Rams CB Trent McDuffie Talks Stafford’s Greatness; Facing Mahomes & KC in WK13

Trent McDuffie went to bed a Kansas City Chief and woke up a Los Angeles Ram. That is not a figure of speech.

"It really was a 360 turnaround in like four days," McDuffie told Rich, walking through an offseason that started with him assuming he was staying put. His agent had a few conversations with the Chiefs. Then came the combine, and the sense that Kansas City was looking to move him. Two or three days later the word was out online, and even then nothing was set in stone.

The reasoning, as he understood it, was the reasoning that always shows up eventually. "Really I think it's just with the Chiefs and how they had to kind of situate their team," he said. "Obviously money and all those stuff kind of come into play."

What bothered him was not the trade so much as the fog around it. "I was a little frustrated when I did get traded, just not knowing what's happening, not any contract details or anything, just kind of being left in the dark on that."

That evaporated fast. McDuffie grew up in Southern California, and between talking to Sean McVay and getting into the locker room, the landing has been what he called phenomenal. "I just truly feel like I'm back at home."

Which brings us to the date circled on his calendar. The Chiefs are on the schedule, and McDuffie knows exactly what that week is going to feel like. "Definitely a lot of emotions," he said, with some friendly bickering mixed in against guys he lined up against for four straight years. Both teams, he figures, will be ready to rock and roll, and it will be a great show for everybody watching.

Then Rich asked the real question. Would he talk smack to Patrick Mahomes, a man who does not need the extra motivation?

"Only cuz it's Pat, I'm going to have to poke a little bit."

The plan is modest. On a blitz, McDuffie says, he might let Mahomes know he is coming. Beyond that, he understands the dynamic. Mahomes buys into it. Mahomes loves it. It fires him up.

So does the rest of the reunion tour. McDuffie rattled off the names he is looking forward to seeing across the line, Travis Kelce and Rashee Rice among them, and then set the terms.

"For them four little hours, we're not going to be friends," he said. "I'll talk to y'all after the game."