A youth movement is underway in Los Angeles after an offseason of veteran departures and younger additions. The Rams moved on from Todd Gurley, Brandin Cooks and Clay Matthews this year, watched Eric Weddle retire, and traded Aqib Talib last season.
To replace those players, the Rams brought in a handful of younger players, including rookies Cam Akers, Van Jefferson, Terrell Lewis and Terrell Burgess. They also signed Leonard Floyd and A’Shawn Robinson.
What’s most surprising about the Rams’ regular-season roster after Saturday’s cuts is that three undrafted rookies also made the team, further lowering the overall age of the roster. The end result of this turnover is Los Angeles having the third-youngest roster in the NFL, according to Jimmy Kempski of Philly Voice.
Kempski ranks every roster by age each year, and the Rams are much younger compared to where they were last season. In 2019, they had the 10th-youngest roster with an average age of 25.6, but they’ve moved to No. 3 this year with an average age of 25.1. From 2016-2018, the Rams never ranked lower than fourth in average age.
Akers and Burgess are the youngest players on the team at 21 years old, followed by a group of 22-year-olds that includes Tremayne Anchrum, Lewis, Jachai Polite and Samuel Sloman. It’s a young team, but also a somewhat inexperienced one, particularly at running back, linebacker and on the offensive line – with the exception of 38-year-old Andrew Whitworth.
He’s the Rams’ only player older than 32, and if not for Whitworth, they might have the youngest roster in the NFL. The Jaguars (24.9) and Dolphins (25.1) are the only teams with younger rosters than Los Angeles. The Falcons have the oldest roster, with an average age of 26.9.