Free agency didn’t go the way that Nate Landman had hoped. Shoulder surgery following his third season with the Falcons had hampered his market, and he was left with a one-year, $1.1 million offer, not the kind of long-term security that free agents crave.

But his representation told him that this offer from the Rams was a good opportunity for the former undrafted free agent to bet on himself again amd to play for a head coach in Sean McVay, who develops his players.

When he signed with the Rams, Landman had no expectation for what his role would be. He didn’t want to shake things up on a team with an established culture.

“I wanted to help grow that and just be myself,” Landman said.

No one could have predicted the way Landman’s role would evolve. He was voted a team captain before the season began. He’s at the center of everything the 9-2 Rams do on one of the best defenses in the NFL. Which is why both the Rams and Landman made sure the partnership was a long-term one, signing a three-year, $22.5 million contract extension on Saturday.

“Talking to my wife, my parents, this is the happiest I’ve been, the most fun I’ve had playing football in my career,” Landman said Monday. “Back from high school, college, this is the pinnacle and this is where I want to be. This is where I’m the most happy. I love my teammates, I love my coaches. You can tell that so many guys come here and thrive because of the culture that’s set forth here.”

McVay on Monday credited assistant general manager John McKay as the person who first identified Landman as a fit for what the Rams wanted to add at linebacker during the offseason. A good word from senior defensive assistant Jimmy Lake — Landman’s coordinator in Atlanta in 2024 — helped, too.

It didn’t take long after he arrived in the spring that the Rams understood how teammates gravitated toward and listened to Landman. Then, his play on the field matched the leadership off of it with three forced fumbles and 98 tackles — ninth in the NFL — and that’s when the wheels started to go into motion on an extension.

“It was pretty quickly that we realized after a handful of games,” McVay said. “You start to say that this is a guy that really represents a lot of the things that we want to be about.”

The process took a few weeks to iron out the details. Landman let his representation work with the Rams to put the contract together while he focused on the season.

His wife came to the facility to be there when he signed the contract. Then he was in the linebackers meeting room when news of his contract broke on social media.

“Pretty much the whole defense came in there, and it got pretty rowdy in the linebacker room,” Landman said, “which was a pretty cool experience.”

Eight months after feeling left out of the free agency frenzy, three-and-a-half years after being passed over by every team in the draft, Landman has found his football home.

“It feels good to see the fruits of that labor come to light and that if you really put your head down and you grind and you play the game and you approach the game the right way that good things can happen,” Landman said. “It’s also saying to this organization that they’ll find guys that they believe in and they’ll develop and give you a shot and it’s a place you can come thrive, whatever your circumstance may be.”

The Rams plan to open the 21-day practice window for receiver Tutu Atwell (hamstring), with the expectation that he returns from injured reserve to play the Carolina Panthers on Sunday, McVay said.