LA Rams, Trent McDuffie have just set the market for Seahawks’ Devon Witherspoon

SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 8: Devon Witherspoon #21 of the Seattle Seahawks reacts after a play during the second quarter of the NFL Super Bowl LX football game against the New England Patriots, at Levi's Stadium on February 8, 2026 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Kevin Sabitus/Getty Images) | Getty Images

The Los Angeles Rams made a huge move earlier this week when they traded for Kansas City Chiefs cornerback Trent McDuffie, giving up the lesser of their two first-round picks in the process. With McDuffie's contract set to expire at the end of the 2026 season, the goal for the Rams was to trade and then agree to a new deal with the former Washington Huskies star.

While the trade itself won't process until Wednesday, March 11, the pieces are in place for McDuffie to be the highest paid cornerback in NFL history. The two-time Super Bowl champion and two-time All-Pro has secured the bag in a big way. We'll get into the contract details deeper when they're available, but the minimum we know is it's four years, $124 million with $100 million guaranteed.

ESPN sources: Rams and Trent McDuffie reached agreement today on a record four-year, $124 million extension that includes $100 million guaranteed and makes him the highest-paid cornerback in NFL history. McDuffie gets a trade and a new deal days apart as the Rams and CAA Football... pic.twitter.com/53cisV7oG8

- Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 9, 2026

That's a whopping $31 million/year for McDuffie, who was primarily a slot corner in 2023 but has since returned to being an outside corner for most of the past two seasons.

The 3 highest-paid cornerbacks in NFL history in new money average per year are now:

1. Trent McDuffie: $31M/year
2. Sauce Gardner: $30.1M/year
3. Derek Stingley, Jr.: $30M/year

They were the first 3 corners taken in the 2022 NFL Draft. https://t.co/WSXBw4qwoj

- Field Yates (@FieldYates) March 9, 2026

This is relevant to the Seattle Seahawks and the looming extension talks with Devon Witherspoon, a three-time Pro Bowl corner who just made his first All-Pro as a second-teamer in 2025. He's instrumental to Mike Macdonald's defense as a cover corner, run defender, and blitzer, and his next contract is surely going to be close to the top (if not the very top) of the NFL cornerback market.

The Seahawks have until May 1 to exercise Witherspoon's fifth-year option, which sits at over $21 million for the 2027 season. Witherspoon has been extension eligible since January, but keep in mind that the number of players from the 2023 NFL Draft who've been extended currently sits at zero.

Maybe another side-story this offseason is whether or not the Rams extend Puka Nacua before the Seahawks do anything with Jaxon Smith-Njigba.