The Los Angeles Rams had a very strong roster last season and got an MVP campaign from quarterback Matthew Stafford. But they fell short in the NFL playoffs when the Seattle Seahawks knocked them out in the NFC Championship Game.
This offseason, they traded for star defensive back Trent McDuffie, and just days ago, they landed edge rusher Myles Garrett, the reigning Defensive Player of the Year. The Rams now appear to be strong favorites to win the Super Bowl championship this coming season.
Garrett spent the first nine years of his career with the Cleveland Browns, a team that LeBron James has professed his love for. When Garrett was introduced to the Los Angeles area media as a member of the Rams, he talked about his friendship with the Los Angeles Lakers superstar.
“He’s been a positive force in my life,” Garrett said. “Just giving me advice when he can. Always helping trying to work through different situations early on in my career. I’m sure we’ll have some more conversations now being in the same city. We’ll see, but I haven’t gotten to talk to him yet.”
Garrett seems to support the idea of James sticking around with the Lakers for at least one more season.
“We’ll see how long LBJ is around here,” Garrett said. “I’m not sure what his future looks like, but if he wants to stay around for a couple more years, I know they’ll accept him with open arms. But there’s only so long he can play.”
James, of course, is about to become a free agent, and it is anyone’s guess which team he will play for next season, or if he will simply retire this offseason. The Lakers seem to have an advantage over other teams since they can offer him more money and since James has already established roots in the region.
He averaged 20.9 points, 6.1 rebounds and 7.2 assists a game during the regular season, and during the playoffs, he put up 23.2 points, 6.7 rebounds and 7.3 assists a game while leading L.A. to a first-round victory over the favored Houston Rockets. At age 41, James remains a legitimate superstar-level player, even if he showed some minor signs of slippage this season.
This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: New Rams DE Myles Garrett talks about his friendship with LeBron James
Reporting by Robert Marvi, LeBron Wire / LeBron Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Robert Marvi, LeBron Wire | USA TODAY Network
