The Los Angeles Rams apparently looked at the usual captain count and decided subtlety was overrated.
Los Angeles named 11 captains for the 2026 season, a group headlined by Matthew Stafford and newcomer Myles Garrett. The number itself quickly became the story, especially because the Rams carried only seven captains last season.
Fans Have Fun With Rams’ 11-Captain Approach
Warren Sharp summed up the reaction with a calculator and a joke.
“11 captains?! 🫡 half the starting roster,” Sharp wrote in an X post.
11 captains?! 🫡 half the starting roster https://t.co/cW756CyH0k
— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) September 1, 2026
Another fan wondered whether the more difficult exercise was identifying who did not receive the honor.
“Who isn’t a captain?” the user wrote in another X response.
The disbelief continued from another account: “ELEVEN (11) Captains?!?” the fan wrote in an X reply.
Who isn’t a captain?
— Go Bills (@uptheirons135) September 1, 2026
One fan took the joke to its logical endpoint.
“All 53 by end of year… like a participation trophy for making the team,” the user wrote in another X post.
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All 53 by end of year … like a participation trophy for making the team
— mattjs (@mjs4719) September 1, 2026
Another reaction was less elaborate but made the same point: “Sheesh, how many captains do they have?” the fan wrote in an X response.
The jokes are obvious, but the Rams also have an unusually veteran-heavy locker room.
Stafford is entering his sixth season as a captain in Los Angeles and is coming off an MVP season. Garrett arrived in June after spending years as a captain in Cleveland, while the Rams also feature established veterans such as Davante Adams and recently welcomed Aaron Donald back from retirement.
The 2025 Rams named seven captains: Stafford, Kyren Williams, Rob Havenstein, Kobie Turner, Nate Landman, Quentin Lake and Ethan Evans. Los Angeles increased that group by four in one offseason.
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It is difficult to argue the Rams lack obvious candidates.
Stafford finished 2025 with an 87.0 QB Impact grade, ranking No. 2 among qualifying quarterbacks after throwing for 4,707 yards and 46 touchdowns. Garrett was even higher at his position, posting a 95.1 EDGE Impact grade that ranked No. 1 after setting the NFL single-season record with 23 sacks.
Los Angeles also enters the season with one of the league’s most decorated rosters. Donald is back after two years away, Adams remains one of the NFL’s most accomplished active receivers, and several players who wore the “C” last year remain important pieces of Sean McVay’s locker room.
Captain totals are not governed by some sacred NFL limit. Teams can structure leadership however they choose, even if 11 makes the midfield coin toss look like a small convention.
The Rams open the season Sept. 10 against the San Francisco 49ers in Melbourne, Australia. Nobody will care how many players have a “C” stitched onto their jerseys if Los Angeles performs like the Super Bowl contender it has been built to become.
Until kickoff, though, 11 captains are going to produce 11-captain jokes.
