Sean McVay: Trading Robert Woods was 'really tough decision,' Titans got a stud
[
theramswire.usatoday.com]
Cameron DaSilva
When Robert Woods tore his ACL last November, no one thought he may have played his last game with the Los Angeles Rams. It was a devastating injury that sidelined him for the rest of the season, but he still had four years left on his contract and was seen as a staple of the Rams offense.
After the Rams signed Allen Robinson during the first week of free agency, they then moved on from Woods by trading him to the Tennessee Titans. They didn’t get much in return – only a 2023 sixth-round pick – but they cleared some much-needed cap space.
Sean McVay spoke about the trade for the first time at the annual league meeting this week and he said it was a really tough call to trade Woods.
“When we were talking with Robert throughout the process, Tennessee is an offense that is operated very similar to the way we have, and I think that is going to allow his game to continue to shine,” McVay said, via the Titans’ official site.
“He’s really been a foundational piece (for us). It was a really tough decision, but he was such a pro about it. He is such a great dude. Tennessee is getting a really special competitor. I love Robert Woods.”
McVay said the Titans “are getting a stud” with Woods, which is true in every sense of the word. He does all of the dirty work as a receiver, from making tough catches in traffic to blocking on the edge for running backs and receivers.
“He’s a tough competitor,” McVay said. “He is one of those guys where he makes everyone around him better. But you talk about just embodying the way that you want to compete snap in and snap out, the mental toughness, the versatility. What we asked Robert Woods to do over the last five years, and I was talking to (Mike Vrabel) about this yesterday, you could make a case that he has as complete of a game in terms of being able to compete with the ball, without the ball, catching short, intermediate, down the field, running the football on jet sweeps – we put him in the backfield this year where he is taking offset gun runs.”
The Rams will miss Woods, but they hope that Robinson can fill the void as WR1B on offense alongside Cooper Kupp. Those are big shoes for Robinson to fill, but he’s more than capable of elevating his game with the Rams and putting together a season with 1,000-plus yards.
