Kansas City Chiefs cornerback Jaylen Watson to a three-year, $51 million contract, according to multiple reports. The contract reportedly contains $34 million in guaranteed money.
The Rams entered the offseason with a significant need at cornerback. They addressed it aggressively by adding a pair of cornerbacks from the Chiefs. They previously traded first-, fourth- and sixth-round picks in 2026 and a third-round pick in 2027 for former Chiefs star Trent McDuffie, whom they then lavished with a record-setting four-year, $124 million contract extension. Now they add Watson and significantly upgrade at the other outside cornerback spot.
Their new defensive backfield should be improved a lot from where it was last year, when the Rams, at times, struggled to contain opposing passing games. That especially stood out in their NFC title game loss to the division rival Seattle Seahawks.
The following table shows the Rams’ secondary this year compared to last, in terms of the men who played the most snaps.
As for Watson himself, he was a rotational player for his first two seasons in Kansas City before emerging as a starter in 2024 and 2025. He played 56% and 43% of the snaps in games where he was healthy during his first two seasons, then shot up to 91% and 96% over the last two years.
Watson missed much of the 2024 season due to injury (he played just six games) and the Kansas City defense fell off against the pass while he was out. Watson then came out and played quite well in 2025, earning this free-agent contract. With the three-year, $51 million deal, he becomes the league’s 20th-highest paid cornerback in terms of average annual value ($17 million), while his deal contains the 15th-most guaranteed money at the position.
The Rams now should have a defense of the quality to match their explosive offense, as the secondary was the one remaining weak-ish link on the roster. They should enter the 2026 season among the favorites in both the NFC and overall.
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