The Los Angeles Rams will need a new plan in the return game moving forward. Sean McVay told reporters at Monday’s press conference that JoJo Natson is out 4-6 weeks with a hamstring injury suffered against the Cardinals on Sunday.
Natson was the only player to get injured during the game, but it’s a significant one, according to McVay.
“JoJo Natson was the only one during the game,” McVay said. “He got a hamstring and he got it pretty good so it’s a 4-to-6-week injury. We’ll have some further updates on his status and how exactly we’ll handle that.”
As for who could replace Natson, who has returned kickoffs and punts this season, the Rams have a couple of options. McVay mentioned rookies Darrell Henderson and Nsimba Webster as candidates on kickoffs and punts, respectively.
“I think there’s a good chance you could put Darrell back there for kick returns,” the coach said. “And then in terms of the punt returns, Nsimba was a guy that did a really nice job at that in the preseason. Consistently caught the ball and he’s a guy that can do a nice job creating after the catch, getting vertical immediately, so he would be the next guy up.”
With only four regular-season games remaining, there’s a chance Natson won’t play again this year. He has 19 punt returns for 149 yards and 13 kick returns for 289 yards. He averaged 10.8 yards per punt return last season but is down to just 7.8 in 2019.
Also on the injury front, McVay said Rob Havenstein and Gerald Everett are both day-to-day as they recover from knee injuries.