Week off lets Rams bask in their success, but now it’s time to return to work

The Rams on Monday returned to practice after spending their week off resting and enjoying the attention created by their surprisingly fast start.

Coach Sean McVay attended Game 2 of the World Series at Dodger Stadium and appeared Sunday as a guest on Fox’s NFL pregame broadcast. Some players traveled to be with family or friends. Others stayed close to home.

But the buzz surrounding the team was omnipresent.

“It’s big,” cornerback Trumaine Johnson said. “It’s something special going on around here.”

The Rams are 5-2 and in the playoff conversation going into Sunday’s game against the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J.

It’s another trip for a team that is 4-0 away from the Coliseum, including victories at Jacksonville and against the Arizona Cardinals in London in their last two games.

“Nobody expected us to be 5-2 right now,” Johnson said, “and that’s the fun part about it: Going out there and shocking a lot of people.”

McVay did not sound concerned about the team’s ability to process the attention.

“I think we’ve got a mature team and I think we’ve got the right kind of guys in that locker room to be able to handle both the good and the bad,” he said.

Johnson, a third-round pick in the 2012 draft, has not played for a Rams team that won more than seven games. He is among the veterans enjoying the early success.

“It’s still on us to do even better,” he said. “Each game is important for us. It’s getting bigger and bigger.”

There are nine games left in the regular season and, barring the team’s first playoff appearance since 2004, possibly Johnson’s career with the Rams.

During the offseason, the Rams put the franchise tag on Johnson for the second year in a row, guaranteeing him nearly $17 million.

But the team then tried to trade him and did not offer Johnson a long-term contract, putting him on track to test the open market after this season.

Johnson, however, has emerged as a team leader. He was elected a captain and has played well in defensive coordinator Wade Phillips’ 3-4 scheme.

So what was once regarded as a forgone conclusion — the Rams not attempting to re-sign Johnson — is no longer the case.

“I’m not really too concerned about it right now,” Johnson said of his situation. “We got too much good things going on right now with us.”

The game against the Giants serves as a reminder for how Johnson wound up in the situation.

In March 2016, the Rams opted to put the franchise tag on Johnson and let cornerback Janoris Jenkins become a free agent.

Jenkins signed a five-year, $62.5-million contract with the Giants, with $28.8 million guaranteed, according to spotrac.com.

Last season, an ankle injury kept Johnson sidelined for the Rams’ 17-10 loss against the Giants in London. Jenkins had four tackles and defended three passes in the game.

Johnson was once part of a secondary that included Jenkins and safeties Rodney McLeod and T.J. McDonald, all of whom signed elsewhere as free agents.

“Wish we was all still together but at the same time we know the business side of it,” Johnson said, “and sometimes it doesn’t work out and everybody’s got to do what’s best [for themselves].”

Lance Dunbar practices

Running back Lance Dunbar, sidelined since offseason workouts because of a left knee injury, practiced for the first time, starting a 21-day clock for the Rams to determine his status.

Dunbar could be added to the roster, put on season-ending injured reserve or released.

McVay said Dunbar moved well Monday.

“What’s great about that timetable we have is it gives us a chance to evaluate him, see how he handles it,” McVay said.

Etc.

The Rams were not expected to make any major moves by Tuesday’s trade deadline. … McVay enjoyed being on the Fox set with former players and former NFL coach Jimmy Johnson. He said one of the best parts of his job was “the platform it provides to get exposure to special people like a handful of those guys that I got a chance to meet [Sunday], kind of pick their brain,” he said. … The Rams are off Tuesday. They return to practice Wednesday.

gary.klein@latimes.com

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