Sean McVay didn’t exactly sound ready to file the paperwork, but he did admit the idea crossed his mind.
With Puka Nacua, Davante Adams and Jordan Whittington all sidelined by injuries, the Rams coach said Wednesday that he had talked with assistant wide receivers coach Robert Woods about the possibility of suiting up and playing.
McVay was asked in his press conference whether he had spoken with the 34-year-old Woods, who spent five seasons as a Rams receiver, about a comeback.
“I have, yes,” McVay answered with a laugh.
He then leaned into the joke a little further, saying Woods still looks the part and that the thought of putting him back on the field was hard to ignore.
“I’ve looked at him, and the way he looks out there, I’ve definitely been tempted,” McVay said. “I think that’d be a violation of the CBA.
I don’t know what he’d have to do, but he looks damn good and still is smooth out there. Very tempting.”
There’s a reason it stays in the realm of temptation. Woods was cut by the Steelers before the 2025 season and has not played since. He announced his retirement and signed a one-day contract with the Rams in February of 2026.
Even with his familiarity with the offense, Woods would not realistically offer the same kind of help the Rams might find by adding a receiver off waivers or from another team’s practice squad.
And the league rules make the fantasy even tougher to pull off. Players on the reserve-retired list must clear waivers before joining a team, and the NFL typically does not permit coaches to become players.
The league has already shut down similar ideas before: In 2020, when the Broncos were out of quarterbacks because of covid, they asked about activating an assistant coach and were told no. In 2009, Eagles coach Andy Reid wanted to use coaching intern Matt Nagy at quarterback in a preseason game and got the same answer.
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