(East Los Angeles, CA) [From The Editor’s Desk]: Attention Rams fans! This is the full transcript with Head Coach McVay, QB Matthew Stafford, and Wide Receiver Davante Adams. They are well-known for their joint career accomplishments but will appear individually for this media session after Sunday’s practice at the Training Facility in Rams Village.

Continue reading to learn about the team’s preparations, including Coach McVay’s insights and comments from Stafford and Adams during this final pre-season stage. Take some of your leisure time to read this transcript thoroughly to understand the team’s last-minute preparations for their opener on Thursday, 9/10, against the 49ers. 

Rams Transcripts – Head Coach Sean McVay, QB Matthew Stafford, WR Davante Adams 9/6/26, Sunday

[Head Coach Sean McVay]

(On whether DE Aaron Donald is practicing today)
“Yeah, absolutely.”

(On if he’s expected to play Week 1)
“We’re truly taking it a day at a time. I’ll have all those injury updates and stuff like that for you on Tuesday.”

(On whether OLB Myles Garrett is practicing today)
“Yep, he’s going to do some stuff.”

(On how he ‘knocks the rust off’ without playing starters in the preseason after battling slow starts offensively in recent years)
“I think each year… I feel good about. Houston was an amazing defense. There were some things I could have done a better job on, but I thought we played pretty good against Tennessee the next week. Thought we played really well defensively in both of those first two games and so here’s what I would tell you is there’s a commitment to what we believe is best for our team. That’s why we try to mimic and emulate game-like settings and situations with joint practices, with what we do in practice settings. I totally understand that might not be for everybody, but it is what we think is best. Our guys have been ready to go for the most part I feel throughout the time that we’ve been here. There certainly has been some slow starts. Even a couple years ago, I thought we battled against Detroit and just came up short in that overtime. Then we had a tough one against Arizona the next [week], but both of those years were a little bit different where we were playing a lot of younger guys. We have a lot of experience on this team where guys have played meaningful football. There were some scenarios that were a little bit more specific and you know me, I’ll never make any sort of excuses. But our expectation is, hey, this is a great football team that we’re going against and we expect to be playing good football because of the belief that I have in our players, in our coaches, while not minimizing what a great challenge it is and all the different things that you guys have been asking me about.”

(On whether endurance plays a factor in having a good start to the season)
“I haven’t felt that because even if you did take the preseason approach, you wouldn’t accumulate enough snaps to simulate that so we try to be able to do those types of things in practice settings. I’ve felt like our guys are in really good condition. They’re calloused. They’re ready to go, but ultimately, we’ll know once we end up playing and we’re looking forward to that.”

(On the example WR Davante Adams has set as a captain)
“He’s been great. You talk about modeling the way, I think the greatest sign of leadership is, are you influencing and affecting positive change with people you’re around, situations you’re a part of? His willingness to challenge guys but do it with the right amount of awareness and emotional intelligence. He never asks anybody to do anything that he’s not doing. He’s so willing to share. He’s got a swag and a presence that guys just respect. But the way that he’s moved, really throughout the time that he’s been here, has been incredibly influential. I think he was just getting to know guys last year and it was pretty close to unanimous for him, which is a cool thing because of the way that he’s moved. I think our guys, they see better than anything else they hear and they’ve seen a guy that’s a great illustration of really good leadership for us.”

(On the travel plans to Australia and how it was received by players)
“Thought it was good. The guys had an idea, but I tell them, ‘Hey, let’s take it a day at a time, but for your guys’ understanding we’ll leave on what would be equivalent… I look at it as Friday evening. It’s Tuesday night for you guys, but it would be the equivalent of Friday evening. Sleep through the night and then we’ll get there and we have kind of a rhythm.’ But I believe everything that we do, I think our guys, and I would hope… the most important thing to me is they know that, hey, everything we do is what we think is best. It doesn’t mean that we think we’re right and a different approach is wrong. It’s just what we think is best based on the things that we’ve done and what we’ve learned over our time here. That’s what will always consistently drive our decision-making processes is with the players first and foremost at the forefront of our minds in every decision that we make and keeping guys in their normal rhythm and routine. Then some of the different things that we’ve done behind the scenes of people that have done this whether it’s different sports or people that have made these types of trips. We’ve tested it out with some guys and we feel like it’s been positive, but that’s what went into the approach.”

(On how the travel plan gives him confidence even with a significant time difference)
“Yeah, we’re going to make it as minimal… What gives me confidence is I’m not going to really make it a big deal. It’s, ‘Hey, this is what the reality is. We’ve got a long way to go, but let’s be ready to rock when that three-hour window that we’re allotted comes,’ That’s what it is. To spend a bunch of time talking about it…I get it with you guys too, like I understand your questions but for me, I’ve told you guys what our approach is. Our expectation is our guys will be ready to go and I’m not worried about it because I know what our plans are. We’re going to follow that plan and then we’re going to focus on our preparation and try to go be at our best and go swing when we get a chance to play against a great team.”

(On if the team ‘has checked all the boxes’ from the offseason to now)
“Steady progression is really what it’s about. When you get into normal game week, you have a rhythm of the week in regard to,this would be like what a Wednesday is where you’re focusing on normal down and distance ball. You’re getting into some of the second and longer situations. You’ll touch on some different third downs. We’re a little bit ahead because we’ve had some extra time. Then what is normally the Thursday, which would be tomorrow, is the combination of those two things. You’re adding in third down short yardage and some two-minute. Then you wrap it up with red zone and some of the other situational things that you haven’t hit. But there’s really a three-day work week with our players to implement the game plan and today will represent what our first normal Wednesday would be like, even though today is Sunday.”

(On what was accomplished from camp to now)
“Just progression. There are so many. There’s not necessarily one thing. It’s steady improvement, coming together, number one goal is let’s come together as a team and that’s a never-ending journey of continuing to be at our best as individuals but ultimately geared towards the collective. How do we play 11 as one? How do we rush four as one? How do we play good coverage with our back seven? How do we do a great job of hitting blocks with how many guys we have committed to the blocking surface? Backs pressing at one gap at a time, the way we distribute the field and play on time and in rhythm, all those things. How do we make sure that we understand what we’re trying to get done in the return phases, in the coverage phases? So there are so many different things and I’ve loved the way that our coaches have had a teaching progression. I’ve loved the way that our players really bring it to life. I think there’s been a lot of illustrations of guys being independent thinkers and problem solvers. That’s exactly what we’re hunting up, but the real tests come on whatever the hell day we’re playing.”

(On whether WR Puka Nacua and OL Alaric Jackson will play Week 1)
“Yeah, absolutely, that’s what I’ve heard. I haven’t heard anything different.”

(On the plane’s seating arrangements)
“They’ve full layout to beds, all of our players have that. You guys love this trip thing, man. Yeah, it is cool. But it’s a big plane, everybody will be able to get fully extended and layout and be able to get their rest. If you guys ask me any more questions about it… I’m tired of talking about this. I’ll talk about the game. I’m excited about the game.”

(On how he would scheme against his newly constructed secondary)
“I have a lot of respect. I think these guys do an excellent job. You know I’m not going to answer that question. That was the goal. You always look at it through a lens of, man, these are problematic players to go against, guys that you have respect for whether you’ve watched them from afar or actually game-planned against them. But the first thing is it relates to whether you’re talking about, A, getting [S] ‘Q’ [Quentin Lake] extended during the season, re-signing [S] Kam Curl, bringing in [CB] Jaylen [Watson] and [CB] Trent [McDuffie], all of those things. Those guys check the boxes, if you will, about what we want in terms of the toughness, the mentally and physically tough guys, the guys that love the game, the game makes sense, but the tape speaks to you in terms of how they play. Then first and foremost, these are special human beings. I believe better people make better Rams. I’ve really loved what these guys are about, and I expect them to do exactly what they’ve done and really enjoy the opportunity to go compete. But the thought process was we had a lot of free agent corners so we had to decide, are we re-signing those guys or do you go elsewhere? Rare opportunities presented themselves to be able to get both Trent and Jaylen. I didn’t think that would be a situation that we’d be able to pull off just based on how we had that spot slotted. Then ‘Q’ has been tremendously valuable as has Kam Curl and we know what those guys are about. That was important to get them back.”

(On the importance of having QB Matthew Stafford fully healthy throughout the preseason)
“I think it was great. I thought our guys did a great job of handling last year and what an amazing job Matthew did as well. So ultimately, when your quarterback is feeling good going into a season, that’s a big deal. He would have gotten a week of practice at this point and then just went and hit the ground running, but he’s amazing. I’m really glad that he’s feeling good. You always want to be able to strive for that stuff with guys staying as healthy as possible so that’s been a real positive for us.”

[QB Matthew Stafford]

(On the travel schedule for Thursday’s Week 1 game in Australia)
“I feel like we’re just keeping it as normal as we possibly can. Obviously, we have a normal day today. Sunday [is] like a Wednesday for us in our world. Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, hop on the plane and go. We obviously have experience with it doing it [in a] different direction, all that kind of stuff. I understand last year in London, but it felt like it worked out for us. The guys felt ready to play. I think guys enjoy being home and having the opportunity to obviously go play over there is really cool, but I feel confident in the way we’re going about it. Guys will be ready to rock and roll come Friday morning.”

(On his excitement leading up to the start of this season compared to previous years)
“I think it’s similar to the last few years, just a ton of appreciation for the opportunity. Obviously, I know that I feel lucky to be in the position that I’ve been for as long as I’ve been in it. It takes a lot of hard work and sacrifice, not only for myself, but my family and a bunch of people around here too. I’m just appreciating it, enjoying the moment, and looking forward to this practice today and then obviously, hopefully the rest of the season.”

(On his confidence in carrying over last season’s success with a similar offensive core)
“Yeah, that’s not really the way it works. The team that we were at the end of the season last year wasn’t the team that we were Week 1, both in personnel, execution, all that. You develop yourself as you go. You try to continue to get better and better. I feel like we’ve had a really solid offseason, a really nice, strong training camp on both sides of the ball. That puts you in a position to have confidence going into the season that you understand what your team’s about. Then, inevitably, things happen and you’ve got to morph and change and find the ways to be successful. I have no doubt that we’re a strong group when it comes to that, being able to figure out things if we need to. But it is exciting having a lot of the same faces back, guys that understand what we’re trying to get done. Even at the end of the season last year, the changes that we’ve made throughout the offseason and how we want to go ahead and implement those and put them into work.”

(On the importance of DE Aaron Donald’s voice as a veteran presence)
“Yeah, I think it carries a ton of weight. Obviously, he’s a guy who’s accomplished everything you can accomplish on the defensive side of the ball in this sport. One of the best, if not the best, when he was out there playing for us. I’m happy to have him back, happy that he’s excited about it. I know our guys on our team, in our locker room and our coaching staff, everybody’s excited to have a player of his caliber and like you said, a person of his caliber as well. I’m just happy to have him around the building and back out there.”

(On the impact of his offseason work with WR Davante Adams that they weren’t able to do last year due to injury)
“Yeah, I think we got a ton of great work during the season as well. Shoot, nothing will give you more things to talk about, more confidence than going out there and doing it on a Sunday. We did that for a bunch of weeks last year. Was everything perfect? No. Is it going to be? No. I don’t complete every ball I throw and those guys don’t get open on every route and catch every time. Those things happen, but just understanding who he is as a player, how he separates. That constant dialogue has been great with him. Obviously, the work out on the grass has been great as well. Huge credit to him. He’s a guy that’s been around for a long time as well, run a ton of miles and yards on his body, but he’s done an unbelievable job of being available and out there and really practicing his butt off all offseason and training camp. Those kinds of things are great for us to get those reps on.”

(On how he’s seen QBs Stetson Bennett IV and Ty Simpson progress throughout the preseason)
“I think it’s great for them. Obviously, I didn’t go every single day during the training camp that we had, both at LMU and here. It was really nice for those guys to get a bunch of reps mixed in there. Obviously, Stetson [is] a little further along in his journey than Ty is as far as just experience and what it looks like to come out here on a practice field or compete against another team in a preseason game. It’s been really cool to watch both those guys grow. Obviously, I’ve had more time with Stetson. His growth has been great and [with] Ty [it’s] the same. You can tell he’s a coach’s kid. He soaks it up. He wants to know everything there is to know about the position and that’s going to serve him well.”

(On the evolution of the role of tight ends in the league since his rookie year)
“The caliber of athlete is as good as it gets right now at that position. I tell people that all the time. It’s one thing to trot two or three of them out there, but you’ve got to have two or three guys that make a football team better too. Our guys do that. We’re lucky to have them both from a physicality and a mentality standpoint, but also just the smarts to go out there and execute and do what we ask them to do in all sorts of different alignments versus different defensive personnels. They’re really smart and can do all that. I’m happy to have all those guys and definitely it’s changed a bunch. I know when I first got here even. There was one on the field at all times. If we ever got two on there… we always joked that we would practice it and then we never ran it in a game. Now they’re all over the place, which is great.”

(On going into this season fully healthy compared to the start of last season)
“Yeah, it feels more normal than it did last year. Last year being the outlier of not having any training camp really to speak of at all. This is year 18. 17 of them I feel like I’ve had a lot of training camp reps and had normal offseasons with last year just being that outlier. But I definitely feel good. It’s exciting to get out there and practice during training camp, be out there with the guys. Obviously, I still had a little bit of a modified schedule to make sure that we’re feeling good come this week and I appreciate that very much. It’s been really cool. Obviously, I’m excited about Week 1 and getting this thing going.”

(On the difference he sees in TE Terrance Ferguson heading into this season compared to last year)
“I think just his comfort within the system and where he fits. He’s a sharp guy just like the rest of those guys. I think tight end is one of the toughest positions to come in and play early. You’re an extension of the offensive line in both the pass protection and the run game, but then you’ve got to go out there and run routes and win versus certain coverages and leverages and all that stuff too so it’s a big adjustment. It’s a tough thing to do. I thought I did a great job last year, but the more years you get under your belt, the understanding and the ability to sit in that meeting room with those guys that he’s in there with and just pick their brains and talk to them about how they’re going to be successful and then channel that into his own game. I think that’s helped him out and obviously he’s a really even-keeled guy. He doesn’t get too high, too low, just comes to work every single day with a great attitude.”

(On what to look for in CBS’ 60 Minutes season premiere showcasing Sean McVay)
“I don’t know that I’ll watch, maybe I will. I know that one’s about coach and our organization. I didn’t add anything to the tech convo, I promise you that. I’m just still trying to figure out how to use my phone [laughter]. But I’m excited. It’ll be cool.”

[WR Davante Adams]

(On being voted a captain)
“It feels great. It’s obviously a great feeling to be voted that but I don’t think you necessarily have to have a ‘C’ on your jersey to feel like you’re a captain, to contribute, and to be a captain for the team. It’s obviously a huge honor. The more time I get with this organization, get to know my teammates and everybody, obviously the tighter we become and the stronger we become as a team.”

(On the travel plans for Thursday’s Week 1 game in Australia)
“You don’t want to have to travel that long to play a football game, but I’m excited to play football. If [there’s] any game to be excited for, it’s the first one, doing all of this for us. We get to get it out the way, the travel part of it, but once we get there I’m sure it’ll be an amazing environment. It’s always a little bit different playing in a different country. It’ll be fun. I know [there] will be a lot of people in attendance. It’s supposed to be like 100,000 or something like that. That’ll be cool. I think once you get to play in a college-sized stadium, it doesn’t really feel much different for the people playing in the game. There’ll be a lot of support in there so it’ll be fun.”

(On whether he has any concerns about the travel plans)
“No, we did the same thing in London, went out there and handled business. We have a lot of smart people in here [who are] a lot smarter than me to make decisions and come up with the ways we’re going to go about it as far as sleep and nutrition. We let them put that together and then we just follow.”

(On whether he thinks the team can carry over the offensive success from last season with the continuity on offense)
“That’s the idea. Anytime you’ve had some success, especially doing this toward the end of the season, you’d like to think you can pick up where you left off. On paper that’s how you want it to be. We’ve been putting in the work to have it look that way as well. [I’m] excited and like I said, we’ve been working to be better than what we were last year and having more time together obviously helps that.”

(On the offensive coaching staff’s ability to put together a gameplan and what he envisions that looking like)
“We haven’t played a game yet so we’ll have to see. That’s really when a lot of that stuff comes to life. But the way that this place runs, it’s Sean’s [McVay] building at the end of the day. They work together and they all come up and they all mastermind together but at the end of the day, the way the big man wants it done at the end is how it’s going to be. I don’t really know who’s responsible for what because they do all come together. They all point their finger at each other as far as who should take the credit. Nobody’s in there saying, ‘I schemed this up.’ It’s like, ‘We as a unit did this or did that.’ So a lot of times, especially the way that we do in the meeting room, sometimes you don’t know who was even responsible for what. They do a good job working together and then we just try to bring it to life.”

(On the depth of the wide receiver room and the return of WR Tutu Atwell)
“We have basically the same room as last year which helps, having more time together. Just like how a quarterback and receiver work together, we work together out there in the run game, route combination. Being able to be familiar with the way a guy moves or his body language in the run game, that helps a lot. [We’re] getting more time together. These guys are the most locked in group I’ve ever been a part of too. All of that just helps it feel really comfortable as you go into Week 1.”

(On whether he’s been working on touchdown celebrations for Australia after his ‘Siu’ celebration in London last season)
“No, that was ‘Mump’s’ [Wide Receiver Konata Mumpfield] doing. He brought that up out there. I wouldn’t say I knew about it, but I wasn’t going to do it until he said it. Unless you know of something that they do in Australia, I don’t have anything right now. I’ll let Jesus take the wheel when I get in.”

(On what he’s most looking forward to this season given the amount of talent on the roster)
“Just enjoying coming out here and enjoying football. Honestly, that’s the best way to do it. That’s what I attribute a lot of the success in my life to, just being present in the moment. In college, I wasn’t going into every game trying to build a resume for the league. It was just having fun and playing ball, playing that kid’s game that sometimes gets lost with the business. The more you can go out there and just have fun and play for your teammates and really enjoy it, I feel like that’s when good things happen and you look up and typically you like what you see.”

(On his reaction to DE Aaron Donald returning and going up against the Rams’ secondary in practice)
“I think I’m as excited as anybody in this building to see him back. Just questions about how things are going. Nobody knows exactly what he’s going to do statistically, if he’s going to be exactly what he was. But at the end of the day, I know the type of person that he is and I know the way he’s going work and I know the way he looks right now. It looks like it’s going to be a familiar picture for us all out there. As far as our DBs, they give us great work, especially with the new additions that we’ve got. Bringing in our two new guys that we got from Kansas City [Cornerbacks Trent McDuffie and Jaylen Watson]. Just a different level of competition and it just makes it a little bit easier to go to practice every day knowing that you’re going to be able to get better with those guys out there and the guys that we had before, including our safeties. Everybody in the backend has been doing a really good job taking steps and getting better.”

(On how the tight end room’s depth makes his job easier)
“[There’s] a little less action out there sometimes. Sometimes you feel a little fresher because we do cycle in a lot of those guys with our 13-personnel or 12-personnel variations. We get a little bit more rest, but it’s fun because we throw them off, we put them out there, and then we still go and throw the ball deep and [we] got different ways to keep them on their toes so it’s fun.”

(On the status of his knee and how he feels physically entering the season)
“You say that because I have this ice on there? Yeah, I’m an old ass man [laughter]. I ice my whole body. Everything’s good with me.”

On whether he’ll find himself watching Donald and OLB Myles Garrett when the defense is on the field during games this year)
“Oh yeah. I’m such a fan of the game. When I’m not on the field, I’m watching it anyway. That’s why I love going to preseason games and being able to cheer on the guys that are out there because I just love watching ball. Watching Myles Garrett and Aaron Donald work at the same time, I might be on the sideline, maybe on the field. I don’t know, we’ll see.”

(On his expectations for what he and QB Matthew Stafford can do this season after being able to get more work together this offseason)
“The sky’s the limit, that’s what they say. I feel like that’s the reality with us. He’s a dog. We know what he can do and I think we know what I can do as well and with more time together. You guys have seen a little bit of it out there, but I got a feeling that, God willing, we go out there and stay healthy and be able to do what we do as playmakers. I think we’ll like what we see.”

–RAMS–