Rob Havenstein’s 2019 season has been a huge disappointment for several reasons. Not only was he playing poorly in the first half of the season, but he got injured in the first game after the Rams’ bye and hasn’t played a snap since Week 10.
Havenstein wasn’t listed on the injury report last week and the week prior, he was a full participant but listed as doubtful to play against Dallas. He appears to be healthy after practicing for two weeks, yet he was inactive on Saturday night.
Everyone’s been left wondering what’s going on with the Rams’ $32.5 million right tackle, and on Sunday, Sean McVay clarified Havenstein’s absence.
“He’s been practicing. He hasn’t really been in a position where he feels like he can do the things to play at a high level. So, we wanted to be smart with this and not push him,” McVay said. “Bobby’s (Evans) done some good things, but really, it’s been more of a reflection of how he’s felt during the week of practice, where could he really push through it, maybe. But, he’s not feeling totally good enough to be able to have that anchor, that stability that you need. We’ve just been smart and patient with it and taking his feedback and the doctors. We’ll see what this week looks like.”
Havenstein has an overall grade of just 50.9 at Pro Football Focus this season and allowed an eye-popping five sacks in 10 games. Evans’ grade is just 50.7 in six starts since Havenstein went down, but he’s allowed just one sack and hasn’t been penalized once.
Havenstein has a better overall body of work than Evans, which would make him seem like the better option at right tackle in 2020, but the Rams could be in for several changes on the offensive line this offseason so anything is on the table.
We’ll see what the future holds for Havenstein in Los Angeles, but unless he’s traded in the offseason, he’ll likely be back with the Rams next season – be it at right tackle or somewhere else.