On the Los Angeles Rams’ most recent injury report, there were three players listed as not practicing in wide receivers Nelson Spruce and Pharoh Cooper, as well as cornerback E.J. Gaines. Now two days ahead of their season opener, all three players’ statuses have been confirmed.
Cooper, Spruce, and Gaines have all been ruled out of Monday night’s season opener against the San Francisco 49ers according to Jack Wang of the LA Daily News:
Rams have ruled out Nelson Spruce (knee), Pharoh Cooper (shoulder) and EJ Gaines (thigh) for Monday. Rob Havenstein (foot) is questionable.
— Jack Wang (@thejackwang) September 10, 2016
It’s not much of a surprise that all three have been ruled out as they simply haven’t been practicing because of their injuries. The Rams are well stocked in those respective positions however.
As a primarily running offense, losing two receivers won’t have a major impact on what the Rams want to do on that side of the ball, though the team is extremely high on the rookie Cooper and hope to have him back sooner rather than later. Nonetheless, the team has five other receivers on the roster including Tavon Austin so they will be fine there.
Additionally, the Rams also recently brought in cornerback Steve Williams so while Gaines will be missed in nickel and dime packages, they do have another option.
The jury is still out on whether Havenstein will be ready to go on Monday, but obviously the Rams are hopeful that he will be able to suit up as they kick off their first season back in Los Angeles.
