Tag: Joe Noteboom

McVay’s vague comments on Joe Noteboom’s absence create trade speculation

Sean McVay said Joe Noteboom won’t practice this week but he was very vague about it. Could the Rams be trying to trade him?

Joe Noteboom has started 23 games in his career, playing both left tackle and guard in his five seasons with the Rams. But despite being the team’s highest-paid offensive lineman at $13.3 million per year, he still hasn’t secured a starting spot up front.

He was competing at left tackle with Alaric Jackson and most recently, he shifted to right guard where he’s been battling Tremayne Anchrum Jr. For the rest of the week, though, he won’t be competing at either spot.

Sean McVay said after the Rams’ joint practice with the Raiders on Wednesday that Noteboom is “dealing with a little something right now” and won’t be practicing for the rest of the week. McVay refused to elaborate on the matter, saying, “I don’t have any more information than that right now.” He only said that Noteboom did individual drills but was held out of the team portion of practice.

With the way McVay vaguely described Noteboom’s absence, it’s hard not to speculate about what could be going on. Did he suffer a new injury? Did he have a setback in his rehab from a torn Achilles? Or, are the Rams trying to trade him?

It seems unlikely that Los Angeles would try to move its highest-paid offensive lineman but if there isn’t a starting spot for Noteboom, he’ll be a very expensive backup to keep on the roster; he’s making $13.3 million annually and after having his deal restructured this offseason, he has a cap hit of $6.5 million in 2023 and $20 million in 2024.

Here’s what McVay said when asked if it’s hard for Noteboom to miss a joint practice with the Raiders, which was an important day of practice for everyone. Again, he didn’t say Noteboom has an injury. He just wants him to focus on what he can control and that Noteboom “wants to be able to be out here.”

“It is, but I think the biggest thing is we want to focus on the things that we can control,” McVay said. “I know Joe wants to be able to be out here. He’s had an outstanding camp. I’ve been so pleased with his ability to play tackle and guard for us. But I think he’s putting all the work in and that’s all you can do. There’s some things that occur sometimes on the field that it’s like, man, that’s an unfortunate thing. It’s just a little bit of a setback. We’ll hopefully get him out here sooner than later. But we don’t want to waste our emotional energy on stuff that we can’t control and he’s done a great job of that and that’s important.”

McVay has never been great about openly discussing injuries and being completely honest about them (Todd Gurley, anyone?), but that’s because he doesn’t have to. And at this point in the offseason, he doesn’t have to disclose injuries the way he does during the regular season when there’s an injury report.

If the Rams were to trade Noteboom, they would save $1.5 million in cap space this year, $5 million in 2024 and $10 million in 2025. If that doesn’t sound like a move the Rams would strongly consider, I don’t know what does. After all, they’re focused on clearing money in 2024 and 2025.

It’s entirely possible Noteboom is just banged up right now, but McVay’s ambiguity raise questions about what might actually be going on with the veteran lineman.

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Joe Noteboom ‘dealing with a little something,’ won’t practice this week

Sean McVay said Joe Noteboom is “dealing with a little something” and won’t practice the rest of this week

Joe Noteboom has suffered a little bit of a setback as he tries to carve out a role for himself on the offensive line, either at left tackle or right guard. Noteboom was out at practice but didn’t participate in team drills because of an undisclosed issue.

Sean McVay told reporters afterwards that he’s “dealing with a little something right now” and that he won’t practice the rest of the week.

“He was out today. He just did some individual stuff,” McVay said. “He’s dealing with a little something right now and so he won’t be practicing the rest of this week. I don’t have anymore information than that right now but he wasn’t part of the team activities today.”

McVay didn’t elaborate on what the injury is – or if it’s an injury at all – but he did mention how pleased he’s been with the way Noteboom has practiced this summer. He loves his position flexibility between tackle and guard, and he thinks this is just a minor setback for the sixth-year lineman.

“I think the biggest thing is we want to focus on the things we can control,” he said. “I know Joe wants to be able to be out here. He’s had an outstanding camp. I’ve been so pleased with his ability to play tackle and guard for us. But I think he’s putting all the work in. that’s all you can do. There are things that occur sometimes on the field that it’s like, man, that’s an unfortunate thing. It’s just a little bit of a setback. We’ll hopefully get him out here sooner than later. But we don’t want to waste our emotional energy on stuff we can’t control and he’s done a great job of that.”

Alaric Jackson appears to have pulled ahead of Noteboom at left tackle, while Tremayne Anchrum Jr. is his biggest competition at right guard. Noteboom is the Rams’highest-paid offensive lineman but the Rams are going to start their five best players regardless of salary.

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Sean McVay breaks down what he’s looking for in a starting left tackle

Sean McVay gave a breakdown of what the Rams want in a left tackle, both in simple and technical terms

One of the key position battles that’s ongoing in Rams training camp is the one at left tackle. Alaric Jackson is competing with Joe Noteboom, who was the starter to begin last season before tearing his Achilles.

There’s been no indication of who’s winning that competition as camp nears its end, and it doesn’t sound like Sean McVay feels rushed to decide on a starter. During an interview on Inside Rams Camp, McVay said he’s not putting a timetable on when he wants to pick a starting left tackle or center.

“I don’t think you have any real timetable on it. I think you want to continue to be able to evaluate,” he said.

As for what he’s looking for in a left tackle, McVay looked toward Andrew Whitworth, who always talked about production at that position. It sounds simple, but he also wants a player who will take care of his responsibility on each play.

That’s when McVay got a bit more technical, describing a couple of different scenarios that a left tackle might face.

“I think it’s production. I think you look at the big fella that was doing it at a high level for such a long period of time for us, he used to talk about production. What is my job within the framework of each single snap? And did I do my job? Am I checking that box or am I not?” he said. “Sometimes it can be a little bit flashier than others but ultimately, if you’re responsible for reaching an open-side 5-technique and you keep him covered up to be able to run in the B-gap and press it backside, job well done. If you’re responsible for being on the man side of the protection and you keep your guy covered up just long enough to give Matthew a second hitch to be able to get through a progression, job well done.”

One additional trait McVay wants in all of his linemen is physicality. He wants the Rams to be more physical on both sides of the line of scrimmage, which includes their left tackle.

On that front, Jackson appears to play with a little bit more physicality than Noteboom, so he could end up being the team’s preferred left tackle.

“We’re looking for consistency snap in and snap out. I think we want to be a physical unit, as well,” he said. “I think that’s an important thing for us to establish, physicality on both sides of the line of scrimmage. But it is about production snap in and snap out and consistency and that’s what we want to be able to see.”

McVay hasn’t said whether Jackson or Noteboom will play in the preseason, but given his recent comments about the plan being “very different,” we can assume they’ll get at least some snaps in preseason games to help sort out the position battle.

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Rams’ LT and center competitions could decide how rest of O-line looks

The Rams may need to figure out who their starting left tackle and center is before determining who starts at guard

Before the Los Angeles Rams can decide who will be their two starting guards, they might need to sort out very important competitions at left tackle and center. Sean McVay has already said it’s an open battle at both positions, with Alaric Jackson and Joe Noteboom competing at left tackle and Brian Allen and Coleman Shelton at center.

What makes those two positions so interesting is the fact that the loser of each won’t necessarily be a backup. It’s possible that whoever loses each competition will still get a chance to start somewhere along the offensive line.

That’s a testament to the position flexibility of those players, with the exception of Allen, who’s strictly a center. Jackson and Noteboom can both play tackle or guard, and they’ve each made starts at both positions in the past. Shelton has also been a starter at center and guard.

There’s a scenario where if Jackson beats out Noteboom at left tackle, Noteboom could be the starting right guard. The same goes for Allen and Shelton; if Allen wins out at center, Shelton could still start at right guard.

That’s a good problem to have, but one the Rams have to figure out sooner than later. Right now, they’re rotating guys a bunch along the offensive line in an attempt to find their best five starters. There’s been no indication of whether Jackson or Noteboom is lead at left tackle, or who has the edge at center.

But once the Rams settle on starters at each position, they can then give the loser of those battles a fair shot to compete at other spots; maybe in the end, Jackson is just best suited to play guard instead of left tackle.

“I think you want to see competition across the board, but when you look at it, you’ve got four players that are competing or rotating at those spots right now that have all played in bigtime games and started for us. When you look at Alaric Jackson, you look at Joe Noteboom at the left tackle spot, you look at Brian Allen and Coleman Shelton from the center spot, those are guys that have played a lot of football for us,” McVay said this week. “I do believe competition brings out the best in guys. And so, whether or not those guys are always at those spots, that’s to be determined, but I do think that they’ll positively push each other and get the most out of each other and that’s what we’re looking at early on in camp. I’m looking forward to seeing those battles unfold.”

One of the guard spots could potentially go to rookie Steve Avila, who’s already gotten first-team reps. If he’s locked in as one starter, the other position could be hotly contested by a handful of players: Jackson or Noteboom, Shelton, Logan Bruss and Tremayne Anchrum Jr. That’s potentially five players competing for one spot.

Left tackle and center are unquestionably more important than the two guard spots, which is why it’s critical for the Rams to settle on starters at those positions sooner rather than later. Plus, with the way McVay protects his starters in the preseason, he’s not going to want to put guys in harm’s way if he doesn’t have to in meaningless exhibition games.

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Rams’ 23 most important players for 2023 – No. 5: OL Joe Noteboom

The Rams need Joe Noteboom to play like the $40 million lineman they paid him to be in 2022

The Los Angeles Rams paid Joe Noteboom to be their starting left tackle last season, giving him a three-year deal worth $40 million in 2022. Unfortunately, the injury bug bit him again as he missed 11 games due to a torn Achilles.

Noteboom is still working his way back from the injury and wasn’t on the field for OTAs or minicamp, but the Rams’ hope is that he can be their starting left tackle for the duration of the 2023 season. If not, the position could be handed over to Alaric Jackson, a former undrafted free agent.

Noteboom may not be one of the Rams’ best players, but he’s one of their most important as they look to bounce back from a disastrous season on the offensive line.

Salary cap update after Rams’ initial wave of moves

The Rams have gotten under the salary cap already, but how much space do they currently have?

The NFL requires all teams to be under the salary cap when the new league year begins, which is March 15 at 4 p.m. ET this year. The Los Angeles Rams were more than $14 million over the limit a few weeks ago, but they’ve made the necessary moves to get under the cap ahead of Wednesday’s deadline.

They agreed to trade Jalen Ramsey to the Dolphins, cut Leonard Floyd, restructured Joe Noteboom’s contract and split with Bobby Wagner. The Ramsey and Wagner moves haven’t yet been made official, but they will go through on Wednesday.

Over The Cap is keeping track of every team’s moves and cap situation, updating the Rams’ financial standing with every transaction. Accounting for the Ramsey trade, Floyd release and Noteboom restructure, Over The Cap has the Rams with $6.27 million in cap space.

When Wagner is released, assuming he’ll be a standard cut and not a post-June 1 release, the Rams will save another $5 million, giving them more than $11 million in free space. If he’s a post-June 1 cut, the Rams will get $8 million in savings, but they won’t see that money until June.

The Ramsey trade saved $5.6 million in cap space, the Floyd cut saved $3 million and Noteboom’s restructure saved $9 million, so that’s where the additional money has come from.

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Rams rework Joe Noteboom’s contract, create $9M in cap space

The Rams are getting under the cap by restructuring Joe Noteboom’s contract, which saves $9 million

The Los Angeles Rams must get under the salary cap by Wednesday at 4 p.m. ET and they took a big step toward getting there on Tuesday. According to Field Yates of ESPN, they restructured Joe Noteboom’s contract to create $9 million in cap space.

Noteboom was viewed as a potential cap casualty this offseason after signing a three-year deal in 2022, but with his deal being reworked, it’s highly unlikely that the Rams will move him now.

The Rams signed Noteboom to a three-year deal worth $40 million last offseason, keeping him under contract through 2024 before he could hit free agency.

His deal includes two void years in 2025 and 2026, which are only there for cap purposes. In this instance with a restructure, it helps spread out some money across additional years rather than it all coming in the next two years.

This move should get the Rams under the cap by the start of the new league year after trading Jalen Ramsey and releasing both Bobby Wagner and Leonard Floyd.

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Joe Noteboom suffers torn Achilles vs. Panthers in Week 6, ruled out for the rest of the season

Joe Noteboom suffered a season-ending Achilles injury in the Rams’ Week 6 win over the Panthers.

Joe Noteboom was carted off during Sunday’s win over the Carolina Panthers as the Los Angeles Rams ended a two-game losing streak. Ahead of the bye week in Week 7, it’s been confirmed that Noteboom suffered a season-ending Achilles injury against the Panthers.

Noteboom exited in the second quarter of Sunday’s win and he was immediately ruled out for the rest of the game. Sean McVay shared that the Rams feared he sustained an injury to his Achilles, but the team would wait for him to undergo more tests.

Sadly, Noteboom will miss the rest of the season as he’ll join a long list of injured offensive linemen on the Rams. Aside from Noteboom, Brian Allen, David Edwards, Coleman Shelton, and Tremayne Anchrum Jr. have all endured injuries that have caused them to miss multiple games.

Ahead of the 2022 season, Noteboom signed a three-year, $40 million contract to replace Andrew Whitworth as the blindside protector for Matthew Stafford following his retirement. The TCU product had started in all six games for Los Angeles this season and he’s made 23 career starts since the Rams took him in the third round of the 2018 NFL draft.

With Noteboom out for the rest of the year, Rob Havenstein is the lone remaining starter on the offensive line from Week 1 that is healthy. Alaric Jackson could see more time at left tackle or the Rams could potentially make a move soon with all of the injuries they’ve endured in the trenches.

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Sean McVay fears Joe Noteboom has an Achilles injury

Joe Noteboom was carted off in the first half and the initial fear from Sean McVay is that he injured his Achilles

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“It’s unbelievable, isn’t it?”

That was Sean McVay’s take on the Rams’ incredibly long list of injuries suffered along the offensive line after losing Joe Noteboom in Sunday’s win over the Panthers. Noteboom was carted off and ruled out with an ankle injury, but the fear is that he hurt his Achilles.

McVay told reporters it “might be an Achilles,” which is always a crushing injury if the tendon is indeed torn. That would sideline Noteboom indefinitely, leaving the Rams without their left tackle for the foreseeable future.

Mike Garafolo also reported that the belief is he suffered a season-ending Achilles injury.

Noteboom signed a $40 million extension this past offseason to stay aboard as Andrew Whitworth’s replacement, and even though he hasn’t played well thus far, he’s the Rams’ best option at left tackle.

After Noteboom left the game, Alaric Jackson slid over to left tackle and Oday Aboushi took over at right guard. That could be the Rams’ approach moving forward if Noteboom is sidelined.

6 takeaways from Rams’ 24-10 win over Panthers

The Rams took care of business at home with a 24-10 win over the Panthers in Week 6 and here are our immediate takeaways.

The Los Angeles Rams were able to come away with a 24-10 win over the Carolina Panthers at home in Week 6. The Rams improve to 3-3 on the season after ending a two-game losing streak with consecutive losses to the San Francisco 49ers and the Dallas Cowboys.

It was a game that Los Angeles was expected to win as Carolina had an interim head coach, backup quarterback, and injuries to some notable players. Meanwhile, the Rams have dealt with countless injuries on both sides of the ball to begin the season.

After bouncing back in Week 6, here are our immediate takeaways from Sunday’s win over the Panthers.