WOODLAND HILLS, Calif. – His first stint with the Rams began signing on June 29, 2023. His second: Sept. 11, 2024, as a practice squad signee.
Cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon's wait was nowhere near as long this time. One week into 2025 free agency, he signed a one-year deal to return to Los Angeles.
"Just a chance to be my best," Witherspoon said Wednesday, when asked how he feels about having this deal earlier than the previous two years and going into offseason workouts. "That's all I'm looking forward to this year, just the time to focus on my craft and fine-tune some of the things that I can improve on with the opportunity to be the best that I can be for my teammates. That's my focus."
When he joined the Rams early in last season, Witherspoon said the areas he needed to catch up on were his rhythm and "natural feel." Technique is always something cornerbacks work on, but seeing and feeling the game take time, and that was the journey Witherspoon said he took during the 2024 season.
Once he solidified those areas, he became one of the most important players in L.A.'s secondary. His game-clinching, finger-tip interception in the end zone against the Cardinals in Week 17 positioned the Rams to clinch the NFC West title and a playoff berth later that weekend. In addition to that pick, he had 31 total tackles and nine passes defensed as a starter in five of 13 games played.
He was playing so well that he remained in the starting lineup even after Cobie Durant got healthy, and head coach Sean McVay said they felt like they had three starting cornerbacks accounting for how well Darious Williams had also been playing. Having the same cornerback group return from last season will provide advantages in terms of their ability to communicate, spending time off the field together and not having to recreate those relationships, according to Witherspoon.
"I'm just excited to be able to get out some of those knots during the offseason and hit the ground running come Week 1," Witherspoon said.
The environment fostered by the Rams has allowed Witherspoon to play some of the best football of his career. That aforementioned connectedness, and the leadership from the top, are two key factors.
"I think it comes from leadership first," Witherspoon said. "(Head coach Sean) McVay sets the tone with just how he carries himself in the building and just gives everybody the latitude to be themselves as well. Our coaching staff and our players are just extremely connected. We have fun doing what we do. When adversity hits, we smile at it and that shows up on game day as well. It's the same pattern. Everybody's having fun, everybody's prepared to have something challenging happen and how are you going to respond (to that)? When we do, we get to celebrate victories. The collection of all those things make it very seamless for me."
Asked about his vision for the Rams heading into this season, Witherspoon said the goal for the Rams – as always – is to win a Super Bowl, and secondly, to improve "on what we did last year in whatever little ways we can." Just because the Rams got as far as they did does not guarantee improvement the following year.
Witherspoon will be doing his part to foster that growth, and with a greater runway leading into the season to do so this time.
"It feels great to be back. I'm just excited for the opportunity," Witherspoon said. "I'm looking forward to continue enjoying this journey with some of the teammates and coaches that I built relationships (with) last year as well as having an opportunity to represent my family in a good light and compete for a championship."
