Trent McDuffie, Los Angeles Rams
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Trent McDuffie #22 walk to the field during Kansas City Chiefs Training Camp.
The Los Angeles Rams are looking to tie up a loose end that they created when they made their blockbuster trade with the Kansas City Chiefs for cornerback Trent McDuffie, and the two-time Super Bowl champion had something to say about their decision.
The Rams have drawn widespread praise for the move, which solidifies their secondary with another versatile contributor.
For McDuffie, the fallout could prove historic.
Trent McDuffie Sends Message Amid Rams News
McDuffie was on track to play the 2026 season on the fifth-year option of his rookie-scale contract, but the Rams are working to rectify that.
“The #Rams have made significant progress on a contract extension with their new CB Trent McDuffie and the hope is a deal is done in the near future, sources tell me and @RapSheet,” NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo reported on X on March 8. “McDuffie is expected to be the new highest-paid cornerback at over $30M per season.”
Rapoport added that “the two sides have gone back and forth and they are in striking distance.”
A short while later, it was indeed completed, with ESPN’s Adam Schefter reporting a four-year, $124 million deal.
Perhaps in reaction to said progress and knowing a deal was close, McDuffie took to social media himself, posting, “God is Good [blue heart emoji].”
McDuffie has reason to celebrate his highly anticipated windfall. An extension makes sense for the Rams, given what they gave up to land McDuffie. It also makes McDuffie the new standard-bearer at cornerback.
“Sauce Gardner of the Colts is currently at the top of the cornerback pay chart with an average annual salary of $30.1 million per year,” Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio wrote on March 8. “McDuffie is currently in the fifth year of his rookie deal and set to make $13.632 million for the 2026 season.”
The Rams’ trade for McDuffie cannot be completed until the start of the new league year.
That is on Wednesday, March 11. It could be when the Rams announce an extension for McDuffie as part of the greater transaction.
Trent McDuffie Beat Projection
McDuffie was in line for a raise with the Rams, even from the one-year balloon payment that is his fifth-year option, and he got it.
It all depended on the final number and the length of the deal.
Spotrac projected McDuffie’s value at $27.9 million annually, and offered a $111.5 million pact as an example. However, Garofolo’s report suggests he could surpass that–and easily–on his new deal with the Rams.
For McDuffie, the extension makes a fine final touch on what has been a moment he envisioned not too long ago.
Trent McDuffie Imagined Homecoming
McDuffie, a Westminster native, played his high school ball at Mater Dei, Servite, and St. John Bosco, and has several Rams connections. He played with fellow defensive back Quentin Lake in high school. Wide receiver Puka Nacua was his teammate at Washington.
It was just last offseason that McDuffie fielded a question about what other teams he could see himself playing for. That is, if not the Chiefs.
He chose the Rams.
“If I could play for another team, I’d probably want to play close to my family,” McDuffie said during a charity event in August 2025. “So, that’ll probably be the LA Rams, so that my family can come see every single game.”
Those comments resurfaced one day before the Rams made the trade. They were also in light of general manager Les Snead suggesting he was open for business.