The Los Angeles Rams announced Davante Adams, Kevin Dotson, Alaric Jackson, Josh Wallace, Darious Williams and Jarquez Hunter are inactive while Braden Fiske and Roger McCreary are active for their Week 17 matchup against the Atlanta Falcons.
The Rams have been without Adams since he aggravated his hamstring against the Detroit Lions in Week 15, while Jackson, Dotson and Wallace were banged up in the loss to the Seattle Seahawks in Week 16. Fiske was considered questionable with an ankle injury but has progressed enough to be available. McCreary was activated off of injured reserve this past week and should serve a role with both Quentin Lake and Wallace out.
With Jackson out, the Rams will turn to DJ Humphries at left tackle while Justin Dedich will start at right guard and Warren McClendon at right tackle.
Injuries have started to pile on for Los Angeles as they’ve seen several key players go down the past month. To make matters a little more complicated, the team is still waiting to see more progress from Tyler Higbee and Rob Havenstein who have yet to be activated from IR.
The Monday Night Football clash won’t mean much for either team as Atlanta is out of playoff contention while Los Angeles will likely enter the postseason as the fifth seed after the Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers won their games against the Panthers and Bears, respectively. The Rams needed their rivals to each lose a game, but their wins cost them a chance to win the NFC West.
However, there is draft considerations at stake as the Rams own the Falcons’ 2026 first-round pick by virtue of their trade during the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft. It was a great value trade at the time and it looks even more promising after the Falcons’ rough season.
Head coach Sean McVay and his team missed a golden opportunity to go into the playoffs with home-field advantage throughout, but the focus now must be on getting healthy and building a rhythm. The road to the Super Bowl will require three road games in a loaded NFC, but Los Angeles has shown it can beat any team when it’s at the top of its game.
The Falcons might not pose much of a threat on paper, but the Rams still need to go out and treat them seriously.
Rams could shut down Davante Adams for rest of regular season
Adams had been managing a hamstring injury for weeks before hurting it against the Lions. While Adams seems to have avoided a major injury, the Rams are reportedly considering shutting him down for the remainder of the regular season.
