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Rams' Fan Favorite WR Joins Team's 2026 Coaching Staff After NFL Retirement

Rams head coach Sean McVay signed a multiyear contract extension just ahead of the Super Bowl in February.
Rams head coach Sean McVay signed a multiyear contract extension just ahead of the Super Bowl in February. | Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

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Just last week, longtime NFL wide receiver Robert Woods announced his retirement from the league and signed a one-day contract so as to end his professional career with the Rams.

But not even seven days later, we've learned that Woods will not be straying far from the gridiron as he carries on and carries forward. In fact, he won't even be straying far from L.A.

Woods, who spent five seasons with the Rams and won a Super Bowl with the team in 2021-22, has been hired as L.A.'s assistant WRs coach, as indicated by the team's newly-finalized coaching staff lineup for 2026.

Woods will join a group led by the recently extended Sean McVay, as well as former Commanders offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury.

Woods played for the Rams from 2017 to 2021. He notched two 1,000-plus receiving yard seasons in that time—in 2018 and 2019—as well as the aforementioned Super Bowl ring, though he missed the playoffs that year due to an injury. He is best known for his time in L.A., though he also had stints with the Bills, Titans and Texans, and was added to then cut from the Steelers practice squad ahead of the 2025 season. He did not play at all last year.

“After 27 unforgettable years of pouring my heart into this game, and 13 incredible years in the NFL––it’s time for me to step away from playing the sport that has given me everything," Woods wrote in his retirement post on social media.

"Football has never just been a game to me––it has been my passion, my purpose, and my lifelong dream. I cherished every moment my cleats touched the grass. Every time I stepped onto the field, I was determined to leave a piece of myself in every snap.”

The former second-round pick ends his playing career with 683 catches for 8,233 receiving yards and 38 touchdowns. And now, he'll be coaching Rams wideouts on how best to break those same marks.


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Brigid Kennedy
BRIGID KENNEDY

Brigid Kennedy is a contributor to the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. Before joining SI in November 2024, she covered political news, sporting news and culture at TheWeek.com before moving to Livingetc, an interior design magazine. She is a graduate of Syracuse University, dual majoring in television, radio and film (from the Newhouse School of Public Communications) and marketing managment (from the Whitman School of Management). Offline, she enjoys going to the movies, reading and watching the Steelers.