The Rams saved their longest for last.
With only one week left in the regular season, the Rams’ injury report is longer than it has been all year. Six starters are listed with injuries with only two of them being full participants in practice.
Nine players in total are on the report, which is concerning for the season finale against the Cardinals on Sunday afternoon. On Thursday’s release, Michael Brockers (knee), Troy Hill (thumb) and Andrew Whitworth (quad) all remained sidelined by their respective injuries, while Jalen Ramsey (knee) and Darrell Henderson Jr. (ankle) have already been ruled out for Week 17.
Eric Weddle (groin) returned as a full participant Thursday, which is a good sign after being listed as limited on Wednesday’s estimated report. Bobby Evans (hip) looks to be OK for the finale, while Mike Thomas popped up with an illness.
With regards to Brockers’ status, Sean McVay seemed fairly confident he’ll be OK to play on Sunday as the Rams are just playing it safe by not pushing him in practice.
“We’ll limit him in practice, but we will be smart. He’s a veteran player, he was able to take part in the walk-thru. If we do have to limit him physically, that’s something that we’re OK with, just because of his understanding and his ability,” McVay said. “He’s one of the rare guys that you do feel like, ‘All right, if you want to be smart and have him physically as healthy as possible for Sunday, take a little bit of that load off of him and his ability to get the above-the-neck reps, will be OK for us.”
The Rams are going to play it safe with their injured players, not putting anyone at unnecessary risk of further injury in a meaningless game.