Lance McCutcheon became a fan favorite in Los Angeles last summer after a terrific performance in training camp and the preseason. As an undrafted rookie, he stood out in a big way, leading the NFL with 259 yards receiving and two touchdowns on 15 catches.
That propelled him into a spot on the 53-man roster, an impressive feat for the UDFA.
The story has been much different this year, unfortunately. McCutcheon hasn’t made much noise in practice or the preseason, which is putting his roster spot in serious jeopardy. Through two games, McCutcheon has just two receptions for 28 yards on six targets – all of which came last week against the Chargers.
In Saturday night’s loss to the Raiders, McCutcheon was invisible. He only played five snaps and wasn’t targeted once, which seemingly puts him behind the likes of Demarcus Robinson, Puka Nacua, Tyler Johnson and maybe even Austin Trammell on the depth chart.
It’s a crowded receiver room to begin with and McCutcheon isn’t exactly making his presence felt on the field. That’s disappointing because the 6-foot-3 looked like a promising player last year when he was coming down with just about everything thrown his direction.
The Rams could use his size at receiver but they’re not going to keep him on the 53-man roster just because he has a big catch radius. He needs to be a well-rounded receiver capable of actually contributing, starting with special teams.
There’s a good chance that if the Rams do cut McCutcheon this summer, he’ll land back with them on the practice squad. He’s not a receiver that should garner much attention on the waiver wire after putting together two quiet outings in the preseason so far, meaning he’ll get some additional time to develop on the practice squad in 2023.
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