THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. – During an appearance on the I Am Athlete podcast, defensive lineman Aaron Donald was asked about under-the-radar leaders for the Rams.

One was offensive lineman Rob Havenstein, who has been with the team since 2015. The other? Outside linebacker Leonard Floyd, who is entering his third season with the club in 2022.

"It means a lot coming from A.D.," Floyd said after Wednesday's OTA session. "It's just from the hard work we put in up front as a d-line. Everybody works hard to get to the quarterback. I appreciate that."

Floyd is living up it during OTAs this spring, becoming more vocal within his position group.

That group is slightly younger than it was last season, with 11-year veteran Von Miller the elder statesman. Now Floyd is the most experienced and looking to set an example.

"With Von, he's a team guy," Floyd said, when asked what he learned from Miller and is carrying over into this year. "Every day is a good day for Von, he's never had a bad day from when I was around him. He's just a great guy, he's a great teammate, a dude you love to do battle with."

That influence has been apparent this spring, as he regularly works with and encourages teammates during drills even when he's not participating in them.

Along those lines, Floyd has been taking a cautious approach to offseason workouts, taking his time as he comes back from ankle surgery. Floyd said he sustained the injury during training camp last year and managed to play through it all season, a sacrifice he was willing to make.

"It's a tough injury," Floyd said. "There was days after practice I wouldn't be able to really walk around the house, but it's – you gotta sacrifice if you want to win, you know? We probably wouldn't have gotten to the Super Bowl if I didn't play, so it's part of the sacrifice and I'm glad I did it."

Floyd indicated he'll be good to go next week and for the upcoming season as well.

"I'm looking forward to being back a whole lot more next week," Floyd said, referring to the team's upcoming mandatory minicamp taking place June 7-9.

In terms of expectations for Floyd this season, Rams head coach Sean McVay just wants him to continue to play at the level he's played at over the last two years.

"The way that he works at it, he's going to get better," McVay said after Tuesday's OTA session. "If you have the right approach, if you have the right process and procedure, with the great players and those special players like Leonard Floyd, you don't worry about complacency setting in."