The Los Angeles Rams suffered a crucial loss to their linebacker corps after Micah Kiser suffered a left pectoral injury just two weeks away from the start of the 2019 NFL season.
Rams head coach Sean McVay has since wasted no time declaring backup Bryce Hager as the starter inside alongside Corey Littleton. He also offered up some high praise for Hager’s ability to serve as a viable replacement in the regular season.
The Rams went into training camp with Kiser and Hager competing for the starting spot left by Mark Barron this offseason. As a result, the latter has already become accustomed to getting reps with the first team.
According to Stu Jackson of the team’s official website, Hager is confident that he will be able to handle the larger workload as the full-fledged starter now:
“From the beginning of OTAs, we were kind of rotating,” Hager said. “So from Day 1, I’ve been seeing myself as a starter and practicing as if I was a starter. You’ve just got to see yourself as a starter and go from there.”
Hager added that his time as a backup has prepared him to take over in the event an injury such as this occurs:
“In this league, as a backup, you have to treat yourself as a starter, because you know anything could happen on a certain play,” Hager said. “So as long as you come in and prepare like a starter, there shouldn’t be any adjustments.”
There is certainly good reason for Hager to be optimistic considering the shoes left to fill are not that big since Kiser himself was also an unproven player. Despite the mutual confidence between him and Los Angeles, there has been talks about the front office potentially exploring other options to bring aboard. The onus will be on him to solidify his status as a bonafide starter moving forward.
The fifth-year linebacker has largely spent his career with the Rams making his bones as a contributor on special teams while providing a quality body to go against the first-team offense in practice. He will now be expected to ramp things for a defense that has done some positive re-tooling this offseason. If the 27-year-old is can hold down the fort in Kiser’s absence, then the team may consider allocating their resources elsewhere.
Although there are two games left in the preseason, it is safe to assume fans will not be able to see how Hager fares until the start of the regular season. Meanwhile, he will need to fend off any other potential suitors for the job that may emerge until then.
