Sean McVay praises "class act" Van Jefferson after trading him to the Falcons
In 2020, the Rams had a pair of second-round picks. They have now traded both of them for a flip-flop of future sixth- and seventh-round picks.
First, it was running back Cam Akers to the Vikings. Next, it was receiver Van Jefferson to the Falcons. On Wednesday, coach Sean McVay addressed the decision to ship Jefferson to Atlanta.
"[I] just want to wish Van Jefferson nothing but the best," McVay said. "We've had great communication and dialogue. He is a special person. He's a special player. This was something that we had kind of talked about the possibility of and felt like it was able to work out for both sides. I know he's excited about the opportunity to go contribute in Atlanta and I got a ton of respect for [coach] Arthur Smith. [I] have a great relationship with [offensive coordinator] Dave Ragone. He was somebody that they had been interested in and it worked out and Van was excited about that opportunity, but he did a great job for us here. I love Van and I was grateful for the conversations and the clarity that we had going into that. I know he's excited about that and just appreciative of him. And he's, like I said, special person, special player, and it was a lot of good memories that we had here and a lot of things that I really appreciate about the person as much as the player."
The handwriting was on the wall after Jefferson participated in only two snaps in Sunday's loss to the Eagles. McVay's comments suggest that the limited playing time might have had something to do with the potential trade.
“Well that was a combination of a lot of things behind the scenes," McVay said regarding Jefferson's limited snaps. "So we talked, we had our conversations. I think there was some honest dialogue about what it was probably going to look like moving forward and then we felt like based on where he felt and what some of the options that he had outside of just on our team, that was how it ended up unfolding.”
McVay was willing to part with Jefferson because of the other players at the position.
"It's also a reflection of the confidence I have in the totality of the receiver group," McVay said. "There are some other guys outside of just Tutu [Atwell] and Puka [Nacua] and getting Cooper [Kupp] back that have done a really nice job. It's bittersweet because I'm really happy for Van and I know he's excited about it, but I love Van and he was a good player for us.”
McVay wouldn't address whether Jefferson requested a trade, which quite possibly means he did. So did the Rams get enough for the former second-round pick.
“There's so many layers to it," McVay said. "Like I said, some of it is about the team, some of it is about the individual person. There was a huge part of it too that he's in the last year of his contract and felt like Atlanta was going to be an opportunity where he felt good about that. That was really important to me and to us and so that was kind of how it unfolded.”
So how did Jefferson handle it?
“He was nothing but a class act," McVay said. "Nothing but a pro. But I think like anything else, he probably wanted to have a bigger role and I think that's understandable. But I think he also understood the situation. One of the coolest things when you sit down and you talk to Van is his understanding and his genuine excitement for the development of Tutu Atwell, his respect that's been accrued over the years for Cooper Kupp and then his appreciation for what Puka Nacua has done in a short amount of time. And then he also knows that there's some other guys, whether it's a Ben Skowronek, whether it's a DeMarcus Robinson, you got some guys on the practice squad that have done some really good things. I can say nothing but good things about Van and what a pure class act he was.”
He'll now be a class act for another team, and he remains on track to be a free agent in March.
