Tag: rams injuries

Tyler Higbee expected to land on PUP list as he recovers from knee injury

Tyler Higbee is expected to be placed on the PUP list this summer as he recovers from a torn ACL and MCL

Tyler Higbee has a long road ahead of him as he recovers from a torn ACL and MCL, which he suffered in the Rams’ playoff loss to the Lions in January. It was a brutal injury for the veteran tight end, who had just signed an extension with the Rams last year.

While the team hasn’t yet ruled him out for the start of the 2024 season, it seems very possible that he’ll be sidelined early on. Sean McVay told reporters at the annual league meetings on Tuesday that Higbee is expected to be placed on the PUP list this offseason, which can occur during training camp in July.

That won’t rule him out for Week 1 or any regular-season games unless he remains on the PUP list when final cuts are made; that would cause him to miss at least four games.

Early in free agency, the Rams signed former Seahawks tight end Colby Parkinson to a three-year deal, so he would presumably be the starter if Higbee misses regular-season action. They also have second-year tight end Davis Allen, as well as Hunter Long, who was acquired in the Jalen Ramsey trade.

Depth isn’t a huge concern anymore but the Rams will hope to get Higbee back sooner rather than later.

Rams suffered fewest significant injuries in NFL last season after having 2nd-most in 2022

The Rams were decimated by injuries in 2022 but they didn’t suffer many significant ones last season

A big reason the Los Angeles Rams’ 2022 season was a complete disaster is the number of injuries they suffered. Matthew Stafford, Cooper Kupp and Aaron Donald all got hurt, as did many of their offensive linemen.

It was something out of the team’s control, but many expected the Rams to bounce back on the injury front in 2023 with some better luck. And boy, did they ever.

According to Aaron Schatz of FTN Fantasy, the Rams ranked first in the NFL in adjusted games lost last season. They had the fourth-fewest AGL on offense (15.5) and fewest on defense (10.9), giving them a total of AGL of only 26.4 games – the lowest total of any team in the league. Compare that to 2022 when the Rams had 146.6 adjusted games lost, which ranked 31st, and it’s easy to see the massive difference between the two seasons.

On the other side, the Rams plunged from 146.6 AGL to 26.4 AGL and Denver dropped from 148.6 AGL to 57.7 AGL. The Rams had been in the top 10 for AGL for six straight seasons before their mess in 2022, so this was just a return to form in Los Angeles. Yes, there is a surprising correlation from year to year in AGL. For the last decade, removing COVID games in both 2020 and 2021, the year-to-year correlation for AGL has been .29. However, the year to year correlation from 2022 to 2023 was small and negative at -.14, meaning that the fewer injuries a team had in 2022, the more (slightly) they were likely to have in 2023.

This isn’t to say the Rams weren’t missing players at various points last season. Cooper Kupp missed the first four games and Kyren Williams was sidelined for four games in the middle of the year. Joe Noteboom, Alaric Jackson, Rob Havenstein and Tyler Higbee all missed multiple games, as well.

The defense was much more fortunate when it comes to injuries, but the roster as a whole didn’t suffer many major losses – certainly not even close to the number the Rams had in 2022 when just about all of their top players missed time.

Sean McVay shares injury updates on Tyler Higbee and Jordan Fuller

Tyler Higbee and Jordan Fuller both came out of Sunday’s game banged up. The Rams will monitor their status this week.

The injury bug has stayed away from the Rams for the most part this season, particularly coming out of their Week 10 bye. They were as healthy as ever entering Sunday’s game against the New York Giants but a couple of players came out of the win banged up.

Sean McVay told reporters Monday that Tyler Higbee dislocated his shoulder and Jordan Fuller sprained his ankle. The Rams have no reason to rush them back after clinching a playoff berth, but their statuses will be evaluated this week leading up to the season finale.

If Higbee can’t play, Davis Allen would be in line for more snaps, and Russ Yeast would likely fill in for Fuller if he’s unavailable.

Both players had a big impact in the win. Higbee caught six passes for 62 yards, while Fuller picked off a pass in the second half. They’re two leaders and captains of the team, so hopefully they won’t be out very long, if at all.

Tutu Atwell has cleared concussion protocol, will play vs. Saints

Tutu Atwell will play on Thursday night after clearing the concussion protocol

Tutu Atwell took a big hit along the sideline during the Rams’ loss to the Ravens in Week 15, forcing him to miss Sunday’s game. He was in the concussion protocol all week but Sean McVay said on Monday that Atwell has been cleared and will play against the Saints on Thursday night.

Atwell has been overtaken by Demarcus Robinson as the No. 3 receiver on offense, but his speed and agility will still earn him snaps as a situational player. He’s been the Rams’ best deep threat all season and even when he’s not making catches downfield, he’s drawing pass interference penalties.

In 13 games played, Atwell has a career-high 37 catches for 476 yards and three touchdowns, while also rushing four times for 35 yards.

Atwell’s return gives the Rams some additional depth behind Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua, and he should continue competing for reps with Robinson on the outside.

Ahkello Witherspoon exits with groin injury, questionable to return

Ahkello Witherspoon, the Rams’ top cornerback, left Sunday’s game in the second half with a groin injury

Ahkello Witherspoon has been the Rams’ top cornerback all season, but his absence was felt in the fourth quarter after he exited the game against the Commanders. He left in the second half with a groin injury and the Rams listed him as questionable to return.

As soon as he went out, the Commanders attacked Derion Kendrick with Terry McLaurin, hitting two long plays down the field with Kendrick in coverage. Witherspoon had a near-interception earlier in the game, his second pass breakup of the afternoon.

Rams hope to get Tyler Higbee back this week: ‘That’s the expectation’

Tyler Higbee missed Sunday’s game with a neck injury but Sean McVay hopes he’ll be back in Week 15 against Washington

The Rams’ tight end depth has been tested in the last two weeks. Tyler Higbee suffered a neck injury in Week 13 against the Cleveland Browns and was forced to miss Sunday’s game in Baltimore. His replacement, Hunter Long, went down with an MCL injury in the first half of Sunday’s loss and will now miss the rest of the season.

Rookie Davis Allen played more snaps on Sunday than he had in the entire season up to that point, and while he delivered a great performance with four catches for 50 yards and a touchdown, the Rams expect to get Higbee back in Week 15.

“Hopefully we’ll get Tyler back this week. That’s the expectation. That’s the goal,” McVay said. “Still have  Brycen Hopkins who has done a lot of good things for us as well. We’ll take it a day at a time. We’re kind of just now in the last couple hours just getting all this information and then you start to sort through your plans accordingly.”

The Rams had previously made Hopkins a healthy scratch in recent weeks, leaning on Long and Allen behind Higbee. But with Long going down and Higbee banged up, expect to see Hopkins active on game days moving forward.

Allen should remain a key part of the equation, too, especially after putting together the game he had on Sunday. But the Rams will be happy to get Higbee back from injury, hopefully this week.

Matthew Stafford gives update on injured thumb, which is ‘feeling better’ than he expected

Matthew Stafford admits he was worried his thumb injury was serious, but it’s “feeling better” than he expected it to

The Los Angeles Rams missed Matthew Stafford in Week 9, getting blown out by the Green Bay Packers, 20-3, without their starting quarterback. Brett Rypien, who filled in for Stafford, has since been cut, and there’s hope No. 9 will be under center in Week 11 when the Rams return from their bye.

Stafford hasn’t had a press conference since injuring his thumb in Week 8, but he appeared on the “Pat McAfee Show” Friday and provided a little bit of an update.

“Body’s feeling decent,” he said. “Trying to get the thumb and all that back up to speed and ready to go for Seattle.”

As for how his thumb is feeling, he says it’s doing better than he anticipated. Stafford admitted he was worried that it was a serious injury but he’s thankful it was only minor.

He’s doing everything he can to get back on the field as soon as possible, but he didn’t give a specific timeline for his return.

“Thumb’s feeling better than I thought it would,” he added. “I was a little bit scared in the Dallas game that it was going to be worse than it was and just happy it’s not. I’m going to do everything I can to be out there. I love playing this game and love competing, so I’m going to do whatever I need to do to be out there.”

Stafford’s diagnosis was a torn UCL in his right thumb, an injury he’s suffered in the past. He didn’t require surgery and though he wasn’t able to grip the football properly in advance of the Rams’ Week 9 game, Sean McVay is optimistic he’ll be back next week against Seattle.

X-rays on Matthew Stafford’s thumb were negative, QB could still miss Week 9

Matthew Stafford injured his thumb on Sunday but Ian Rapoport says the X-rays were negative

Sean McVay didn’t know the severity of Matthew Stafford’s thumb injury Sunday, but the quarterback will obviously undergo further testing after leaving the game in the second half. Ian Rapoport of NFL Network shared a little bit of good news about the Rams quarterback Monday, saying the X-rays on his thumb were negative.

It’s still unclear whether Stafford will miss time but Rapoport indicated it’s still possible he’ll sit out Week 9 against the Packers.

“My understanding is X-rays are negative, so unless the CT scan or MRI shows something different, no fracture, but they are looking at a variety of options here for Matthew Stafford,” Rapoport said. “No firm decision, but it does seem like missing next week’s game and going forward is something that’s in the realm of possibility for the Rams. It is something they’re discussing. They’re trying to get a plan going forward.”

Stafford originally hit his thumb on the two-point attempt before halftime, banging it on a player’s helmet. Then after the Rams’ touchdown to open the second half, he reinjured it when he caught a pass on the two-point attempt and dove into the end zone.

McVay will meet with reporters Monday and is likely to provide greater clarity on the quarterback’s status, but we could see Brett Rypien under center next week in Green Bay.

Sean McVay on Matthew Stafford’s injury: ‘Doesn’t seem like it’s good’

Sean McVay did not have a good update on Matthew Stafford’s thumb injury, which occurred on his two-point reception

Matthew Stafford left Sunday’s game against the Dallas Cowboys with a thumb injury and while he did return for the start of the second half, he exited after that first possession. He went to the locker room and had it heavily taped up but did not go back into the game.

After the 43-20 loss, Sean McVay shared a discouraging update on ESPN Los Angeles radio. He said “it doesn’t seem like it’s good,” though he wants to wait for further information on the injury.

During his press conference, McVay said he doesn’t want to speculate about the severity of Stafford’s thumb injury.

“It is his thumb. We’ll see what the significance of that injury is. But I don’t want to speculate until I have full clarification from the doctors, but obviously he wasn’t able to return,” he said.

Interestingly, McVay said the injury occurred on the successful two-point attempt when Stafford caught a pass from Tutu Atwell and dove into the end zone for the conversion.

On a smaller D-line, Rams’ loss of Bobby Brown III is a big one

The Rams’ defensive line was already lacking size, and now they’ve lost their biggest defender in Bobby Brown III

The Los Angeles Rams came into the season with a much smaller defensive line than they’ve had in recent years. Following the departures of A’Shawn Robinson and Greg Gaines, the unit up front lost not only two key players, but two of their largest players, too.

At 324 pounds, Bobby Brown III was the only defensive lineman over 300 pounds to start the season and in Sunday’s loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, their starting nose tackle went down with a knee injury. Brown is expected to miss 5-7 weeks with an MCL sprain, leaving the Rams without their space-eating defensive lineman.

Nose tackles don’t often rack up big numbers on the stat sheet and you might not think Brown was having a very productive season considering he only has 13 tackles and no sacks. However, his loss is a big one for the Rams, both literally and figuratively.

According to Pro Football Focus, Brown is the Rams’ fourth-highest-graded player on defense this season with a grade of 68.9. His run-defense grade of 66.6 is eighth-best on the team and his three total pressures are tied for the seventh-most.

The biggest concern with Brown out is a lack of size on the interior when it comes to defending the run. The Rams have Kobie Turner, who’s also gotten snaps at nose tackle, but only 46 compared to Brown’s 109. He’s also 36 pounds lighter than Brown and 2 inches shorter, so he doesn’t bring quite the same bulk to the interior of the line. Aaron Donald is the only other player to get snaps as a true nose tackle on defense this season.

If the Rams don’t plan to sign a true nose tackle to replace Brown, what they may have to do is make Turner a full-time nose tackle and give a player like Larrell Murchison more snaps at defensive tackle in place of Turner. That’s certainly not ideal, which emphasizes how big a loss Brown is for this group.

Fortunately, it wasn’t a season-ending injury like the Rams feared, but even being without Brown for 5-7 weeks will be a tough blow, especially with teams such as the Cowboys, Packers and Seahawks coming up on the schedule – teams that have talented running backs.