The Los Angeles Rams placed defensive back Ahkello Witherspoon on injured reserve and signed free agent cornerback Tre Brown.
Witherspoon suffered a broken clavicle in the Rams’ Week 2 win over the Tennessee Titans and is expected to miss multiple months. With a sudden need in the secondary, Los Angeles came to an agreement with Brown on a one-year deal.
Losing Witherspoon is a huge blow to Los Angeles’ defense as the veteran is their most effective outside corner and is normally assigned to a team’s primary receiver. After Witherspoon was ruled out against the Titans, defensive coordinator Chris Shula made due with a rotation of Emmanuel Forbes Jr., Cobie Durant and even Darious Williams who was benched in the Week 1 win against the Houston Texans.
Brown most recently spent time with the San Francisco 49ers and was placed on IR in August before being released with an injury settlement earlier in September.
Prior to San Francisco, Brown played for the Seattle Seahawks and recorded 74 total tackles, eight passes defensed and two interceptions. Brown appeared in 39 games and started 13 of them for Seattle across four seasons. The defensive back was originally a fourth-round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft out of Oklahoma.
After being released by the 49ers, Brown worked out for the Washington Commanders but winds up with the Rams who could get more use out of him. Head coach Sean McVay alluded to Los Angeles bringing in an external option to effectively replace Witherspoon, and Brown is a solid depth piece.
However, McVay and Shula could continue to lean on its young trio of corners as they’ve shown growth through two weeks of the regular season. It would likely take some time for Brown to get acclimated and up to speed with the Rams defensive scheme, so expectations should be tempered the next few weeks.
L.A.’s defense is built on the back of its defensive line and how much havoc it can cause up front, mitigating the need for a true shutdown corner. However, the team will still need to find ways to slow down opposing passing attacks and hopefully Brown is able to contribute sooner than later.
Sean McVay explains why Darious Williams sat in Texans-Rams matchup
Darious Williams got his chance to play in Week 2 after surprisingly being benched in Week 1. Sean McVay explained the coaching staff liked what it saw from the other corners on the roster but with Ahkello Witherspoon hurt, Williams is poised for a much larger role.
