Tag: rams schedule

Rams announce dates for 2024 OTAs and mandatory minicamp

The Rams have set their schedule for OTAs and mandatory minicamp this spring, with players reporting on April 15

There’s a lot of work to do before the 2024 season begins in September and the Los Angeles Rams will be back in the building sooner rather than later. The NFL announced offseason workout dates for all 32 teams on Friday, revealing when Rams players will return for the spring program.

The first day will be April 15, which is when players will report to the team’s facility. The first two phases will be limited to meetings, strength and conditioning and on-field work, but no team drills are permitted during the first five weeks of the offseason program.

Once OTAs begin in May, the Rams can begin offense vs. defense drills in 7-on-7, 9-on-9 and 11-on-11 settings. After that, there will be a three-day mandatory minicamp in June before the team breaks for summer.

  • First Day: April 15
  • OTA Offseason Workouts: May 20-21, May 23, May 28-29, May 31, June 3-6
  • Mandatory Minicamp: June 10-12

With such a young team and a bunch of rookies joining the mix in April’s draft, the Rams will find value in these offseason workouts. There’s a lot for these players to learn, and for coaches in new roles like defensive coordinator Chris Shula is, this will be an opportunity to get the ball rolling.

Where does Rams’ 2024 schedule rank among NFL’s toughest?

Next season, the Rams will face 7 teams that made the playoffs this year in what’s the 12th-hardest schedule in the NFL

Though there’s a good chance the Los Angeles Rams will be even better next season than they were in 2023, their path back to the playoffs won’t be easy. With a second-place schedule, they’ll face a number of quality opponents in 2024.

While we don’t yet know when each game will be played, and there will certainly be travel advantages (and disadvantages) upon seeing the complete schedule, we can estimate how difficult each team’s schedule will be next season based on the 2023 records of their future opponents.

For the Rams, they’ll face the 12th-hardest schedule in the league, with their opponents combining to go 146-143 this past season. They’ll play 10 games against teams that finished above .500 and face seven teams that made the playoffs.

Here’s a look at where the Rams’ schedule ranks among the league’s toughest.

The Seahawks and Cardinals will each face the seventh-easiest schedules in the NFL based on 2023 records, while the 49ers’ strength of schedule is the same as the Rams’ (.505) despite finishing first in the division.

In addition to seven playoff teams, the Rams will also face the Vikings and Jets, who didn’t make the playoffs this season but are expected to bounce back in 2024 with a cleaner bill of health at quarterback.

The Lions, Packers, Eagles, Bills and Dolphins are among the other tough opponents on Los Angeles’ 2024 schedule.

Rams faced half the playoff field this season in what turned out to be a brutal schedule

The Rams’ schedule turned out to be incredibly difficult, facing 11 teams above .500 and 7 teams that made the playoffs

The Los Angeles Rams did not have an easy path to the playoffs. Their schedule didn’t look all that difficult at the beginning of the year, but now that the regular season is in the books, their 18-week slate was actually quite difficult.

Of the 13 teams in the playoff field besides the Rams, Los Angeles faced seven of them during the regular season: 49ers (twice), Eagles, Steelers, Cowboys, Packers, Browns, Ravens. They also played against the Seahawks, Bengals, Colts and Saints, who all nearly made the playoffs and finished above .500.

The Rams may have gone 2-6 in those eight games against the playoff teams, but they finished the year 2-1 against them after starting 0-5. And their experience against teams that made the playoffs will serve them well in the postseason, making them more battle-tested against opponents like the Lions and potentially the 49ers.

Furthermore, the Rams only played four games this season against teams that finished below .500. The other 13 games were all against teams that had winning records, including the Seahawks, Bengals, Colts and Saints.

The Giants, Commanders and Cardinals were the only teams on the Rams’ schedule who didn’t finish above .500 and Los Angeles went a perfect 4-0 against them, so Sean McVay’s team handled its business against lesser opponents.

Based on the current draft order, the Rams had a strength of schedule of .529. Only six teams had tougher schedules than the Rams, showing just how tough the road was for Los Angeles this season.

Rams 2023 uniform schedule: See which jersey LA will wear in each game

The Rams released their uniform schedule for 2023, which features eight games in white, seven in royal and two in Bone

Just in time for the start of the season, the Los Angeles Rams revealed their 2023 uniform schedule Wednesday. While they didn’t say which pants they’ll pair with each jersey, the Rams did share their jersey choice for each game this season.

They’ll wear their white “Modern Throwbacks” eight times, their royal blue jerseys seven times and their “Bone” jerseys twice. The white jerseys have essentially become the team’s primary away jerseys and will likely be paired with yellow pants more often than not, while the royal blues are their primary home jerseys.

Though the Bone uniforms were revealed as one of their two primary jerseys in 2020, they’ve become more of an alternate set for Los Angeles, as they’ll be worn just twice this season. Below is the full uniform schedule sorted by jersey color and date.

Get your downloadable Rams 2023 schedule wallpaper

Get your downloadable Rams 2023 schedule wallpaper for both mobile and desktop

The Los Angeles Rams will try to bounce back from a dreadful post-Super Bowl season in 2022, leaning on a large group of young and promising players on both sides of the ball this year. The schedule is a difficult one despite Los Angeles finishing third in the division, including matchups with the Eagles, Cowboys, Bengals, Steelers and Packers.

Never miss a game this season with our NFL Wire downloadable 2023 Rams football schedule. Use it as a wallpaper for your home or locked screen on your smartphone, or use the desktop version as your computer wallpaper.

Download the schedule wallpaper below in three different forms:

Predicting Rams’ 2023 record with game-by-game picks

From Week 1 to 18, we predict every game on the Rams’ schedule this season

The Rams are just days away from kicking off their 2023 season. Though expectations are low for Los Angeles this year, it’s hard not to be excited about some of the young players on the roster.

Obviously, Cooper Kupp’s injury puts a damper on things a bit, but the Rams still have a chance to remain competitive, even if Kupp does miss some time.

Looking ahead to this season, I predicted the outcome of every game on the Rams’ schedule, resulting in a final record projection. Sorry to report that the Rams aren’t going 17-0, but just finishing with a winning record will feel like a major accomplishment for the NFL’s second-youngest team.

Here’s how I see the season going for Los Angeles.

Rams’ defense will be tested by mobile QBs often in 2023

The Rams will face some of the most athletic quarterbacks in the NFL this season, which will be a challenge for their defense

[anyclip pubname=”2103″ widgetname=”0016M00002U0B1kQAF_M8036″]

There are still plenty of traditional pocket passers in the NFL today, but mobile quarterbacks have become much more common in recent years. And coaches are constructing their offenses to take advantage of their athleticism with designed runs and read-options.

The Los Angeles Rams will certainly be tested by mobile quarterbacks in 2023, facing some of the most athletic quarterbacks throughout the upcoming season. With Lamar Jackson, Jalen Hurts, Daniel Jones and Kyler Murray all on their schedule, the Rams will need to contend with some of the best dual-threat quarterbacks in the league.

Among all quarterbacks in rushing yards, Jackson ranked second (764 yards) in just 12 games, Hurts ranked third (760), Jones was fourth (708) and Murray was sixth (418) despite only playing 11 games. Even Geno Smith finished seventh with 366 rushing yards, averaging 21.5 per game. So the Rams will face five of the top seven rushing quarterbacks based on yardage last season.

The list doesn’t stop there, though. Anthony Richardson, the fourth overall pick in the draft, rushed for 654 yards at Florida last season – and that’s including yards lost for sacks. Trey Lance, who got hurt in Week 2, has averaged 29.4 rushing yards per game in the eight games he’s played through two years.

Deshaun Watson was limited to six games last season but he had 175 yards on the ground, averaging 29.2 per game – only 9 yards fewer per game than Murray averaged. Joe Burrow, who doesn’t get enough credit for his mobility, had the 11th-most rushing yards of any quarterback last season (257) and found the end zone five times on the ground, fourth most of any quarterback.

Even Kenny Pickett (237 yards), Jacoby Brissett (243) and Dak Prescott (182) are considered mobile quarterbacks who can make plays with their legs when needed. All three of them will on the Rams’ schedule in 2023, along with the quarterbacks mentioned above.

Really, the only traditional pocket passer the Rams will face is Derek Carr. Jordan Love isn’t a burner, but he ran a 4.74 in the 40-yard dash and can move when the play breaks down. The Packers just won’t call many designed runs for him. Sam Howell, if he starts over Brissett, is a little more of a mystery but he can move, too.

There’s a difference between being mobile and a legitimate running quarterback. Pickett is mobile, but he’s not necessarily considered a running quarterback like Jackson, Hurts, Murray or Jones. Those four quarterbacks will have at least a few designed runs called each game. Pickett probably won’t.

It’s the running quarterbacks that will test the Rams’ edge rushers and inside linebackers this season. They’ll need to be disciplined when rushing the passer, not getting too far upfield to open up running lanes. Leonard Floyd had a lot of experience facing the likes of Murray and Russell Wilson in the NFC West, which helped the Rams when it came to defending the run. They’ll certainly miss him in that aspect.

The other challenge of facing athletic and scrambling quarterbacks is preparing for them. The Rams previously had Bryce Perkins, who was one of the better athletes at the position, to emulate players such as Murray. That responsibility could fall to Stetson Bennett in 2023 because the Rams will definitely need someone to run the scout team during the week before facing a mobile quarterback.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

Ranking every starting QB the Rams will (likely) face in 2023 from best to worst

The Rams will face a handful of top-tier quarterbacks in 2023, including Joe Burrow and Jalen Hurts

The Los Angeles Rams won’t have an easy road to the playoffs in 2023. They have one of the toughest schedules in the league, and that doesn’t even take into account their brutal travel requirements and the fact that they’ll face four teams coming off a bye week – tied for the most in the league.

The number of above-average quarterbacks they’ll face in 2023 doesn’t make things any easier. While we don’t know for certain which quarterback will start in each game, we can predict which ones the Rams will face this season.

And so we ranked each of the quarterbacks Los Angeles will probably face in 2023, from best to worst.

ESPN ranks Rams 23rd in FPI rankings, gives them 5th-best odds to land No. 1 pick

ESPN released its FPI rankings for 2023, slotting the Rams in at No. 23 – while also giving them a 5% chance at the No. 1 pick

[anyclip pubname=”2103″ widgetname=”0016M00002U0B1kQAF_M8036″]

Finding someone who’s high on the Rams in 2023 can be difficult right now. There isn’t a lot of confidence in this team at the moment, with many picking the Rams to once again finish below .500.

Even from an analytics and predictive model standpoint, the Rams don’t look great on paper this year. ESPN released its preseason Football Power Index (FPI) rankings, and the Rams were once again low on the list.

Here’s an explanation of what the FPI is based on, from ESPN:

For the uninitiated, the Football Power Index — commonly referred to as the FPI — is our rating and projection model for NFL teams. In the preseason, the model’s predictive ratings are based substantially on win totals from Caesars Sportsbook and strength of schedule, along with factors such as past team performance and returning starters. We use team ratings to simulate the season thousands of times, creating our projections, which update every day during the season. Game predictions are also informed by factors such as travel, rest differential and changes at starting quarterback.

The Rams came in at No. 23 with a rating of -2.4, which is just lower than the Commanders and Saints, both of which the Rams will face in 2023. The Rams only have a 0.5% chance of winning the Super Bowl, according to FPI, and a 24.8% chance to make the playoffs.

They do have decent odds to secure the No. 1 pick, though. According to ESPN’s model, the Rams have a 5% chance to secure the top pick in the draft, which doesn’t seem great but is the fifth-best of any team in the NFL. Their 52% chance at a top-10 pick is also the fifth-best in the NFL.

Obviously, landing the No. 1 pick or even a top-10 selection would mean the Rams were one of the worst teams in the league, which isn’t what they’re trying to be this season. They’re hoping to bounce back from a 5-12 campaign in 2022 by getting back to the playoffs and potentially making some noise in the NFC.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

One early storyline for each Rams game on 2023 schedule

There are plenty of storylines to watch for on the Rams’ schedule, from Bobby Wagner’s return to LA to a Super Bowl LVI rematch

The Los Angeles Rams’ 2023 schedule is full of intriguing matchups, from their two battles with the San Francisco 49ers to their midseason games against the Dallas Cowboys and Green Bay Packers.

It also makes for a difficult slate of games for Los Angeles, but if the Rams are going to make any noise in the NFC, they’ll need to beat good teams in the playoffs anyway.

Here’s an early look at one storyline to watch in every game on the Rams’ schedule, including a Super Bowl LVI rematch.