Sean McVay Gives Strong Reaction to Rams' Newest Pickup

The Los Angeles Rams made a shocking addition to their defense on Monday, claiming former Washington Commanders cornerback Emmanuel Forbes off waivers. 

The Commanders waived the second-year defensive back on Saturday after they took Forbes with the 16th overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. Forbes has struggled to start his NFL career and was surpassed on the Commanders’ depth chart.

After appearing in 14 games (six starts) last season, Forbes only played six games (one start) this season. In his year-and-a-half stint with the Commanders, the 23-year-old cornerback gave up 43 completions on 69 targets.

Nonetheless, the young cornerback will try to turn his career around with the Rams. On Monday, head coach Sean McVay gave his thoughts about Forbes’ addition on the Coach McVay Show and was surprised that LA got him on waivers. 

The Rams were 16th in the waiver order, meaning the first 15 teams had to pass on Forbes.

"This is a reflection of very rarely do some guys that (are) recent evals that are high-ranked come available,” McVay said (h/t Cameron DaSilva of The Rams Wire). “I didn’t actually think we’d get him because of where we’re at in the claim order, so we were pleased that we were able to get him. We’ll add him to the mix, we’ll get to know him and we’ll see where he fits. But that was kind of a simple thing that came to fruition."

Los Angeles is currently set in the secondary with Cobie Durant, Darious Williams, and Quentin Lake all starting at cornerback. However, it’s hard to pass up the opportunity to take a talented player such as Forbes, who was the FBS’ all-time leader in pick-sixes with (6). Forbes is also fast as he ran a 4.35 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine.

The Rams also absorbed Forbes' multi-year contract with the signing. That means he's under contract through at least 2026, and the team holds a fifth-year option for the 2027 season. There's not a ton of downside in this signing beyond the potential dead money taken on if they cut him ($5.4 million in 2024, $5 million in 2025 and $2.9 million in 2026), but that's very little risk in exchange for the potential upside if Forbes does live up to his potential in L.A.

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