Tutu Atwell could be the worst one-year free agent contract in the history of the Rams, but that’s not his fault. What would you do if someone offered you $10 million to run in a straight line?
I hope you would sign that contract. I know that I would.
The Rams placed Atwell on injured reserve on Monday, sitting him out for at least four games and knowing that his absence could cost the offense up to one yard per game. Who else could the Rams find to “be a distraction” and “run clear out routes”? Les
Snead will need to find another $10 million in savings, I guess.
These numbers and facts with a tinge or sarcasm are not meant to pile on or criticize Atwell. I know that’s hard to believe when Atwell’s stats and base salary are mentioned but that’s literally all I’m doing: Recounting his actual stats and how much he’s being paid for them.
This is not the same as Allen Robinson, when the Rams paid $15.5 million (how much Robinson made from the team in total) for a receiver who had previously had multiple 1,000-yard seasons with the Jaguars and Bears.
Atwell’s career prior to signing with the Rams for $10 million guaranteed over one year included a rookie season with zero catches (zero, like the shape of an egg), and producing 1,343 yards and 4 touchdowns over the next three years combined. Robinson once had 1,400 yards in one year with the Jaguars. Atwell had fewer yards than that in his entire career with the Rams.
What did the Rams really think they were getting with Tutu Atwell other than getting Tutu Atwell? This wasn’t a change of scenery. It was a KEEP of scenery!
The Rams were paying for Atwell and guess what they got? They got Tutu Atwell. So how I can blame Tutu Atwell?
The first seven weeks of the season have played out worse than anyone expected, including Sean McVay, who continuously cited Atwell as an important piece of the offense during the entire offseason, only to then use Tutu Atwell as if he were…I don’t know, Ben Skowronek? Jacob Harris? Tutu Atwell?
- Week 1: 25 snaps, 1 target, 1 catch, 4 yards
- Week 2: 26 snaps, 1 target, 0 catches
- Week 3: 25 snaps, 1 target, 0 catches
- Week 4: 21 snaps, 2 targets, 1 catch, 88 yards, 1 TD*
- Week 5: 45 snaps, 4 target, 2 catches, 72 yards
- Week 6: inactive (hamstring)
- Week 7: 10 snaps, 0 targets, re-aggravated injury?
- Week 8: bye
- Week 9: goes on IR
*The Colts only had 10 players on defense and the guy covering Atwell fell down.
According to Next Gen Stats, Atwell has run 114 routes, which is the fifth-most on the team behind Davante Adams, Puka Nacua, Kyren Williams, and Jordan Whittington, who has run 128 routes and been targeted 17 times. A sixth round pick in 2024, Whittington has eight more targets and eight more catches than Atwell, but fewer yards because Atwell has hit one home run and two doubles.
I went looking for other NFL receivers with similar ratios of snaps-to-targets/catches and here’s a sample of what I found:
Most games by WRs with 20+ snaps but <=2 catches, <=5 yards:
- 4: Andre Iosivas, Trent Sherfield, Arian Smith
- 3: Tutu Atwell, Isaiah Bond, Jahan Dotson, Mack Hollins, Tory Horton, Jalin Hyatt, Allen Lazard, Tyler Lockett, Dont’e Thornton, Nick Westbrook-Ikhene
When I look at the other 12 names on these two lists, I almost exclusively see camp bodies, draft busts, and over-the-hill veterans.
Lockett was released by the Titans and just signed with the Raiders on Monday. Dotson is making the veteran minimum, $1 million, to eat up snaps on the Eagles. He’s caught 8 passes for 151 yards and 1 TD and he’s caught a pass in six different games. Atwell has caught a pass in three different games and caught no passes in three games and in one of those games he only had 4 yards.
Couldn’t Les Snead have found a player to do what Atwell does for 1/10th of the price?
Of course.
There have been a lot of excuses made on behalf of Atwell, including from McVay, who claimed before the season that the team would be able to make the most of that $10 million investment. Prior to his 88-yard touchdown agains the Colts’ 10-man defense, McVay claimed that the team didn’t need Atwell to score points, which is a weird way to defend the signing of a wide receiver for eight figures:
“He’s doing what he can control,” stated McVay. “I think in a lot of instances, our job is to try to be able to win the game. There are a couple chances and some things that you try to call to get guys involved. Ultimately, our job is to play the game how it unfolds. I’ve been really impressed with just the way that he’s handled himself. Our job is to move the ball and score points. We moved the ball pretty well I thought offensively yesterday.”
Excuses often used for Tutu are that he’s taking the top off of the defense because of his speed and that’s opening up opportunities for Puka Nacua, who is L.A.‘s only real receiving weapon of note right now, but if that were true then I guess we will find out based on whether or not the passing offense falls apart in the next four games without him.
Why do I not sense any panic about Puka’s ability to produce without Tutu Atwell?
Maybe because Nacua has never been an “I’m wide open!” type of receiver. I’m not going to say that Nacua doesn’t benefit from scheme or having Matthew Stafford, but the majority of his big catches are the “wow” variety where he is diving for a ball, laying out 100%, or going over the top in traffic. Nacua’s 2.9 average yards of separation per catch is not some unbelievable mark.
Ja’Marr Chase’s average separation is 3.2, Justin Jefferson’s is 3.1, and Amon-Ra St. Brown’s is 3.1. Nacua is already among the best receivers in the NFL with less separation than those three.
As I said earlier, Atwell has run 114 routes this season. That’s tied for the 141st-most routes in the NFL in 2025. 141st! He’s run the same number of routes as Jamari Thrash and Dalton Kincaid.
Atwell has run one more route than Tyler Johnson, the former Rams receiver who you forgot existed until I mentioned him just now. Well, Johnson has 10 catches for 187 yards and 1 TD…on the JETS. He’s having a better season than Tutu Atwell.
Johnson’s salary: $1.17 million veteran minimum.
Who could have guessed that would happen?
Well, probably the Rams since Johnson was on the Rams the past two seasons. And even if he is not going to give L.A. the play style that they were looking for since he’s not the speed guy that Atwell is, it’s more about why Johnson represents: Teams do not pay $10 million for “distractions”, “pass interference draws”, and 1-2 targets per game.
They pay the vet minimum. Or they draft those guys on day three. Or they don’t draft them at all.
There was another disappointing veteran receiver who got a $10 million guarantee this year (technically $9.5m) and that’s Dyami Brown. The Jaguars signed Brown after he caught 30-of-40 targets with the Commanders in 2024. This season, Brown has been targeted 27 times and caught 16 passes for 194 yards and a touchdown over 237 snaps.
Atwell has been targeted 9 times and caught 4 passes for 164 yards and a touchdown over 152 snaps. For anyone who thinks Atwell is a good $10 million investment, let me ask you this: Do you wish the Rams had Dyami Brown? Are you jealous that the Jaguars got Dyami Brown for only $10 million? No? Then what team’s fans are jealous that their team didn’t sign Tutu Atwell for the same amount?
I previously mentioned Mack Hollins because he’s also had 3 games with 20+ snaps and less than 5 yards.
Well, Hollins caught a touchdown in 2 of those 3 games. Last week, Hollins was targeted 7 times and he caught all 7 passes for 89 yards. Atwell’s career-high for catches? 7. He did it once and he had 77 yards. Mack Hollins just had a game that would be a top-5 all-time performance for Atwell.
Mack Hollins signed a 2-year, $8.4 million contract with the Patriots. He got less money (and only $3.5m guaranteed) for twice as much time.
Sherfield got less money than Hollins, Westbrook-Ikhine got less than Sherfield, and Bond was out there for anyone to sign. Bond is as fast as Tutu, but bigger and younger.
Is Tutu Atwell the worst 1-year contract in Rams history?
I don’t know all the 1-year contracts in Rams history, but this has to be one of the worst. And who’s fault is that?
McVay probably takes the most ownership because it’s doubtful that Snead would give $10 million to Atwell if he wasn’t compelled to do so by the head coach. Furthermore, McVay has the most influence on how Atwell is utilized and therefore he’s the one most responsible for his lack of production through seven games. How many times Stafford decided not to throw to Atwell is a matter of debating “How many times was Atwell actually open?” and “How many times did Stafford decide to not even look at him?” but McVay is in charge of the offense and what happens within it.
141st in the number of routes run. Clearly McVay doesn’t see Atwell as much of a receiving threat or as much of a distraction because he’s been a part of the passing offense half as often as Adams. How important could these clear out routes be if McVay is comfortable running his offense without Atwell more often than with Atwell?
For the first few years of his career, fans asked “Why is Tutu Atwell not Creed Humphrey?” but at least we moved past that. Now we ask a different question.
“Why is Tutu Atwell not $9 million in cap space + a veteran minimum WR?”
I guess we’ll never know the answer to that. But don’t blame the guy who takes the check when it’s the guy who writes the checks who made the offer.
