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Jason Taylor II

Rams Activate RB Kyren Williams, S Jason Taylor II From IR

November 25th, 2023 at 4:43pm CST by Sam Robinson

NOVEMBER 25: Williams has now officially been activated off of injured reserve. The second-year rusher out of Notre Dame had been one of the NFL’s most fun surprises in the early weeks of the season, racking up 561 scrimmage yards and seven total touchdowns in six games. Freeman has done his best to handle the Rams’ rushing attack since Williams and Rivers went down, but Williams provides a significant upgrade to the offense in Los Angeles.

Joining Williams on the active roster off of IR is safety Jason Taylor II. Taylor was initially considered a sleeper candidate to win the starting safety job next to Jordan Fuller in the preseason but only saw special teams snaps before being placed on IR after the team’s Week 1 contest. His activation comes at just the right time as Quentin Lake, the team’s starting free safety for the past two games, has been ruled out this week in Arizona. Taylor will compete with John Johnson for snaps behind Fuller and Russ Yeast.

Los Angeles had already cleared space for Williams, but in order to make room for Taylor, the Rams waived offensive tackle Zachary Thomas. Thomas made two in-game appearances, getting some run on the line during the team’s loss to Cincinnati earlier this season but has been inactive ever since.

NOVEMBER 22: The Rams waiving Darrell Henderson provided a fairly clear indication Kyren Williams was ready to come off IR. The team began that transition officially Wednesday, designating the second-year running back for return.

Missing the minimum four games, Williams will be eligible to play in Week 12. Although the Rams have three weeks from today to activate the former fifth-round pick, it seems likely that transaction will take place ahead of this week’s Cardinals matchup.

Los Angeles lost its top two RBs — Williams and Ronnie Rivers — during its initial matchup with Arizona. Williams landed on IR with an unspecified ankle injury shortly after that Week 6 game. This marked the second straight season in which an ankle malady forced Williams to IR. The Notre Dame product missed rookie-year time because of a high ankle sprain, but he did not serve as L.A.’s starter last season. He moved into that role immediately in Year 2.

Williams showed promise before his latest ankle injury, putting together two 100-yard rushing performances in his past three games. During the game in which he sustained the injury, Williams blazed for a career-high 158 yards — nearly all of them coming after halftime. For the season, Williams has 456 yards and six touchdowns. After four weeks of using backs that were not on the team’s initial 53-man roster, the Rams’ offense stands to receive a boost soon.

Trading Cam Akers to clear a path for Williams and ending a multiyear separation saga, the Rams turned to veterans Henderson and Royce Freeman as their backfield mainstays during Williams’ latest IR stint. Henderson averaged just 2.4 yards per carry. While Freeman has been more efficient (4.3 YPC), the sixth-year back — who began the season on the Rams’ practice squad — will likely serve as a Williams sidekick moving forward. Rivers, who suffered a PCL sprain, has not returned to practice. The Rams still have sixth-round rookie Zach Evans on their roster, but Henderson and Freeman leapfrogged the TCU and Ole Miss product.

The Rams also designated safety Jason Taylor II for return on Wednesday. Drafted in the seventh round (and not related to the Hall of Fame defensive end), Taylor has not played since Week 1. The Rams have four IR activations remaining.

Minor NFL Transactions: 9/15/23

September 15th, 2023 at 6:47pm CST by Ely Allen

Today’s only minor roster move:

Los Angeles Rams

Taylor, a rookie seventh-round pick for Los Angeles out of Oklahoma State, will now spend at least four weeks on injured reserve for the Rams. Initially considered a sleeper candidate for the starting safety job next to Jordan Fuller, Taylor has been dealing with a groin injury lately. After ceding the starting job to last year’s seventh-round pick Russ Yeast, Taylor only played special teams snaps in his NFL debut last weekend. He’ll hope to make a return at some point later this season to extend his rookie-year impact.

Rams Rumors: Safety, Kicker, OL, McClendon

July 2nd, 2023 at 9:35pm CST by Ely Allen

With Jordan Fuller finally making a healthy return after missing most of the 2022 season on injured reserve, the Rams should be set at one of their safety spots. Fuller had started all 28 games he’d appeared in over his first two years, and he’s stood out so far this offseason in OTAs and minicamp. The battle for who will start next to Fuller, though, has become a situation to watch in Los Angeles, according to Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic.

There appears to be two second-year players at the forefront of the race: last year’s sixth-round pick Quentin Lake and seventh-round pick Russ Yeast. Lake got a late start to his rookie year after starting the season on the reserve/physically unable to perform list. Once activated, he played almost exclusively on special teams until the team’s season finale in Seattle. Yeast also started off mainly on special teams before earning a good number of defensive snaps late in the year. He made his first career start in that same Seattle game.

Lake and Yeast will both get significant run with the first team in an effort to determine a starter. A dark horse in the competition could be rookie seventh-round pick Jason Taylor II. The Oklahoma State product had an impressive 99 tackles last season to go along with six interceptions for the Cowboys. While each player should get a strong chance, it’s believed that Yeast has the early edge.

Here are a couple other rumors coming out of LA:

  • An expected camp kicking battle was cut short when Christopher Dunn was waived a couple weeks ago. The Rams currently only roster undrafted rookie Tanner Brown at the position. Also coming out of Stillwater, Brown never missed a single extra point during his collegiate career. In his senior year, Brown converted an impressive 22 of 23 field goal attempts. Despite the lofty college numbers, entering the season with Brown as the only option is a risky move. Rodrigue doesn’t rule out the possibility of Los Angeles bringing in some camp competition for the young specialist.
  • The Rams’ top draft selection this year, second-round guard Steve Avila, is reportedly “as pro-ready a rookie as (Rodrigue has) seen walk into the (Rams’) building.” If the TCU-product secures a starting guard spot, as expected, the other guard spot could be won in competition between Tremayne Anchrum and Logan Bruss. Both Anchrum and Bruss were limited last season due to injury and are reportedly itching to prove their worth in 2023. Bruss has even gotten snaps at his old college position of right tackle, making him a strong candidate for a Swiss Army role on the offensive line if he can’t win a starting job. Rodrigue warns not to forget about rookie fifth-round pick Warren McClendon out of Georgia, as well. Although a knee injury forced him to miss time this spring, McClendon’s expected to make some noise in camp this summer.

Rams Sign Round 2 OL Steve Avila

June 13th, 2023 at 8:51pm CST by Sam Robinson

Selecting a guard with their first pick for the second straight year, the Rams are expected to plug Steve Avila into their starting lineup. That process can now begin in earnest, with Avila now under contract.

Chosen 36th overall out of TCU, Avila will be ticketed for the terms the Seahawks gave No. 37 pick Derick Hall. Avila will receive three years fully guaranteed, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets, adding that 10% of his 2026 salary is locked in at signing as well.

The 10% component marks a first for a player in the No. 36 slot, per Yates, representing more gains for second-round picks. With the slot system in its second decade, fewer bargaining territory exists during rookie-deal negotiations. But second-rounders’ pacts have become a notable area featuring wiggle room. Avila and Hall’s deals will apply more pressure on the teams who chose players in that pick neighborhood.

The Rams, who led off their 2022 draft with Wisconsin O-lineman Logan Bruss, have Avila penciled in at one of their guard spots. Bruss is coming off August 2022 ACL and MCL tears, and while he is practicing, last year’s 104th overall pick does not have a clear path to a first-string gig like Avila appears to. Following an injury-wrecked season up front, the Rams are in search of answers just about everywhere except for right tackle, where Rob Havenstein has the job locked down.

While Peter Skoronski may wind up at guard for the Titans, Avila represents the first pure guard chosen this year. He is also the Rams’ highest-drafted player since they took Jared Goff first overall in 2016.

Avila, 23, could be an option at center at some point, having started there during most of his 2021 junior season and parts of his sophomore campaign. But he spent the ’22 slate at guard, starting 15 games and earning consensus All-American honors. TCU’s first consensus All-American since wideout Josh Doctson in 2015, Avila played a significant role in the Horned Frogs becoming one of the most unlikely entrants in a Division I-FBS national championship game. The 330-pound blocker played 1,044 snaps at left guard and did not allow a sack last season.

In addition to Avila, the Rams moved ahead with two other agreements with their 14-man draft class. Wingate punter Ethan Evans (No. 223) and Oklahoma State safety Jason Taylor II (No. 234) signed their four-year rookie deals Tuesday as well, Pro Football Talk’s Charean Williams notes. The Rams chose Taylor with the pick obtained for Allen Robinson.