Although the Los Angeles Rams managed to get back into the win column on Monday Night Football against the Chicago Bears in Week 7, they suffered a major casualty in the process after defensive back Terrell Burgess had to be carted off with an ankle injury.
Burgess had been in the midst of one of his best games so far after making his presence felt with two crucial third-down stops early in the game. Unfortunately, his night came to an end when he suffered the injury while tackling running back David Montgomery in the fourth quarter.
The fact that Burgess needed an air cast while being carted off was hardly an encouraging sign. It seems the team’s worst fears have been confirmed.
Rams head coach Sean McVay revealed that Burgess suffered a broken bone in his ankle and will miss the remainder of the season, via Stu Jackson of TheRams.com:
Rams HC Sean McVay says DB Terrell Burgess broke his ankle and will miss the rest of the season. Will have surgery on Wednesday.
— Stu Jackson (@StuJRams) October 28, 2020
Burgess was then officially placed on injured reserve on Wednesday morning.
The loss of Burgess undoubtedly deals a crushing blow to the Rams defense. The rookie had established himself as quite a steal after being taken in the third round of the 2020 NFL Draft and this comes after the Rams already had to place their other steal of the draft in safety Jordan Fuller on injured reserve after re-aggravating his shoulder injury.
What was once perhaps the deepest safety group in the league has now been reduced to a few crucial components. As a result, the onus will now fall on John Johnson III and Taylor Rapp to do most of the heavy lifting over the top.
Things will not get any easier with Los Angeles set to hit the road to square off against a Miami Dolphins team coming off their bye week. They will need to do whatever they can to make rookie quarterback Tua Tagovailoa uncomfortable if they hope to take the pressure off the secondary for the time being.
Fortunately, there were some silver linings for this defense to build off since they managed to keep the Bears’ offense out of the end zone. They will need to keep this momentum going consistently if they hope to stay in striking distance in the stout NFC West.
