The Los Angeles Rams trimmed their roster down to 53 players on Saturday, and with that comes a lot of roster casualties that the front office and coaching staff didn’t want to make.
Head coach Sean McVay admitted that they had a lot of tough decisions to make due to how well the players on the bubble performed throughout training camp on the preseason.
It appears he was validated in saying that as waiver claims took place on Sunday morning and the Rams had a league-high five players claimed by organizations. According to Lindsey Thiry of ESPN, Keven Peterson, KhaDarel Hodge, Brandon Allen, John Franklin-Myers and Steven Parker will all be headed elsewhere:
Several Rams players cut land elsewhere today:
CB Kevin Peterson – Cardinals
WR KhaDarel Hodge – Browns
QB Brandon Allen – Broncos
DL John Franklin-Myers – Jets
DB Steven Parker – Dolphins— Lindsey Thiry (@LindseyThiry) September 1, 2019
While it is obviously tough for the Rams to see some talented players go, it doesn’t come as much of a surprise considering they are all capable of deserving of being on NFL rosters.
Peterson had been in the Rams organization, either on the practice squad or roster, since Dec. 2016. He missed all of the 2018-19 season after suffering a torn ACL in the preseason though, putting him behind coming into camp this year. The cornerback is healthy now and should be able to contribute for the rebuilding Arizona Cardinals.
Hodge was one of the surprises of camp for the Rams last year after he signed as an undrafted free agent out of Prarie View A&M. He appeared in 14 games his rookie season and caught two passes for 17 yards, also adding five tackles on special teams. He just fell victim to a roster crunch in Los Angeles.
Allen is expected to be Joe Flacco’s backup for the Denver Broncos. He spent the last two seasons on the Rams practice squad but was outperformed John Wolford during this year’s preseason and Jared Goff and Blake Bortles already locked up the top two quarterback spots.
Franklin-Myers was perhaps the toughest player to see go as the 2018 fourth-round draft pick has shown some promise and contributed during his rookie season, even sacking Tom Brady in the Super Bowl. The Rams defensive line is, unfortunately, one of their deepest positions though.
Parker is another player that saw time with the Rams last season but fell victim to a roster crunch. He should receiver some solid opportunities with the rebuilding Miami Dolphins.
