The Los Angeles Rams spent on a safety in free agency for the first time in a number of years, signing former Washington Commander Kamren Curl. Curl, a former seventh-round pick, quickly became a starter in Washington and became a reliable box safety option for a team that lacked defensive consistency under former head coach Ron Rivera.
The Rams signed Curl to a two-year, $9 million deal in March, locking him in as a starting safety. So far, it seems like Curl has made an impression on head coach Sean McVay, who compared Curl to a former first-round pick: Mark Barron. Barron spent four years with the Rams after being traded from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Barron is often cited as the first example of a safety/linebacker hybrid that has become popular in recent years.
Speaking on Curl, McVay remarked how similar he was to Barron while on Chris Long’s “Green Light” podcast.
"Kam Curl is a guy that, and I say this in the most complimentary way because I love this guy: he reminds me of Mark Barron. Mark Barron was like a silent assassin. He takes everything in, he’s so smart, he’s tough as sh**. Kam Curl has a similar demeanor and disposition as him. Now, Mark will knock you senseless, he was a total G. I say that in terms of how much confidence I have in what Kam can be. I thought you saw him do a lot of stuff in Washington where he can come down and play man coverage on different guys at that two or three location. He’s violent with the way he attacks the football. I like the way that he’s a close-quarter tackler and then you can see him playing different parts of the field. We’ll ask him to do some different stuff, but the game makes sense to him. You ask him a question and he’s answering it. He picks and chooses his words wisely. This guy’s taking everything in, he knows what the hell’s going on and he’s a grown man.”
McVay also highlighted safety/nickel Quentin Lake who might be part of the starting safety tandem with Kam Curl. Curl's versatility is something that McVay touched on and it's a significant part of Curl's game. Just last year, Curl aligned at almost a dozen different alignments for Washington and handled multiple responsibilities. While it seems the Rams' game plan for him is a little different, judging by McVay's quote, Curl's versatility will give the Rams' defense plenty of ways to be multiple in the secondary.
