Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
Sean McVay shared injury updates on Bobby Brown III, Rob Havenstein and Coleman Shelton after Week 5’s loss
The Los Angeles Rams had a few injury concerns coming out of their Week 5 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday, the biggest of which was Bobby Brown III. He left the game twice, the second time on a cart due to a knee injury.
Rob Havenstein and Coleman Shelton also exited early, though Shelton was able to return after a brief absence. He was taken to the locker room holding his hand.
On Monday, Sean McVay shared updates on the Rams’ primary injuries following their loss to the Eagles.
Puka Nacua and Joe Noteboom were among those banged up in Sunday’s game but they should be fine for Week 2
Not only did the Los Angeles Rams beat the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday, but they came away from the win with very few injury concerns.
There were the usual bumps and bruises that you’d expect from a game, but no one got hurt badly enough that they will be forced to miss the upcoming game against the San Francisco 49ers.
Sean McVay provided a few injury updates on Monday, including some ailments for Joe Noteboom and Puka Nacua. Noteboom sprained his ankle but didn’t miss a snap, Nacua hurt his ribs a little bit, Jason Taylor II injured his groin on special teams and Ahkello Witherspoon has a rib and hip contusion.
Again, McVay said all four players are expected to play against the 49ers this week, which is great news because the Rams need all hands on deck against the projected division favorites.
Injury updates from Sean McVay, who says none of these injuries will impact affected players' game statuses for Week 2:
OL Joe Noteboom – ankle sprain
WR Puka Nacua – got ribs "banged up a little bit"
DB Jason Taylor II – groin
DB Ahkello Witherspoon – rib and hip contusion— Stu Jackson (@StuJRams) September 11, 2023
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Cooper Kupp has been ruled out for the season opener against the Seahawks and it’s possible he’ll go on injured reserve
Sean McVay spoke with reporters on Wednesday and provided a much-anticipated update on Cooper Kupp, who’s currently dealing with a hamstring injury. McVay said that Kupp will not practice Wednesday and he’s been ruled out for Sunday’s game against the Seahawks.
Additionally, McVay said “there’s a possibility” that Kupp could land on injured reserve, which would sideline him for at least four games.
“We’ll look into that. We want to just be able to give him a little bit of time. We don’t have to make that decision quite yet, but there’s a possibility of that,” McVay said of Kupp possibly going on IR.
He added that Kupp’s timetable to return could be anywhere from “a couple weeks” to the four-plus required if he’s placed on injured reserve, so there’s a decent chance Kupp will miss Week 2 even if he isn’t placed on IR by Saturday.
Kupp originally suffered his hamstring injury on Aug. 1 and was sidelined for three weeks before suffering a setback in practice last week. The Rams sent him to see a specialist in Minnesota, hoping to gain some clarity on the injury, believing he should have recovered from it by now.
McVay admitted it’s been a tough situation for Kupp, who wants to be on the field with his teammates so badly.
“It’s been unfortunate. It’s been frustrating,” McVay said. “But I do think he’s done an excellent job being able to control what he can control. I think the biggest thing is let’s implement a plan, let’s hopefully start feeling back to normal and being able to slowly and steadily progress him back. But it’s been a really unique situation, to say the least.”
In Kupp’s place, the Rams will need Van Jefferson, Puka Nacua and Tutu Atwell to step up, along with Ben Skowronek and Demarcus Robinson.
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Logan Bruss sprained his ankle against the Raiders on Saturday and is considered day-to-day
Logan Bruss was forced to leave Saturday’s game against the Raiders early after twisting his ankle on a pass-blocking rep, limiting him to just 16 snaps on offense. It was another unfortunate setback for the second-year lineman, who missed his entire rookie season and is now moving from guard to tackle.
Sean McVay provided an update on Bruss’ status Sunday, saying he has a lateral ankle sprain and is considered day-to-day. It fortunately doesn’t sound like anything too serious, but hopefully he’ll be able to practice this week against the Broncos.
“Just got a lateral ankle sprain and we’ll take it a day at a time with him,” McVay said.
Bruss has struggled this preseason, giving up five pressures and one sack already despite only playing 42 snaps in pass protection. He was solid in run blocking against the Chargers, earning a PFF grade of 75.2 in that department in Week 1.
He’s still expected to make the 53-man roster but Bruss needs to take some positive steps at some point soon.
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Sean McVay still isn’t saying much about Joe Noteboom’s injury but he hopes he can practice this week against the Broncos
Joe Noteboom missed last week’s practices with the Las Vegas Raiders because of an undisclosed injury, which has certainly hurt his chances of earning the starting job at left tackle or right guard. Sean McVay has been oddly vague about the situation, not even using the word “injury” when describing his absence.
On Sunday, McVay was asked if Noteboom’s injury is related to his Achilles tear from last season, but he said it isn’t. He also doesn’t know if Noteboom will practice this week against the Broncos, but he’s keeping his fingers crossed.
“I’m hopeful. It’s day-to-day. I have much better clarity on Cooper (Kupp) and on Derion Kendrick that they’re going to go,” McVay said. “With Joe, it’s kind of a fingers crossed. And then if not, then next week is where we anticipate the thumbs up, but I would love for him to be able to go if possible.”
Noteboom had been competing at left tackle with Alaric Jackson, but the Rams are giving him more opportunities at right guard now, which is where Tremayne Anchrum Jr. is playing. There’s no clear indication of whether Noteboom or Anchrum is the favorite to start at right guard, but the longer Noteboom is out, the worse his chances get.
The Rams will hold two joint practices with the Broncos this week before facing them in the final preseason game on Saturday night. With how much value McVay puts on these practices, it would really benefit Noteboom to be out there.
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Rams RT Rob Havenstein suffered a stinger in practice on Thursday and did not return, but Sean McVay expects him to be OK.
The Rams shuffled their offensive line constantly last season but the one steady presence up front was Rob Havenstein. They hope he can stay healthy again in 2023 and though he left practice early on Thursday with an injury, he’s expected to be OK.
Sean McVay told reporters after practice that Havenstein got “a little stinger in his neck” but it doesn’t sound like anything the Rams need to be overly concerned with.
“I think he’s OK. I was just talking to him before I came out here. Just a little stinger in his neck is what the early prognosis is,” McVay said.
Havenstein is locked in as the starting right tackle, which was the only O-line spot that was already settled before spring workouts even began. Logan Bruss has been backing him up but there’s a steep drop-off from Havenstein to the reserve players so the Rams need him to stay healthy all year.
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Sean McVay still doesn’t know when Derion Kendrick, Hunter Long and Davis Allen will return, but he wants them back “as quickly as possible”
Every team in the NFL is hoping to avoid serious injuries during training camp and for the most part, the Los Angeles Rams did just that. Sure, Cooper Kupp has been sidelined by a hamstring injury, but it’s nothing that will affect his Week 1 status.
Elsewhere on the injury front, the Rams have been missing three young players who are competing for snaps: Derion Kendrick, Hunter Long and Davis Allen. All three have been sidelined for more than a week with soft-tissue injuries, causing them to miss the Rams’ padded practices in camp.
Sean McVay was asked about their statuses on Tuesday and he didn’t have much of an update, other than to say they’re day-to-day.
He expressed a heightened level of urgency with all three, hoping they can return as quickly as possible because they’re missing valuable practice time.
“Those guys are really day-to-day. I wish I had a better answer for you. We’re truly taking it a day at a time,” McVay said. “With those soft tissues, it’s more about once Reggie (Scott) and Justin Lovett and (John Griffin) and Zach Witherspoon and those guys can test them out where they can really open up in some of those controlled settings, you get a feel for when they’re hitting some of those high-speed yards. All right, are they ready to return back to performance? Because it’s one thing to return to play. It’s another thing to return to performance. But we need to get those guys back out here as quickly as possible because we can’t afford to waste this time. But we’re also not gonna get caught up in things we can’t control. I’m hopeful those guys will be out here sooner than later.”
Of the three, Kendrick is expected to have the most significant role this season. He’s competing to be a starting cornerback but since he’s been sidelined, Ahkello Witherspoon has risen up the depth chart with some impressive play in practice. Robert Rochell could also jump Kendrick if he plays well in the preseason.
It doesn’t sound like Kendrick, Long or Allen will be ready to play in the preseason opener on Saturday but there’s still a chance they’ll heal quickly enough this week to play a few snaps against the Chargers.
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Sean McVay shared positive injury updates on Joe Noteboom, Brian Allen and Alaric Jackson
The Los Angeles Rams’ offensive line was decimated by injuries last season. Not only did four of their five starters go down at one point or another, but several backups missed significant time, too.
Alaric Jackson, Joe Noteboom and Brian Allen all missed significant time, none playing more than eight games all year. Jackson had to be shut down due to blood clots, Noteboom tore his Achilles six games in and Allen dealt with numerous ailments, from a knee issue to a thumb injury and a calf strain.
Sean McVay met with reporters on Friday and shared some encouraging updates on all three players. Jackson has been cleared to return, Noteboom will be ready for training camp and Allen should be good to go for the start of the offseason program.
“Yeah, so AJ’s doing well. He had to just get on a medicine and he’s feeling good and to my understanding, he’s going to be clear to return and it’s a blessing that we were able to find that out and he was able to kind of get that under control. But he’s feeling good. He looks good. Excited to be able to get him back out on the field,” McVay said. “Joe will probably be a guy that we’ll be monitoring throughout the course of the offseason, but then once training camp rolls around he’ll be ready to go. And to my understanding, Brian is feeling good. I had a lot of different little injuries here and there. But to my understanding from talking with Reggie (Scott) and those guys, his knee is feeling good. He had a calf strain, he had a thumb issue that he had dealt with, but both of those things should be feeling good around this time and when the offseason is due to kick off.”
All three players could potentially be starters next season. Noteboom and Jackson are candidates to start at left tackle, and both of them can also play guard if needed. Allen is penciled in currently as the starting center and barring a change, it’ll probably stay that way.
The Rams need all the depth and talent they can get along the offensive line after a disastrous 2022 season up front, and getting these three players back will be a major step in the right direction.
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Russ Yeast, who started in place of Nick Scott, is questionable to return against the Seahawks
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Nick Scott was ruled out by Sean McVay on Friday due to a shoulder injury, making Week 18 the first game he didn’t start all season. He was replaced by Russ Yeast in the starting lineup, but now the Rams are down to their third-string safety.
Yeast suffered a chest injury in the first half against the Seahawks and is questionable to return. This is the first start of Yeast’s career after coming into the NFL as a seventh-round pick this year.
Rams S Russ Yeast, who started in place of Nick Scott, is questionable to return with a chest injury
— Stu Jackson (@StuJRams) January 8, 2023
Nick Scott went down with an injury and was in a lot of pain during the third quarter before heading to the locker room with trainers
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We’ve flipped the calendar to 2023, but nothing has changed on the injury front for the Los Angeles Rams. In the third quarter of Sunday’s game against the Los Angeles Chargers, safety Nick Scott was taken to the locker room with a shoulder injury and replaced by Russ Yeast at safety.
Scott is one of just six players who has started every game for the Rams this season, playing nearly every snap each week, as well.
The Rams later announced that Scott is questionable to return.
Nick Scott (Shoulder) return is Questionable #Ramshouse
— Nick Hamilton (@NickHamilton213) January 1, 2023
UPDATE: Scott returned to the field in the fourth quarter.
