Now, Littleton has moved over slightly to play in the middle of it all.

"'Mike' 'backer is basically the quarterback of the defense. It's a new role for myself — it's something I've never done before," Littleton said this week. "But, just trying to get better every day."

Even as the Rams were making all kinds of moves during the offseason, Littleton said he wasn't necessarily sizing up how the roster might shake out.

"I mean, offseason is the time I get to spend with my family — that's the thing I focus on the most," Littleton said. "Once football came back around, just had to make sure I was in football shape and whatever role I came into, I'd just try to play that."

And so when he found out he'd start out the offseason program as the unit's signal-caller…

"I was actually kind of excited," Littleton said. "Right now, I'm still working to try to secure a starting position. But right now, I'm happy just to be on the field."

Littleton played defensive end in college at Washington, but has successfully made the transition to linebacker in the pros. Nevertheless, there's an adjustment that comes with wearing the green dot on the field — namely making sure that everyone knows what the defensive play is supposed to be.

"Speak a little louder, hope everybody can hear me," Littleton quipped of his approach.

There's plenty to learn off the field, too. Littleton said he's been spending a lot of time watching tape in order to master the nuances of the position.

"[J]ust the keys that a 'Mike' 'backer has to make — just formation recognition, and just all of the work that you have to put in with film review and all those things," Littleton said. "It's a pretty broad aspect — a lot of things I've got to work on."

There's a lot of time between now and Week 1 agains the Raiders on Sept. 10. But as Littleton continues to go through the offseason program, he's working to make the most of the significant opportunity he's received.