Tag: Tyler Higbee

Rams place Higbee and Noteboom on IR, activate Joseph-Day and Henderson Jr.

The Rams put Tyler Higbee on IR, ruling him out for the Super Bowl. They also activated Sebastian Joseph-Day and Darrell Henderson Jr.

The Rams shared a mixture of good news and bad news on Friday ahead of Super Bowl LVI. The good news is that Sebastian Joseph-Day and Darrell Henderson Jr. have both been activated off injured reserve, making them eligible to play in Sunday’s game.

The bad news is that Tyler Higbee and Joe Noteboom were placed on IR, ruling them out for the Super Bowl. The Rams needed to make room on the roster for Joseph-Day and Henderson, and moving Higbee and Noteboom to IR was the easiest way to do it.

Losing Higbee is a big blow to the offense. He played 92% of the offensive snaps this season and was typically the only tight end on the field. He’ll be replaced by Kendall Blanton, who filled in admirably in the NFC title game with five catches for 57 yards.

The return of Joseph-Day provides a boost to the defensive front, joining the rotation with Greg Gaines and A’Shawn Robinson. He’s a great run defender but has also improved as a pass rusher the last two years.

Henderson is unlikely to have a significant role with Cam Akers and Sony Michel handling the bulk of the work in the backfield. He could mix in as a receiver at times, but expect Akers and Michel to get most of the carries.

Tyler Higbee unlikely to practice before Super Bowl, uncertain to play

Tyler Higbee’s status is very much up in the air heading into Super Bowl LVI and is unlikely to practice this week

It’s beginning to look like the Los Angeles Rams could be without Tyler Higbee in Super Bowl LVI. The tight end suffered an MCL sprain in the conference championship and didn’t practice at all last week.

He would’ve been doubtful to play if the Rams had a game yesterday, and that designation may carry into the Super Bowl. Sean McVay told reporters Monday night that he doesn’t think Higbee will practice this week and the team is taking it day by day with him.

He wouldn’t rule out Higbee for the game, but it’s not looking good for the Rams’ starting tight end.

If Higbee can’t play, it’ll be Kendall Blanton stepping in for him at tight end once again. Blanton caught five passes for 57 yards in the NFC Championship and scored a touchdown in the divisional round, so he’s gained some valuable experience this postseason.

However, the Rams would love to have their starting tight end on the field this Sunday in the biggest game of the year.

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Sean McVay shares injury updates on Tyler Higbee and Taylor Rapp

Tyler Higbee has an MCL sprain but the Rams hope he can play in the Super Bowl

Tyler Higbee left Sunday’s NFC title game with a knee injury after playing just 14 snaps. He was in obvious pain after the injury occurred and was ruled out for the rest of the night in the third quarter.

Sean McVay provided an update on Higbee Monday night in speaking with reporters, revealing that the tight end has a sprained MCL. McVay said the Rams are “working through some different avenues” and are going to do everything they can to have him ready to play against the Bengals less than two weeks from now.

McVay also said Taylor Rapp, who’s been out since suffering a concussion in week 18, is turning the corner in a positive way as he continues to progress through the concussion protocol. Nick Scott and Eric Weddle have done a great job filling in for Rapp and Jordan Fuller at safety, but getting Rapp back would help with the depth.

Report: Tyler Higbee appears to have avoided serious knee injury, status for Super Bowl TBD

Tyler Higbee left Sunday’s win with a knee injury, but he appears to have avoided significant damage. His status for the Super Bowl is TBD.

Tyler Higbee has been an important player for the Los Angeles Rams all season, playing nearly every snap on offense as the team’s starting tight end. That’s why his knee injury in the NFC Championship Game was so concerning, leaving Kendall Blanton as the only healthy tight end.

Higbee missed most of the game after exiting in the first half but fortunately, he appears to be OK. According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, Higbee is believed to have avoided significant damage to his knee. His status for Super Bowl LVI is still up in the air, though.

In the regular season, Higbee caught 61 passes for 560 yards and five touchdowns. He never had more than 69 yards in a game, but he was good for at least 40 yards and a handful of catches each week.

The Rams hope to have him in the Super Bowl against the Bengals, giving them some much-needed depth at tight end with Blanton being the only other viable option.

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Kendall Blanton came up big for Rams in NFC title game vs. 49ers

Kendall Blanton was asked to step up for the Rams in Sunday’s win over the 49ers and he delivered an impressive performance.

The “next man up” mantra has been uttered for years in the NFL. Players that are considered backups are told to be mentally and physically prepared to contribute at any moment.

Kendall Blanton’s moment came in last night’s NFC title game between the Los Angeles Rams and the San Francisco 49ers. In the first half of the contest, Tyler Higbee — the starting tight end for the Rams — exited the game with a knee injury and was ruled out to begin the second half.

With Blanton being the only other right end on the roster, he logged 61 offensive snaps (79% of the team’s offensive snaps). And while some may have expected him to be tasked with a strictly run-blocking role, the Rams utilized Blanton in the passing game and he was highly effective.

Blanton finished Sunday’s victory with five receptions for 57 yards, which were both personal bests for the third-year tight end. The Missouri product had six catches for 55 yards and a touchdown in his other 13 appearances this season, with his first career touchdown coming in last week’s divisional-round game versus the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

He even had more catches and yards than star tight end George Kittle, who caught just two passes for 27 yards in the 49ers’ loss.

You never know when your number is going to be called and Blanton made the most of his opportunity against the 49ers, making crucial plays to help the Rams advance to the Super Bowl. One of those plays came at the end of the third quarter when Los Angeles designed a flea-flicker that developed into a screen to Blanton, which is a play design that I can personally say I’ve never seen.

The screen to Blanton helped set the Rams up for a touchdown to begin the fourth quarter, fueling their 10-point comeback to defeat their NFC West rivals. Even though it would be nice to have Higbee back in time for the Super Bowl versus the Cincinnati Bengals, at least the Rams know they can rely on Blanton to step up if need be.

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Tyler Higbee (knee), Cam Akers (shoulder) questionable to return

The Rams lost two of their top playmakers in the first half against the 49ers with Cam Akers and Tyler Higbee exiting with injuries

Two of the Rams’ top players on offense exited Sunday’s game in the first half with injuries. Tyler Higbee went down with a knee injury and was slow to get up before heading to the sideline in obvious pain. Cam Akers also injured his shoulder in the first half and was replaced by Sony Michel.

Both players are considered questionable to return. If they’re unable to get back into the game, the Rams would lean on Kendall Blanton at tight end and Michel at running back. Both are capable players, but Higbee and Akers are key playmakers for Los Angeles.

Secret Superstars of the NFL’s conference championship games

Arik Armstead, Tyler Higbee, Sam Hubbard, and Juan Thornhill are four underrated players whose presence could mean a lot in the championship games.

Matthew Stafford. Joe Burrow. Patrick Mahomes. Nick Bosa. Aaron Donald. Cooper Kupp. Odell Beckham Jr. Tyreek Hill. Ja’Marr Chase. Deebo Samuel.

The Conference Championship games for the 2021 NFL season are filled with some of the league’s biggest names, and justifiably so. But every big game also has “smaller” names who rise up at the right time to make things happen when they’re most needed.

Here’s one under-the-radar player for each of the four remaining teams in the tournament, whose exploits could swing things in the directions of their franchises on the way to Super Bowl LVI.

Watch: Tyler Higbee was mic’d up for Rams’ wild-card win vs. Cardinals

Tyler Higbee was mic’d up for the Rams’ big win over the Cardinals in the wild-card round

Tyler Higbee has been one of the Rams’ most important players on offense this season, being the primary tight end who hardly ever comes off the field. He’s played 81% of the snaps, which is the third-most of any non-quarterback on the team – and that’s with missing two games due to COVID-19.

He was on the field for every play in the Rams’ win over the Cardinals on Monday night, which gave fans a peek behind the curtain of Higbee’s personality. He’s a player who fires up his teammates on the field and on the sideline, which also providing some funny comments throughout a game.

“Man, I love scoring touchdowns. But equally as the same, I almost enjoy the defense scoring touchdowns more. Man. Oh yeah,” Higbee said after David Long Jr.’s pick-six.

Watch: Sean McVay celebrates Rams TD in end zone, gets sent back to sideline by ref

Sean McVay wanted to celebrate the Rams’ TD with Tyler Higbee in the end zone but the ref wasn’t having it 😂

Sean McVay is as energetic and passionate as any coach in the NFL, whether he’s pumping up his guys in the locker room after a win or celebrating a touchdown on the sideline. In Sunday’s game against the 49ers, he wanted to get a little bit closer to the celebration with his players.

After Tyler Higbee’s second touchdown of the day, McVay sprinted into the end zone to celebrate with the tight end, but the official wasn’t having it. The official had to direct him back to the sideline after a brief high-five with Higbee, which made for a funny moment in the first half.

And if you missed the touchdown, it was quite good. It was a perfect throw from Matthew Stafford to Higbee along the sideline, somehow coming down inbounds for six.

Rams activate Tyler Higbee and Jordan Fuller from COVID-19 reserve

The Rams will have both Tyler Higbee and Jordan Fuller on Sunday against the Vikings after activating them from COVID-19 reserve

The Rams are almost at full strength heading into Sunday’s game against the Vikings. On Friday, the team activated both Tyler Higbee and Jordan Fuller from COVID-19 reserve, making them eligible to play in Minnesota.

The Rams knew Fuller would be activated Friday because his 10-day stint on the reserve list expired, but they weren’t sure about Higbee. He needed to return a negative test in order to be activated before Monday.

Additionally, running back Buddy Howell was designated to return, though he still needs to be added to the 53-man roster within the next 21 days.

Fuller missed one game while on the reserve/COVID-19 list, and Higbee missed the last two games. His first stint on the reserve list was after a false positive test, but he was added back to it last Friday after he tested positive.

The only player from the 53-man roster who’s still on COVID-19 reserve is Joe Noteboom.