On Thursday, the Rams re-signed cornerback Troy Hill — making the local St. Bonaventure High School graduate a member of the Los Angeles secondary through the 2020 season.
He described the security in inking the two year deal as no longer having to look over his shoulder.
"Now I feel like I'm free to play, I can be myself, I can go out there and just work on football and not have to worry about all the other things," Hill told therams.com just after signing on Thursday.
Hill already has three full seasons as a Ram under his belt. An undrafted free agent out of the University of Oregon in 2015, Hill appeared in three games with the Bengals as rookie. Since the 2016 season, Hill's played in 40 games and started in 14 in L.A., and has been relied on heavily for depth in the secondary. The 27-year-old's production spiked in 2018, when he grabbed his first two interceptions as a pro and tallied a career-high seven passes defensed, playing 42 percent of defensive snaps.
Sitting above his new contract, which effectively replaced the one-year tender he signed as a restricted free agent ahead of 2019, Hill made it clear that security as a member of the Rams goes beyond the white lines.
Check out photos of week two of the Los Angeles Rams during OTAs.
"I moved out here when I was 15 and I didn't really have my family, so this became a real family-oriented group with me," the Youngstown, Ohio native said. "I feel like that was just that extra — 'alright it's all love over here.'"
Hill spoke at length about his appreciation for special teams coordinator John Fassel — who he's spent significant time working with since 2016. Fassel is the one who gave Hill his first opportunity with the Rams. Hill also described the special teams' leader as a role model in consistency — exactly what he hopes to bring in year one of the new deal.
"Just putting it all together and just becoming more consistent this year," Hill added. "That's my main focus, just to be more consistent this year with everything that I do."
