Coming off a career season, veteran guard Kevin Dotson is re-signing with the Los Angeles Rams ahead of free agency.
According to a report from NFL insider Jordan Schultz, the Rams and Dotson agreed to a three-year, $48 million deal, keeping Dotson in Los Angeles.
Dotson was traded from Pittsburgh Steelers, along with their 2024 fifth-round draft pick and 2025 sixth-round pick, to the Los Angeles Rams for a 2024 fourth-round pick and a 2025 fifth-round pick. Once in Los Angeles, Dotson had a breakout year, becoming one of the best guards in football.
In 881 snaps last season, Dotson graded out at an 85.5 overall from Pro Football Focus, putting himself in line for a major payday. He landed that payday Thursday afternoon ahead of free agency, keeping him under head coach Sean McVay.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Dotson’s three-year deal includes $32 million in guarantees, though we don’t know if that is a fully guaranteed $32 million or includes injury guarantees.
After coming over from the Steelers in the trade, Dotson quickly settled into a starting role for the Rams and helped Los Angeles reach the NFC playoffs, where they lost in the Wild Card round to the Detroit Lions.
Previously, Los Angeles Rams’ senior writer Stu Jackson believed that Dotson was going to test free agency even though the team had conversations with Dotson. Turns out, that didn’t come to pass as the Rams made Dotson an offer he liked, leading to the Pro Bowl-caliber guard sticking around with the Rams for the foreseeable future.
During his time in Los Angeles in 2023, Dotson credited his improvement due to being more comfortable moving back to right guard, which has led to him thinking less. Think less, play faster, and the viola.
The $16 million average annual salary for Dotson makes him the fourth-highest paid right guard in football, according to OverTheCap.com, behind only Atlanta’s Chris Lindstrom ($20.5 million), Dallas’ Zach Martin ($18.425 million) and Jacksonville’s Brandon Scherff ($16.5 million).
