Tag: charles woods

Rams sign 3 players to practice squad, including a CB they just waived

The Rams signed three players to the practice squad, including CB Charles Woods, who was just waived Monday

The Los Angeles Rams had a handful of spots available on the practice squad and they filled them on Tuesday. The team announced it has signed defensive tackle Jack Heflin, cornerback Charles Woods and nose tackle Kevin Strong to the practice squad.

Only Woods was with the Rams previously, so Heflin and Strong are two new faces in Los Angeles. The Rams waived Woods on Monday to make room for Emmanuel Forbes, but he cleared waivers and was brought back to the practice squad.

Heflin is a 6-foot-3, 300-pound defensive tackle who spent last year with the Saints after stints with the Packers and Giants. He’s played in six games during his career.

Strong is a sixth-year veteran who spent time with the Cardinals last season after playing for the Lions and Titans. He’s played 50 games and made 13 career starts, recording 3.5 sacks across his five seasons. He has not played a game yet this season.

Five undrafted rookies made Rams’ 53-man roster, all on defense

The Rams kept five undrafted rookies on their 53-man roster, all of them on defense

With how many late-round picks and undrafted rookies have made the Los Angeles Rams’ roster over the last seven years, it’s clear that Sean McVay and Les Snead aren’t afraid to bet on lesser-known players. That’s the case again this year.

As the Rams were going through final roster cuts before Tuesday’s deadline, they decided to keep five undrafted rookies. That’s a high number for any team, particularly one with as much talent as the Rams.

The five undrafted rookies who made the 53-man roster are all on defense, too.

  • LB Omar Speights
  • LB Elias Neal
  • CB Josh Wallace
  • CB Charles Woods
  • CB Jaylen McCollough

Speights, Wallace, Woods and McCollough all seemed likely to make the team after they were held out of the third preseason game, but Neal’s inclusion comes as a big surprise. Perhaps he made the team after the Rams decided to trade Ernest Jones to the Titans, which opened up a roster spot. Regardless, he earned a spot on the roster with a strong preseason.

In addition to the five undrafted rookies, the Rams kept nine of their 10 drafted rookies on the 53-man roster. The only exception is seventh-rounder KT Leveston, who was placed on injured reserve with a designation to return.

Pivotal preseason finale could determine Rams’ CB group

The starters are pretty much set, but there are still spots up for grabs at CB entering the preseason finale

The Los Angeles Rams have been evaluating their roster for the better part of three months, going all the way back to OTAs and minicamp in the spring. Training camp is when the competition really started to heat up, leading to some tight position battles on both sides of the ball.

One position that still needs some sorting out is cornerback.

What we know is that Tre’Davious White and Darious Williams are projected to be the starters atop the depth chart. Cobie Durant is also sure to make the team as the third corner. Quentin Lake and Russ Yeast can both cover the slot, so that helps with the depth at cornerback, too.

But with Derion Kendrick injured and Jerry Jacobs being waived recently, there are spots up for grabs in the secondary. That makes Saturday’s preseason finale against the Texans so important for Tre Tomlinson, Shaun Jolly, Josh Wallace and Charles Woods.

Those four players could be fighting for one or two spots and they all should get extended playing time against Houston. We don’t know exactly how the coaching staff views that group but they would all seem to be pretty close in this position battle.

“You’re seeing some young guys – you look at Tre Tomlinson, you look at Shaun Jolly, guys that have been here,” McVay said this week. “Josh Wallace and Charles Woods are guys that have really shown well. So, we’ve gotten a lot of reps and then we have safeties that can play some of the nickel corner stuff when you look at Quentin Lake and Russ Yeast. We’re trying to find the best guys for our secondary and it’s starting to come into clarity, but we’ll continue to use these next few days.”

Wallace is a particularly intriguing player. He can play outside, which is where the Rams have a greater need behind White and Williams, and he was a standout corner in college at Michigan. He’s earned an impressive 71.7 coverage grade from PFF this preseason, allowing only one reception on two targets for a total of 12 yards.

Tomlinson has potential as a 2023 sixth-round pick but he’s also struggled with discipline in coverage and draws too many penalties. Jolly is mostly a slot corner, as is Woods. That doesn’t mean the Rams won’t keep one of them, but Wallace may just fill a bigger need.

If Wallace turns in another good performance against the Texans, it could be what he needs to secure a roster spot to open the regular season.