Tag: Keir Thomas

Rams sign Keir Thomas to active roster, waive Zach VanValkenburg

The Rams have made a change to their outside linebacker room, bringing up Keir Thomas and waiving Zach VanValkenburg

Leading up to Sunday’s game against the Seattle Seahawks, the Los Angeles Rams made a couple of roster moves. The team announced it has signed Keir Thomas to the active roster and waived Zach VanValkenburg to make room for him.

Thomas has been on the practice squad since the start of the regular season and will now get an opportunity to contribute on Sundays. VanValkenburg made the 53-man roster out of training camp but has just one sack and nine tackles in nine games played.

Thomas was a standout player in the preseason, recording 2.5 sacks and four quarterback hits. It was mildly surprising that he didn’t make the team out of camp, but he’s a talented edge rusher who could contribute in the near future.

It’s time for the Rams to end the Michael Hoecht experiment at OLB

Michael Hoecht has struggled to begin the season and the Rams should consider starting someone else at OLB moving forward.

Out of pure desperation, the Los Angeles Rams had Michael Hoecht make the transition from interior defender to edge rusher during the 2022 season. Hoecht would make six starts last season, tallying 4.5 sacks (the most by an edge rusher on the Rams not named Leonard Floyd) and four tackles for loss.

After finishing last season as the starter opposite Floyd — and with Floyd departing in free agency — Hoecht has gotten the nod to start again at outside linebacker this season. Through the first three weeks, the experiment of deploying Hoecht as a starting edge rusher appears to be headed toward disaster.

In Monday night’s loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, Hoecht was a liability against the run and as a pass rusher against a hobbled Joe Burrow. It was just more of the same of what we’ve seen from Hoecht in the first two games for the Rams.

Following the Week 3 loss to the Bengals, Hoecht has just seven total pressures on the season, according to PFF. For comparison, Aaron Donald and rookie Byron Young lead the Rams in pressures with 14 and 13, respectively. Trey Hendrickson of the Bengals finished with 10 total pressures just in Monday night’s matchup.

Missed tackles have also been a major concern for Hoecht, who has only two fewer missed tackles (5) than pressures (7) through Week 3. If Hoecht isn’t going to generate consistent pressure and he’s a liability in the run game, why should he continue to start?

At this point, Hoecht remaining a starter could be telling of the lack of trust the Rams have in their other edge rushers. Aside from Young and Hoecht, Zach VanValkenburg and Nick Hampton have seen minimal playing time.

Also, rookie Ochaun Mathis was placed on injured reserve before the season began because of a knee injury he’s been dealing with since training camp. And even after a strong showing in the preseason, the Rams haven’t shown any intentions of promoting Keir Thomas from the practice squad.

The Rams had just one edge rusher they could lean on in 2022 and it feels like that is transpiring again with Young carrying the load as a rookie. While the options in free agency and on the trade market are limited, the Rams would be wise to consider all of their options instead of continuing to start Hoecht moving forward.

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Rams’ 4 most surprising cuts to get roster down to 53 players

Here are the 4 most surprising cuts made by the Rams on Tuesday, including their top pick from 2022, Logan Bruss

Tuesday was the deadline for all 32 teams in the NFL to trim their rosters down to 53 players ahead of Week 1. The Los Angeles Rams have officially made the moves necessary to reduce their roster to 53 players, and a few of them were a bit surprising.

When going from 90 players from the start of training camp to 53 players before Week 1 kicks off, you are bound to have a handful of moves that shock fans. Throughout practices and the preseason, certain players could either earn or lose a roster spot due to how they perform.

With the roster moves now official, here are the four most surprising players who were released by the Rams on Tuesday.

Preseason stats show it’s time for the Rams to worry about their edge rushers

The Rams’ pass-rush numbers have been terrible this preseason, getting very little production from their outside linebackers.

Rams fans have long been worried about the team’s group of edge rushers after Leonard Floyd was cut. Los Angeles doesn’t have a single edge rusher with a proven track record in the NFL, relying heavily on rookies and second-year players at one of the most important positions on the roster.

Sean McVay hasn’t shown any concern about the Rams’ outside linebackers up to this point, even saying the team declined to sign a veteran pass rusher because of the promising young players on the roster.

Well, it’s probably time for McVay and the front office to worry about the pass rush. Two weeks into the preseason, the Rams have put up putrid numbers in that department. According to Pro Football Focus, only one edge rusher on the team has more than one pressure: Keir Thomas, who has five.

The rest of the outside linebackers have two pressures combined, with Daniel Hardy and Nick Hampton recording one each; Hardy turned that one pressure into a sack.

Byron Young didn’t play the second preseason game so he’s been limited to just nine pass-rush snaps, but he hasn’t been credited with a single pressure. His best pass-rush rep was a sack that got called back because he grabbed the quarterback’s facemask. Michael Hoecht, the other projected starter, has zero pressures, sacks or quarterback hits in 16 pass-rush snaps.

The same goes for Zach VanValkenburg, who’s rushed the passer on 27 snaps with very little success.

Ochaun Mathis has been sidelined with a knee injury since the start of camp and has yet to play a preseason snap, but it’s unlikely the seventh-round rookie will dramatically change the outlook at edge rusher when he does return.

It’s admittedly a small sample size but the Rams can’t be pleased with what they’ve seen from their edge rushers outside of Thomas. Their pass-rush grade of 59.6 as a team ranks 24th in the NFL, according to PFF, and that’s partly thanks to the fact that Earnest Brown IV and Jonah Williams each have two pressures.

The primary source of pressure should be coming from the outside linebacker group but that hasn’t been the case this preseason. While McVay continues to express confidence in the players the Rams currently have, it’s long overdue that they look for external help.

The problem is, they’ve waited so long to sign a veteran that the market has dried up significantly. Melvin Ingram and Carlos Dunlap are probably the best two players available for the Rams to consider.

It’s one thing to give the young guys a shot, but it’s another to completely ignore the biggest hole on the roster for months.

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6 Rams to watch in preseason Week 2 vs. Raiders

Here are 6 players to watch as the Rams take on the Raiders in the second week of the preseason.

The Los Angeles Rams will host the Las Vegas Raiders for their second preseason contest on Saturday. The Rams are coming off a 34-17 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers in their preseason opener, but the team is focused on determining certain position battles rather than winning meaningless games.

With Week 1 only a few weeks away, time is ticking for players to show enough to earn a roster spot. Ahead of Saturday’s preseason meeting with the Raiders, here are six players from the Rams to pay attention to.

Lance McCutcheon among 3 undrafted rookies to make Rams’ roster

Lance McCutcheon was among 3 undrafted rookies that made the 53-man roster for the Rams entering the 2022 season.

Lance McCutcheon was one of the preseason stars for the Los Angeles Rams and his efforts are being rewarded. With the Rams announcing their final roster cuts to trim their roster to 53 players, Los Angeles had three undrafted rookies make the roster, including McCutcheon.

Besides McCutcheon, Keir Thomas and Jake Hummel were the other undrafted rookies to make the team. All three of them had productive performances in the preseason, earning them a spot on the active roster.

With the Rams not playing their starters in the preseason, McCutcheon got plenty of reps at the wide receiver position. The first-year wideout out of Montana State combined for 15 receptions, 259 receiving yards, and two touchdowns in the team’s three exhibition games, leading the NFL in yards.

Meanwhile, Thomas saved his best for last in the preseason finale versus the Cincinnati Bengals. While totaling two tackles in the first two preseason contests, Thomas logged three tackles and a sack in the loss to the Bengals.

The Rams are entering the 2022 campaign with a revamped inside linebacker room that now features Bobby Wagner and Ernest Jones. Even if Wagner or Jones miss any time, Los Angeles is confident in Travin Howard and Hummel to provide depth.

Even though preseason records aren’t well-regarded, Hummel broke the team’s preseason tackles record with 22 combined tackles. Accumulating 22 tackles is even more impressive when you consider the NFL now plays three preseason games instead of four as they did previously.

It’s a tall task for undrafted rookies to earn a spot on an active roster in the NFL, but the Rams have three guys that proved they can supply value in 2022 and potentially beyond.

Rams rookie Keir Thomas made strong case for 53-man roster in preseason finale

Keir Thomas plays a position the Rams could use some depth at, and he made a strong case for the 53-man roster on Saturday

Saturday night was the last chance for Los Angeles Rams players to make an impression on the coaching staff and front office. It was the team’s last preseason game before final cuts are made by Tuesday’s deadline, making this a critical game for several players.

Undrafted rookie Keir Thomas saved his best performance for last. He was dominant in the first half, putting together a stat line you hope to see from an edge rusher who plays an entire game.

He had three tackles for a loss, one sack and a QB hit, consistently generating pressure on the quarterback and blowing things up in the running game. He also made another nice tackle to hold the Bengals to a 2-yard gain, but Cincinnati was called for holding so the play was negated.

His sack was helped by the Rams’ coverage on the play, but he did a nice job to keep contain and prevent Brandon Allen from escaping the pocket.

One of his tackles for a loss was a huge hit on the running back, too, taking a perfect angle to the ball carrier and making a solid tackle.

The Rams need edge rushers pretty badly, especially with Daniel Hardy going down last week with an ankle injury. Chris Garrett hasn’t done much to stand out, and Thomas is seemingly beating out Benton Whitley and Brayden Thomas – two other undrafted rookies.

Don’t expect Thomas to play meaningful snaps early if he makes the team, but keeping him on the 53-man roster seems like a legitimate possibility now.

He could be a good player to have around, both as a pass rusher and run defender. Saturday’s performance showed that.

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Notre Dame at Florida State: Fourth-Quarter Analysis

Oh boy.

They never said college football was easy. Sometimes, you find yourself in a battle you didn’t want. That’s what Notre Dame found itself in Sunday. Eighteen unanswered points by Florida State have sent this game to overtime with a 38-38 score.

The fourth quarter began with the Seminoles knocking on the door of the end zone. A couple of defensive stands and a penalty pushed the offense back from the 1-yard line to the 8. On third-and-goal, Jordan Travis avoided the defense and found Andrew Parchment for a touchdown. A successful two-point conversion pass to Keyshawn Helton cut the Irish’s lead to 38-28.

Relying mainly on the run, the Irish only were able to get one first down on their first possession of the fourth quarter. Jay Bramblett was knocked down on the ensuing punt, but the roughing penalty only went for 5 yards, much to the chagrin of an enraged Brian Kelly. Whether there should have been a 15-yard penalty instead will be debated. What’s not debatable is that things everything was coming up Seminoles.

On the ensuing drive, Travis’ helmet was knocked off, which forced the Seminoles to go to McKenzie Milton for his first game action in three years. All he did with this sudden opportunity was complete all four pass attempts before handing it off to Treshaun Ward for an 8-yard touchdown to make it 38-35. What once seemed like a sure victory now was anything but.

Desperately needing a long offensive possession, the Irish went three-and-out save for an offside penalty on first down. Jack Coan was sacked by Keir Thomas on the final play of the drive, sending Doak Campbell Stadium into a frenzy. The Irish fans in attendance only could brace for what was to come.

Milton continued his heroics with a run-heavy attack that the Irish’s defense simply couldn’t stop. The only thing that stopped him from reaching the end zone was a bad snap on third-and-6 from the Notre Dame 25. He threw the ball out of bounds to set up Ryan Fitzgerald for a 43-yard field-goal attempt. The kick was good, and the game was tied with 40 seconds left.

With time running out, Coan completed a couple of passes to Michael Mayer to get into Seminoles territory. A crushing blow happened when Mayer dropped a pass with five seconds left that would have set up a game-winning field goal. A Hail Mary with the clock expired was picked off by Travis Jay, and to extra football we go.