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Los Angeles Rams News & Rumors

Rams WR Van Jefferson Placed On IR

September 24th, 2022 at 3:26pm CST by Ely Allen

The Rams are placing third-year wide receiver Van Jefferson on injured reserve as he continues to work his way back from offseason knee surgery that’s kept him mostly on the sideline. The move has raised questions as outsiders become less-and-less clear on the true status of Jefferson. 

Jefferson had a breakout year during his sophomore season, starting every game while reeling in 50 passes for 802 yards and six touchdowns after only amassing 220 yards in his rookie year. Jefferson was second in receiving yards and touchdowns for the Super Bowl LVI champions.

The receiving corps has looked quite different to begin this year without four of last year’s six receivers. DeSean Jackson was released midseason last year by request, Robert Woods was traded to the Titans for a sixth-round pick, and Odell Beckham Jr. remains a free agent after tearing his ACL in the NFL’s season finale. With those three gone, Cooper Kupp, Jefferson, and Ben Skowronek were the only returning receivers from last year. Luckily for the Rams, Kupp, last year’s Offensive Player of the Year, has been his usual self, averaging 118 receiving yards per game in the first two weeks of the season.

The frustration from those following Jefferson’s injury stems from continuous statements from head coach Sean McVay that Jefferson has been “week-to-week” since the start of the season. This has kept optimism alive that Jefferson could return any week or game. But waiting until Week 3 of the season to place Jefferson on IR ensures that he will miss the next five weeks (four games and a bye week), dousing any lingering threads of weekly optimism. If Los Angeles had any idea that Jefferson would be out long-term, it could’ve placed Jefferson on IR far earlier, allowing him to come back as soon as he’s ready, as opposed to now being without their No. 2 wide receiver until the end of October.

In Jefferson’s absence, Stafford has relied on Kupp, tight end Tyler Higbee, free agent addition Allen Robinson, and Skowronek as his top targets. They haven’t been utilized much, but Brandon Powell, Tutu Atwell, and undrafted rookie Lance McCutcheon have served as backup receivers so far this year.

To fill Jefferson’s spot on the active roster, cornerback Grant Haley has been signed to the active roster from the practice squad. The Rams brought back linebacker Keir Thomas to fill Haley’s spot on the practice squad. Wide receiver Jacob Harris has also been called to action as a standard gameday elevation from the practice squad. Harris missed the back half of his rookie season last year after suffering ACL and MCL injuries and made the shift from tight end to receiver.

Rams Sign RB Malcolm Brown To Practice Squad

September 22nd, 2022 at 6:37pm CST by Ben Levine

The Rams have added a familiar face to their practice squad. The team announced that they’ve signed running back Malcolm Brown to the taxi squad.

A former undrafted free agent out of Texas, Brown spent the first six seasons of his career with the Rams. He mostly served as Todd Gurley‘s backup during much of his time with the organization, but he did see a larger role on offense in 2020, finishing with a career-high 581 yards from scrimmage and five touchdowns on 124 touches.

He inked a one-year deal with the Dolphins last offseason, collecting 125 rushing yards in seven games (three starts). He landed on injured reserve in October and didn’t see the field again in 2021. He joined the Saints earlier this offseason but was cut by the team in early August.

The Rams have barely gotten any production out of Cam Akers and Darrell Henderson, and the team currently has the second-fewest rushing yards in the NFL with 117. Brown will provide the organization with another veteran option if their current duo continues to struggle, although 2021 seventh-round pick Jake Funk will likely continue to stick around the roster for the time being. The organization also has rookie Ronnie Rivers on the practice squad, and the Rams moved on from running back Trey Ragas earlier today.

Minor NFL Transactions: 9/22/22

September 22nd, 2022 at 4:29pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are Thursday’s minor moves:

Los Angeles Rams

Pittsburgh Steelers

Tennessee Titans

The Rams eyed Jolly as a UDFA target this year, Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic tweets. The Appalachian State product instead landed with the Browns. This move comes after the Rams placed Troy Hill on IR. The team also is uncertain to have Decobie Durant this week; Durant sustained a hamstring injury in Week 3.

A Kansas City-area native, Blanton will leave his home town again but rejoin a Rams team that carried him on its active roster or practice squad from 2019-21. Rams tight end Brycen Hopkins ran into a three-game suspension this week.

Jones vied for the Titans’ starting left guard job, which Rodger Saffold‘s cap-casualty cut vacated in March. Despite signing Jones to a two-year, $4.8MM deal in free agency, the Titans gave the gig to former UDFA Aaron Brewer. Although Jones has not played this season, he must miss four more games because of this transaction.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/21/22

September 21st, 2022 at 6:10pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s practice squad moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

Houston Texans

  • Signed: OL Tre’Vour Wallace-Simms

Los Angeles Rams

New England Patriots

New York Jets

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Washington Commanders

Minor NFL Transactions: 9/21/22

September 21st, 2022 at 5:59pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s minor transactions:

Carolina Panthers

Cleveland Browns

Houston Texans

Kansas City Chiefs

  • Signed off Rams practice squad: DE Benton Whitley

Los Angeles Rams

Pittsburgh Steelers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Kazee was suspended three games for violating the league’s policy on substances of abuse. After signing with the Steelers this offseason, he landed on injured reserve after the preseason. Per ESPN’s Brooke Pryor (on Twitter), Kazee will be allowed to serve his suspension while he’s on IR.

Hopkins was also suspended three games for violating the NFL’s policy on substances of abuse.

Rams To Sign Takkarist McKinley Off Titans’ Practice Squad

September 21st, 2022 at 4:42pm CST by Sam Robinson

Another Takkarist McKinley relocation is on tap. The veteran pass rusher, who had caught on with the Titans’ practice squad last week, is now L.A.-bound.

The Rams will sign McKinley off that Tennessee taxi squad, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets. This move will reunite McKinley with Rams DC Raheem Morris, who formerly served as a Falcons assistant head coach and interim HC during McKinley’s time in Atlanta, and signal a return to Los Angeles. McKinley, 26, is a UCLA alum.

A former first-round pick, McKinley has bounced around the league since his Falcons stay ended during the 2020 season. He was claimed three times on waivers after that Falcons cut; the 49ers, Bengals and Raiders claimed him that year. The young edge defender landed with the Raiders, but an injury prevented him from playing any games.

Last year, McKinley caught on with the Browns, who used him mostly as a rotational player behind Myles Garrett and Jadeveon Clowney. Late in a 2.5-sack 2021 season, McKinley went down with an Achilles tear in late December. That took the five-year veteran out of the mix for several months, but interest picked up around training camp. Although the Titans lost Harold Landry to an ACL tear just before the season, they chose not to promote McKinley to their active roster to prevent this Rams poaching.

With Von Miller now in Buffalo, Leonard Floyd anchors the defending champions’ edge-rushing corps. Considerable uncertainty exists behind Floyd. The Rams have Justin Hollins and former third-round pick Terrell Lewis as their top non-Floyd options on the edge. While McKinley is far from a sure thing at this point in his career, which has taken a downturn since some late-2010s Falcons production, he has made 27 career starts and totaled 20 sacks. Thirteen of those came between the 2017 and ’18 seasons. Morris was on Atlanta’s staff throughout McKinley’s time with the team.

This has been a rather interesting, as far as practice squads go, day for the Titans’ P-squad. Prior to losing McKinley, Tennessee signed safety Andrew Adams off the Steelers’ taxi squad and added cornerback Terrance Mitchell off the Patriots’ 16-man squad.

CB Joe Haden Announces Retirement

September 21st, 2022 at 8:47am CST by Sam Robinson

After a 12-year career spent in Cleveland and Pittsburgh, Joe Haden is walking away from the game. The former Pro Bowl cornerback plans to retire, according to agent Drew Rosenhaus (via Pro Football Talk’s Josh Alper).

While Haden drew some interest this offseason, he did not sign with a team ahead of training camp. The 33-year-old defender ended his career as a 149-game starter. That ranks as a top-50 total in NFL history at cornerback. Among active corners, only Patrick Peterson has lined up as a first-stringer more often.

The Cardinals, Dolphins, Rams and Raiders showed interest this offseason, according to ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler (on Twitter). Haden was said to be weighing offers. If so, none of the teams’ proposals did enough to convince him to play a 13th season, but Fowler adds the longtime starter entered free agency planning to do so.

The first cornerback chosen in the 2010 draft (No. 7 overall), Haden earned Pro Bowl nods with the Browns and Steelers. He spent time anchoring secondaries in Cleveland and, after a late-summer release in 2017, became a key figure on a few Steelers playoff teams. Lasting longer than most as a No. 1 corner, Haden made Pro Bowls with the 2013 and ’14 Browns and received his third invite in 2019 — at age 30 — with the Steelers. The 5-foot-11 defender ended his career with 29 interceptions; a six-INT rookie season did the most to bolster that total.

Haden signed a Browns extension in 2014 and played three seasons on that contract but was one of a few veterans to leave the team during its aggressive rebuild attempt from 2016-17. The Browns attempted to keep the ex-Florida Gator on a reduced salary and made efforts to trade him, but the team’s top corner instead ended up on the open market. Although Haden became connected to several other teams — the Dolphins, Eagles, Saints, Chiefs, Cowboys and 49ers — in free agency, he chose the Steelers after visit that occurred hours after his Browns exit. The short Rust Belt trek produced a three-year, $27MM deal, the first of Haden’s two Steelers agreements.

After the arrivals of Haden and T.J. Watt in 2017, the Steelers made a run at the AFC’s No. 1 seed. Ryan Shazier‘s injury and the controversial Jesse James touchdown overturn re-routed the 13-3 team to the No. 2 seed, and an eventual divisional-round loss, but that season began a lengthy Haden second act. The Steelers extended Haden in 2019 — a two-year, $22MM accord — and he ended up starting 67 games with his second NFL employer. That period produced top-10 total defenses from 2017-20 in Pittsburgh and three playoff berths. Haden angled for a third Steelers deal last year, but the team moved on via younger, cheaper options this offseason.

Haden ended up doing incredibly well for himself financially in the NFL, making more than $121MM in 12 years. He arrived during the last draft to feature monster rookie contracts for first-rounders, before the 2011 CBA changed the rookie salary scale, landing a five-year, $40MM deal in 2010. That figure eclipses what 2022 No. 1 overall pick Travon Walker signed for this offseason. The Browns gave Haden a five-year deal in 2014 (worth $67.5MM) as well.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/20/22

September 20th, 2022 at 8:07pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s practice squad moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Cleveland Browns

Green Bay Packers

Indianapolis Colts

Los Angeles Rams

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

New York Jets

Pittsburgh Steelers

San Francisco 49ers

Minor NFL Transactions: 9/20/22

September 20th, 2022 at 7:47pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s minor transactions:

Arizona Cardinals

Dallas Cowboys

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Los Angeles Rams

Philadelphia Eagles

San Francisco 49ers

Rams Place CB Troy Hill On IR, Promote G Oday Aboushi

September 20th, 2022 at 3:20pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Rams will not have their primary slot cornerback available for a while. Troy Hill sustained a groin injury during the team’s Week 2 win over the Falcons; the veteran defender is now on IR.

Hill and Week 2’s right guard option — Tremayne Anchrum — are now on the four-week injury list. Veteran guard Oday Aboushi, who joined the Rams’ practice squad last week, is now on the defending champions’ 53-man roster.

Reacquired via trade on Day 3 of the draft, Hill re-emerged in his old gig in Los Angeles to start the season. Hill, 31, played 95% of the Rams’ defensive snaps in Week 1 but left their Week 2 game early. Cobie Durant replaced Hill, but Sean McVay said a hamstring injury could keep him out against the Cardinals as well. Robert Rochell and sixth-round rookie Derion Kendrick represent the team’s top other options here, should Durant not be able to go.

Anchrum became the latest Rams offensive lineman to go down; McVay confirmed the third-year blocker is out for the season. Anchrum, a 2020 seventh-round pick, suffered a fractured fibula Sunday. The Rams had Anchrum, third-round rookie Logan Bruss and veteran Coleman Shelton competing for the right guard job this summer. None of the three are available for that gig presently. Bruss (ACL, MCL tears) is out for the season; Shelton slid to center to replace Brian Allen, who suffered an injury in Week 1. Allen is not on IR, however. His return would shift Shelton back to right guard.

Second-year UDFA Alaric Jackson stepped in at right guard against the Falcons, but Aboushi is far more experienced. A starter for six teams during a nine-year career, Aboushi has 47 career first-string appearances. The 31-year-old blocker could join an ultra-exclusive club by starting for a seventh team. Considering the Rams’ situation, that may happen soon. Aboushi started five games for the Chargers last season, opening the year as their top right guard. An ACL tear ended that run. It will be interesting to see if the Rams move the veteran into their starting lineup this week, assuming Allen is not ready to return.

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