The Los Angeles Rams opened up training camp on Wednesday without a familiar face, 2021 triple crown winner and Super Bowl MVP Cooper Kupp. It is the first time the team has been without the now Seattle Seahawk since 2017, and this comes just one year after the early retirement of three-time Defensive Player of the Year Aaron Donald.
With the longtime captains of both the offense and the defense no longer donning the blue and gold, Los Angeles is turning the page and starting a new chapter. One that they hope can be just as successful as the previous.
If day two of camp is any indication, this “new era” of Rams football will certainly be fun and should meet expectations.
What immediately sticks out and smacks you in the face during the team portion of the practice is just how dominant Puka Nacua is. Everybody already knows he is one of the very best playmakers in the NFL, but now entering year three, he should ascend into the elite tier of wide receivers, rivaling guys like Ja’Marr Chase and Justin Jefferson.
Nacua was unstoppable on Thursday, getting open with ease and taking it to the house on several occasions when given just a sliver of an opening, and that was without starting quarterback Matthew Stafford throwing him the ball. His 2024-25 season was somewhat of a disappointment, but that was purely due to him only playing 11 games. When he was on the field, he was even more impactful than in his 1,486-yard rookie season. If he plays all 17, he could be pushing for 1,800 yards through the air this year.
“He is a total stud. I think by the nature of how he works, you can’t help but get better. I love everything that this guy is about, and I think he has done a really good job as he is going into year three of learning how to establish a rhythm and routine that is going to give him the best chance to stay healthy,” said Rams head coach Sean McVay.
With Kupp out, in enters Davante Adams, who one could argue is an upgrade at the wide receiver position. There probably will not be a better number two option in the league than the three-time First Team All-Pro this upcoming season, and despite having a veteran rest day on Thursday, he was still very present, chopping it up with his teammates and coaching staff.
“One of my favorite things that I have seen is just watching (Puka) and Davante mix it up and just talk about their craft,” said McVay. “Those special guys elevate people around them, and we have a couple of guys who fall into that bucket, and certainly Davante is one of them. He is special, and I am really excited about the opportunity to continue to work with him and learn from him as well.”
Adams is not only an uber-talented pass catcher, but he is also an excellent student of the game, which is one of the reasons he is viewed as one of the best route runners of this generation. He takes his preparation very seriously and has been an extension of the quarterback slotted out wide, dating back to his days with Aaron Rodgers. The presence of Adams will make Nacua better and vice versa.
Another wrinkle to Stafford’s passing attack this year will be the presence of top draft pick Terrance Ferguson. As if this offense did not already have enough weapons, the rich get richer. Ferguson became the all-time leader in receptions and touchdowns for a tight end during his time at Oregon, and his 6’5″, 247-pound frame will present another matchup nightmare for defenses later in the season.
While mostly running with the second team offense through two days of camp, Ferguson has been a massive target in the middle of the field. He does not have blazing speed by any means, but he is finding holes in between the numbers and has a knack for exploiting them. Despite sitting behind Tyler Higbee on the depth chart, if Ferguson remains as a go-to target with the 2s, he could overtake the veteran sooner rather than later.
Higbee is entering his age -32 – this season still with enough juice to show the young tight end the ropes, and he is also willing to hand them over once Ferguson is up to speed.
“Tyler Higbee is a glue guy. That is why he is revered and respected by his teammates and coaches. This guy is all about elevating people, and he knows by doing that he is going to elevate himself,” said McVay. “We are going to need all of those guys, and I think it is a really good tight end room as a whole.”
Moving over to the defensive side of the ball, Jared Verse is more than ready to captain the unit while also taking his game to the next level. The 2024 Defensive Rookie of the Year is enormous, fast, and very loud. He never stops talking (sometimes to a fault if you ask his head coach), and he has the game to back it up.
His fearlessness and relentlessness will exude extreme confidence in the group, and he is not afraid of the pressure that comes with being the new face of the defense.
“If I mess up, I know ten other guys will be hustling to that ball to make up for it. Just yesterday, I ended up taking a move I shouldn’t have taken, and everybody else came in to finish the play for a gain of two. I will take that any day of the week,” said Verse.
It is no longer a star-studded lineup like when Donald, Jalen Ramsey, Leonard Floyd, and Von Miller were terrorizing the league, but it will rather be a complete team effort.
One group in particular is already catching Verse’s attention.
“Our secondary is locking everything up and giving us time to get back there. Honestly, we have minutes to get back there because they are locking everything up on a consistent basis. Knowing that we have that on the back end means that not everything has to be a bull rush immediately to try to get pressure, and I have time to work my own rushes,” said Verse.
While no longer in the locker room, Aaron Donald is still having an impact on his successor in the most Aaron Donald way possible. Verse spent some time with the future first ballot Hall of Famer leading up to camp, going over to his house for a workout.
“I show up, he doesn’t say hi or anything like that, and tells me to stretch however I have to. We do four workouts that are all cardio… so you are already tired. Then you do four sets of two different core workouts, so eight core workouts, and then he was like, ‘Alright, are you ready for the real workout?’ We go to the weight room, and it is all arms – eight different circuits, each with four sets. We are in there for an hour and a half, and his wife comes in laughing at me, and I told her to call the police… I went home, and I didn’t work out for another day and a half because I couldn’t move my body,” said Verse.
The second-year linebacker claims he is “never doing that workout again”, but does credit Donald, saying “he did change my workout routine though because now my workouts don’t hit anymore, so I have to go a little harder.”
Expect another big year from Verse as he continues to establish himself as one of the best young defensive players in the game. Like Nacua, he should be viewed as one of the elites at his position by season’s end, and having those two high-motor, physical specimens on either side of the ball will make Los Angeles a Super Bowl contender come January.
Featured image: Los Angeles Rams rookie tight end Terrance Ferguson (18) goes through practice drills during training camp at Loyola Marymount University on July 24, 2025. Photo credit: Mark Hammond/News4usOnline
Benjamin Verbrugge is a reporter for News4usonline who studied journalism at CSU Dominguez Hills. “Sports have brought me much joy throughout my life, and I want to give a little back to something that has meant so much to me.” Email Benjamin at benverbrugge8@gmail.com.
Discover more from
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.