As the Los Angeles Rams evaluate their roster ahead of the start of free agency next month, they recently learned that longtime starting right tackle Rob Havenstein has decided to retire after an 11-year career.
Havenstein was limited to only seven games this past season due to ankle and knee injuries, which led to Warren McLendon Jr. getting an extended look at right tackle.
The 24-year-old made 13 starts between the regular season and playoffs, allowing just one sack and three quarterback hits as one of the most reliable tackles in the NFL.
While Havenstein’s retirement leaves a hole on the roster, Rams head coach Sean McVay believes McClendon can be the team’s full-time starting right tackle in 2026, via Stu Jackson of TheRams.com:
As Havenstein contemplates returning to play a 12th season versus retiring, head coach Sean McVay said McClendon has “absolutely” earned the right to succeed Havenstein as the team’s starting right tackle should Havenstein decide to call it a career.
“No question,” McVay said. “He has. He’s done great. He played really well. You mentioned Alaric, I’m proud as hell of Warren McClendon. These guys deserve a ton of credit. They’re the ones out there doing the work. There are a lot of people in the midst of that process that help whether that be their teammates, coaches, and then just continuing to mature and ascend. I was really happy and proud of the way that Warren played. He did an outstanding job for us this year.”
McClendon originally joined the Rams in 2023 as a fifth-round draft pick out of Georgia. He hardly played during his rookie season before getting his first real opportunity in 2024, when he saw time at both tackle positions.
McClendon took a big leap this past season and now appears to be a major part of the Rams’ long-term plans. He is entering the final year of his rookie contract so the team will presumably try to work out an extension with him this offseason.
Rams bringing in Robert Wright as defensive assistant
The Rams have been busy filling key roles on Sean McVay’s coaching staff and recently brought in Robert Wright as a defensive assistant.
Wright spent the last two seasons as Syracuse’s co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach, and in 2023, was Buffalo’s defensive coordinator.
Wright’s previous coaching experience includes stints as a senior defensive analyst at Duke (2022), special teams quality control coach at Iowa State (2021), graduate assistant at Texas A&M (2019-2020), defensive graduate assistant and defensive quality coach in Illinois (2016-2018) and special teams quality control coach at Miami (2015).
