The Los Angeles Rams announced that their 2021 preseason schedule has been finalized and they will host the L.A. Chargers at SoFi Stadium on Saturday, Aug. 14 at 7 p.m. PT in Week 1. They then will host the Las Vegas Raiders on Saturday, Aug. 21, at 7 p.m. PT before closing out the preseason with a road trip to the Denver Broncos on Saturday, Aug. 28 at 6:05 p.m. PT.
With the regular season expanding to 17 games, the NFL decided to cut the preseason down from four to three games.
The first game will be a reunion with former defensive coordinator Brandon Staley, who is now the head coach of the Chargers, taking on his former boss in McVay. That will also mark the first-ever game at SoFi Stadium with fans in attendance, so it’s fitting that it’s a contest between the two teams that call it home.
L.A. will then take on a Raiders team that should be much-improved in 2021 after addressing a number of needed on defense. And then finally, the Rams will hit the road for the only time during the preseason to face a rebuilding Broncos team in their final dress rehearsal before taking on the Chicago Bears on Sunday Night Football in Week 1 of the regular season.
Ever since McVay took over as head coach of the Rams, none of the team’s starters have played a single preseason snap, so the same will likely be the case this year even with the addition of a new quarterback in Matthew Stafford.
With the idea of limiting injuries in mind, Rams backups and fringe roster players should get plenty of opportunities to show what they’re capable of during the preseason as Stafford and the rest of the starters watch from the sidelines.
