Rams CB Emmanuel Forbes feeling more comfortable as team starts OTAs

WOODLAND HILLS — Emmanuel Forbes was engaged with his man along the left sideline when the receiver cut out. The Rams cornerback made a fluid turn to follow his mark, then extended up with his 6-foot frame to intercept the ball.

It was just the first 11-on-11 action of the offseason as the Rams began OTAs on Wednesday. But it was a sign of Forbes finding his footing in the team’s defense after joining the Rams in December.

“I got here late in the season so it’s kind of hard to learn the ins and outs of the defense,” Forbes said. “So since I had a whole offseason here, been here most of the time and just learning the ins and outs of the defense, you know, I’m able to play faster and play smarter, honestly, and make plays on the ball.”

Forbes was a first-round selection by the Washington Commanders in 2023, but struggled to live up to that draft status in his time there. He didn’t have a consistent role as a rookie, sometimes not seeing the field at all for weeks at a time. That continued into 2024 before the Commanders ultimately released him.

The Rams claimed Forbes off waivers, but with such limited time to make the transition to his new team, he didn’t play on defense until Week 18, when the team was resting its starters.

“I was really impressed with the way that he came in,” head coach Sean McVay said. “His willingness to be coached, his openness to maybe some different techniques. And that’s really tough to do in the middle of the year, especially given the background with Washington. I thought he came in with a great demeanor and disposition.”

But the Rams liked what they saw against Seattle in Week 18, and that served as a good starting point for Forbes entering the offseason. He spent some time training in Arizona, but he also worked at the Rams’ facility with defensive backs coach Aubrey Pleasant and safeties coach Chris Beake on learning the team’s system.

For Forbes, learning the defense itself wasn’t as intensive as understanding the Rams’ techniques and vernacular.

“Technique is different on every team, and the technique that they want to be done on certain plays and certain situations, and just getting to know your coaches better and what they want to be done,” Forbes said.

“You’ve just seen the progression,” McVay said. “You see the ability. In some of the individual drills, the movements, the ability to get in and out of breaks and the length and the ball skills to be able to pick the ball off, those are big deals.”

No progress on potential Ramsey trade

As for the possibility of adding to the Rams’ cornerback room, McVay said there has been no progress on a potential trade for former Rams cornerback and current Miami Dolphin Jalen Ramsey since the coach last addressed the topic after the NFL draft last month.

McVay did not close the door on the possibility, however.

“There really hasn’t been any meaningful, tangible dialogue as of late,” McVay said. “But that can always change pretty quickly.”

Ramsey, 30, is a year removed from his last Pro Bowl appearance. He spent the 2019-22 seasons with the Rams, playing a part in the team’s Super Bowl LVI championship before the team traded the three-time first-team All-Pro to Miami prior to the 2023 season.

“There’s a lot of layers with something of that magnitude, when you’re talking about the caliber of the player, the compensation that they’re looking for in return, what does that look like in terms of how they handle what he’s actually due [contractually],” McVay said. “Obviously, we love Jalen, we know Jalen intimately. There would be some things that we would need to be able to do if that was going to be a direction that we went.”

Attendance report

Wide receiver Puka Nacua had an excused absence to travel with his mother, something he communicated with the Rams previously in the offseason, McVay said.

Starting right tackle Rob Havenstein (shoulders) was present but did not participate in OTAs, as expected after two offseason procedures.

Cornerback Derion Kendrick was back at practice after tearing his ACL during training camp last year.

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