Tag: rams preseason

Rams place lineman on IR, waive defender to make room for newcomers

The Rams made several roster moves, brining in multiple players while waiving DT Cody Durden.

As teams around the NFL participate in the mad scramble to finalize their rosters before opening day, the NFC West looks a bit different Wednesday.

The Rams are no different, making several moves the day after setting their initial roster.

To make room for two new additions, the Rams waived DT Cory Durden and put Conor McDermott on injured reserve. Durden is a 2023 UDFA out of N.C. State who bounced between the Rams’ active roster and practice squad throughout the 2023 season.

McDermott is entering his ninth year in the NFL but by getting moved to injured reserve, he’ll miss at least the first four weeks of the season.

The Rams claimed RB Cody Schrader. Schrader was a 2024 UDFA out of Missouri who spent this preseason with the 49ers. He rushed for over 1,600 yards last season as Missouri won 11 games including the Cotton Bowl over Ohio State.

DT Neville Gallimore spent the last four years in Dallas before signing with Miami this offseason. Recently released by the Dolphins, the Rams acquired one of the most underrated run stoppers in the NFL. At the minimum, Gallimore is a premier depth piece.

 

Zach Evans needs big plays to make the Rams’ roster

Zach Evans is in danger of not making the Rams’ roster this year. He needs a big performance against the Chargers today.

The Rams will take on their Sofi Stadium roommates in the Los Angeles Chargers at 4:05 PM p.m. today. It will be the penultimate preseason game for the Rams, as the regular season inches closer and closer with each day. As expected under head coach Sean McVay, the Rams will not play any projected starters or key players today. However, there is still an opportunity for players to carve out a spot on the 53-man roster.

Even though McVay and staff are likely aware of who the majority of roster spots will go to, there’s always a shot to make yourself more valuable in these preseason games. There are a number of players on the Rams roster that are on the proverbial roster “bubble,” but the player I want to focus on is second-year running back Zach Evans.

Evans, although a sixth-round selection in the 2023 draft, showed a ton of upside and promise coming out of Ole Miss. Evans played two seasons at TCU before transferring to Ole Miss to become the feature back at the latter school. Throughout three seasons in college, Evans averaged a whopping 6.9 yards per carry, rushed fr just under 2,000 yards, and had a total of 20 touchdowns from scrimmage. Evans proved to be an explosive player in college, regularly producing big yardage plays which ultimately led to the Rams selecting him.

However, Evans has yet to find the explosive plays that made him a solid NFL prospect coming out of college. In the 2023 three-week preseason, Evans amassed 23 carries for 77 yards, an underwhelming 3.3 yards per carry. Evans went on to appear in 10 regular season games for the Rams last year, rushing for just 19 yards on nine carries. That’s only 2.1 yards per carry.

Fast-forward to last week’s preseason game against the Dallas Cowboys, and Evans has yet to find his groove. Evans carried the ball 12 times for just 28 yards, 2.3 yards per carry. Evans has yet to produce a single explosive play in the NFL, which is not good news considering his explosiveness is what enticed the Rams to select him in 2023.

The lack of explosive plays for a player entering his second year in the league typically would not be too much of a cause for concern. However, with the ascension of star running back Kyren Williams, the draft selection of running back Blake Corum, and the free-agent signing of veteran back Boston Scott, the patience for Evans has instantaneously disappeared. Not to mention, Ronnie Rivers seems to have secured a roster spot, too.

There is not much else for Evans to do other than start to produce those big plays we all know he’s capable of because if not, he could see his Rams tenure come to an end in Year 2.

Chargers preseason: 1 player to watch at each position on offense vs. Rams

There are some roster bubble players on the offensive side of the ball trying to make their case.

The Chargers are getting closer to having to trim their roster to 53 players ahead of their Week 1 matchup against the Raiders.

With a handful of starting jobs already locked up, the next two preseason games, including this weekend’s contest against the Rams, will be all about guys on the roster bubble vying for their spots.

That said, here is one offensive player to watch at each position ahead of Saturday’s matchup.

QB: Luis Perez

While Justin Herbert has been sidelined with an injury to the plantar fascia in his right foot, the offense has struggled during training camp. A lot of it has to do with quarterback play. Easton Stick, who was re-signed to serve as Herbert’s backup, has not done himself any favors with his performances.

Perez, on the other hand, was signed just a week ago, and he has flashed enough to the point where he could push Stick for the job if he keeps stacking good days. The former XFL star led all quarterbacks in passing last weekend with 61 yards.

RB: Kimani Vidal

Heading into training camp, everyone thought it was a near guarantee that Vidal would be a part of the rotation. But now, Vidal finds himself on the roster bubble. In the preseason opener, he suited up for warmups but did not dress for the game. He had been nursing an injury the week leading up to the contest, which likely led to him not playing.

Vidal is a talented back with great vision, contact balance, burst and upside in the passing game. But he must display that in live-game action to try to beat out Isaiah Spiller, who currently has the leg up due to his special teams skills.

WR: Ladd McConkey

Like Vidal, McConkey did not play against the Seahawks, as he had also been dealing with an injury. However, McConkey has been a full participant in practices this week, which points to him making his preseason debut against Seattle.

I don’t know how much he will play, but I’m looking forward to seeing what he showed in college at Georgia and over the past couple of months, with his elite route running, good speed and the ability to create with the football in his hands.

TE: Donald Parham

Parham was seen as the third tight end coming into the summer, but now he finds himself on the roster bubble. The reason is that he hasn’t participated much this summer due to an injury, which has been a concern with Parham.

After missing several practices, Parham had a great day on Tuesday, showing the impact he can make in the passing game. He will not only have to stay healthy and continue to be a reliable target but also show improvement as a blocker.

OL: Foster Sarell

There’s been a battle for the swing tackle spot between Sarell and Alex Leatherwood. And as it stands, Sarell has the leg up. Leatherwood is coming off a poor performance, as he allowed six quarterback pressures. Meanwhile, Sarell had a solid showing and exemplified position flexibility by playing some guard. I’m watching for how he performs along the interior again.

“That’s what he’s aiming for,” Greg Roman said on Sarell playing guard against the Seahawks. “He has a big opportunity. Position flexibility up front is huge. The more he can show that, the better. He’s taken that on in an excited fashion.”

PFF: Rams had worst offense, defense and special teams in NFL this preseason

According to PFF’s grades, no team had a worse offense, defense or special teams than the Rams this preseason

There was a lot of excitement about this preseason for the Los Angeles Rams, knowing how many rookies and young players would be trying to make a name for themselves. Fans were anxious to see players such as Steve Avila, Byron Young, Puka Nacua and Quentin Lake but the team as a whole fell way short of expectations.

The Rams went 0-3 and were blown out, 41-0, in the preseason finale, capping off a terrible preseason showing by this unproven roster. Fortunately, the preseason doesn’t usually indicate how good (or bad) a team will be; the Rams were 0-3 in the 2021 preseason and went on to win the Super Bowl that season.

Pro Football Focus’ grades were not kind to Los Angeles this summer, though. PFF gave the Rams a 53.5 offensive grade and a 50.5 defensive grade, which were both the worst in the NFL. Their passing grade of 34.0 was also the lowest in the entire league, as was their coverage grade of 49.7 on the defensive side of the ball.

It wasn’t just the offense and defense that were bad. The Rams’ 40.3 special teams grade was 5.9 points lower than any other team in football this preseason.

Sean McVay tried to remain upbeat and encouraged by the way some of his players performed in each preseason game, but there’s no chance he’s pleased with the showing Los Angeles had the last three Saturdays.

Granted, many of the guys who suited up this preseason won’t be key contributors during the regular season but some of them will be, and the Rams need more from them once the schedule flips to Week 1 this September.

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Rams PFF grades: Best and worst performers from 2023 preseason

See which Rams players graded out among the best this preseason, and who graded out among the worst

It’d be hard to find a team that struggled more than the Los Angeles Rams this preseason. They went 0-3 and were outscored 109-34, including a 41-0 shutout at the hands of the Denver Broncos in Saturday’s finale.

It wasn’t the way Sean McVay hoped his team would perform this preseason but with such a young roster, it’s hardly surprising that the Rams went 0-3 in their exhibition games.

There were some solid individual performances on each side of the ball but the bad far outweighed the good, especially in the final game against Denver.

Pro Football Focus has graded every Rams player who took a snap in the preseason this summer and we’ve broken them down by the top 10 and bottom 10 on offense and defense.

Rams blown out by Broncos, 41-0: Instant analysis of LA’s 3rd preseason loss

The Rams capped off the preseason with a dud, getting blown out by the Broncos by a score of 41-0

Well, the good news is these preseason games don’t count. The bad news is the Rams looked significantly overmatched in each of their three exhibition contests against the Chargers, Raiders and Broncos.

The Rams were embarrassed by Denver on Saturday night in the preseason finale, losing 41-0 on the road. Neither team played their starters, so this game isn’t an indication of how they will play this season, but it was still discouraging to see the Rams play so poorly in the final preseason game.

It was started by Stetson Bennett and finished by Dresser Winn, with Brett Rypien getting a handful of opportunities in the middle. But no matter who was leading the offense, the Rams struggled to move the ball.

Here’s a recap of Los Angeles’ disappointing finish to the preseason on Saturday.

8 biggest position battles to watch in Rams’ preseason game vs. Chargers

The Rams won’t play everyone in the preseason opener but there are still plenty of key position battles to watch against the Chargers

The preseason is going to carry more weight for the Los Angeles Rams this summer. They’re lacking the proven talent they’ve had in recent years, which means many of their young players will need to take the field in these exhibition games.

Not to mention, the Rams have a lot of position battles to sort out, both in the starting lineup and among backups. Here are eight of the biggest competitions to watch when the Rams take on the Chargers this Saturday night at SoFi Stadium.

Predicting who will rest and who will play for the Rams in the preseason

The Rams’ new approach to the preseason will feature several starters playing. Who will be on the field and who will stay on the sidelines?

The Los Angeles Rams are going to look very different in 2023, both in the regular season and in the preseason. With a roster that’s lacking star power, they aren’t going to take the preseason off the way they have in recent years.

Sean McVay said they’re going to take a new approach, similar to the way they handled things in 2017. Several starters will take the field in the preseason as they continue to prepare for Week 1. That group won’t include Matthew Stafford, Cooper Kupp or Aaron Donald, but expect to see more starters in the preseason than usual.

With the first game coming up on Saturday, we’re predicting which players will rest, which ones will play a little bit and who will play a bunch this preseason.

Rams will have to play starters in the preseason, especially on defense

Les Snead made it clear that the Rams’ approach to the preseason will have to be different this year

The Los Angeles Rams were one of the first teams to hold their starters out of action for the entire preseason, a strategy deployed by Sean McVay when he took over as head coach in 2017. They’ve been very cautious with their top players in meaningless exhibition games, choosing not to put them in harm’s way before the season begins.

Well, that strategy will have to change this year. The Rams don’t have the luxury of resting their starters this preseason because there simply aren’t as many clear-cut starters on the roster as there have been in years past. That’s the result of having such a young roster that’s lacking star players such as Jalen Ramsey, Bobby Wagner, Leonard Floyd and Allen Robinson – all of whom were in L.A. last season.

This season, the Rams will have to lean heavily on younger players, specifically those in their first and second NFL seasons. And because of their lack of experience, McVay will be forced to put them on the field in the preseason so they can gain some comfort before the real games begin.

Les Snead said on the Doug Gottlieb Show this week that the plan is for the Rams to play many of their starters, with the exception of obvious players such as Tyler Higbee, Rob Havenstein, Cooper Kupp, Aaron Donald and Matthew Stafford.

“It will not be like years past but it will be like years past,” he said. “And I know he (McVay) had some names, you know, because we do have players like Rob Havenstein, Tyler Higbee – some players that have been here since our first Super Bowl into the second Super Bowl. So the team does have some core veterans that will get the, let’s call it, ‘non-preseason-play treatment.’ But there is an element of trying to engineer as competent a collective as possible and because we mentioned we’re gonna – let’s talk the defensive side of the ball. There’s a lot of players on their rookie contracts on that side of the ball, other than Aaron Donald, and so we’re gonna need those guys to gel during the preseason.”

Donald, Ernest Jones and Jordan Fuller are really the only players on defense who have started for at least a full season in the NFL. The rest of the group is lacking NFL experience, including projected starters such as Cobie Durant, Michael Hoecht and Derion Kendrick.

On offense, the Rams can safely hold out Van Jefferson, Brian Allen, Joe Noteboom, Coleman Shelton, Ben Skowronek and Tutu Atwell. Skowronek has played enough snaps in the NFL that he doesn’t need preseason reps, while Atwell got last preseason off because he was projected to have a significant role.

Other than that, we should expect to see a lot of different players suiting up this summer before the season begins – particularly those who are competing for starting jobs and the final roster spots.

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Chargers vs. Rams preseason Week 1: How to watch, listen and stream online

Find out how to tune in to watch the Chargers take on the Rams in the preseason opener.

The Chargers are set to begin their three-game preseason slate.

Today, they kick it off in a bout against the Rams at SoFi Stadium, both teams’ home.

Here is everything you need to know so you can tune in:

Game Information

Los Angeles Chargers vs. Los Angeles Rams

Saturday, Aug. 13 — 7:00 p.m. PT

SoFi Stadium — Inglewood, CA

Television

The game will be televised on NFL Network and on KCBS-TV in Los Angeles and Orange County. Noah Eagle, Dan Fouts, LaDainian Tomlinson will have the call.

Radio

ALT FM-98.7 (English broadcast)

FM 105.5/94.3 (Spanish broadcast)

Streaming

FuboTV (try it for free).