The Rams were without several key players on Sunday night against the Bears, most notably Brandin Cooks, Robert Woods and Rob Havenstein. Cooks has missed two games with a concussion, while Havenstein is dealing with a knee injury that he suffered against the Steelers.
The Rams were still able to beat the Bears 17-7, holding their offense in check behind a great defensive effort. On Monday, McVay shared updates on Cooks and Havenstein, but said there’s nothing new on Woods, who is still “handling that personal matter.”
“We’ll probably have a little bit more of an update on that later on in the week,” McVay said.
Regarding Cooks, the Rams expect to have him back on Monday night against the Ravens as he’s made good progress in the concussion protocol.
“We do [expect him to play]. He’s been in great spirits, he’s been in good shape. The anticipation is that he will be able to play this week,” McVay said.
Havenstein’s outlook isn’t as positive, though. It was originally considered a multi-week injury, and it doesn’t sound like he’ll be on the field against the Ravens. McVay wouldn’t rule him out just yet, though, which does leave the door slightly open for him to play.
“I would say he’s probably going to be doubtful for this week,” the coach said. “He is making good progress. To have a finite answer on exactly when he’ll play a week from today is difficult. I think the anticipation – just originally with that injury – was that it’s probably going to be a couple weeks. That’s why he’ll most likely be doubtful, but you don’t want to rule him out quite yet.”
Bobby Evans did a great job in Havenstein’s place, all but neutralizing Khalil Mack and any other pass rushers that lined up across from him. He got a lot of help from the tight ends chipping at the line, but it was a solid performance by the rookie.
In other injury news, Michael Brockers went down briefly with an elbow injury, but he was able to return to the game. McVay didn’t express any concern on that front.
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