Cobie Durant missed the Los Angeles Rams’ Week 15 win over the San Francisco 49ers after suffering a lung contusion in the game prior. Ahkello Witherspoon filled in and played well, helping shut down the 49ers’ receivers in a 12-6 win.
Durant was cleared to play against the New York Jets and was a full participant in the final two days of practice, but he didn’t see the field for a single snap on Sunday. It was Witherspoon who got the start and played every snap opposite Darious Williams, raising some questions about Durant’s status.
Sean McVay was asked Monday about the decision to start Witherspoon over Durant and it doesn’t sound like it was based on Cobie’s health. It was simply a coaching decision to go with Witherspoon over Durant.
“I think he’s played really well over the last couple weeks,” McVay said of Witherspoon. “Cobie is getting back off the lung contusion against Buffalo. He’s a guy that we have tremendous confidence in, but thought Ahkello and Darious had played really well against San Fran. Cobie’s a guy that has played at a high clip this year. It’s a nice luxury to be able to have three guys that we look at as truly starting corners. We have some guys that can be flexible in terms of playing that star position or the safety position.”
Durant has arguably been the Rams’ best and most consistent cornerback all year, which makes this decision somewhat surprising. In 419 coverage snaps, he’s allowed just 338 yards, which is only 23 more yards than Witherspoon has allowed in 255 coverage snaps, according to Pro Football Focus.
Witherspoon has made some key plays for the Rams on deep passes and has four total deflections in the last two games, but Durant hasn’t allowed more than 27 yards in any of his last four games. Perhaps he simply wasn’t fully up to speed coming off the injury, so the Rams leaned on Witherspoon instead.
McVay loves what he’s seen from Witherspoon lately and he could continue to utilize the veteran cornerback heavily moving forward despite Durant’s strong season.
“I’ve been really pleased with the Ahkello. I think he’s played really well,” McVay continued. “I think he’s competitive. He has good length and he has the ability to be sticky in coverage, especially on short (and) intermediate (routes). I think he has really played the ball well down the field with some of his look and lean techniques and fundamentals. I’ve thought Ahkello has played really well these last two weeks. He’s had some key and critical stops in some really important down and distances that’ve been huge for our defense both against the Niners and yesterday against the Jets.”
As McVay said, it’s a good problem to have. In the NFL, a team can never have too many cornerbacks and although the Rams don’t really rotate theirs much, depth is going to be valuable down the stretch.