The Los Angeles Rams have had their fair share of injuries in the 2019 NFL season. Clay Matthews, Bryce Hager, Aqib and Todd Gurley have all suffered injuries in just the last few weeks, among others as well.
During the Rams’ 20-7 loss to the San Francisco 49ers, they received some more bad injury news as starting left guard Joseph Noteboom suffered an injury in the second quarter and did not return. He was injured after a teammate inadvertently shoved a 49ers defender into his leg, pinning it under a body.
The injury was not pleasant to look at, and it appears that what the Rams feared has come to fruition. Head coach Sean McVay announced at Monday’s practice that Noteboom suffered a torn ACL and MCL and will miss the remainder of the season, per Lindsey Thiry of ESPN:
Rams LG Joe Noteboom has a torn ACL and MCL and will be out for the season, Sean McVay said.
— Lindsey Thiry (@LindseyThiry) October 15, 2019
One unfortunate indication of the severity was the fact that Noteboom was carted off of the field. He stayed laying on the field until medical staff arrived with a cart to help him off.
Losing Noteboom is a big blow to the Rams offensive line. He is only in his second season in the NFL and his first year as a starter with the Rams, but it is no secret that unit has struggled and losing a starter will only make things worse.
The Rams inexperienced line gets more inexperienced as Jamil Demby will likely take over the starting spot. Demby was drafted in 2018 but had not seen any playing time until this season. He has played in all five games and started against the Cleveland Browns for Austin Blythe.
Rookie Dave Edwards could also see some time as left guard since Demby has struggled in his limited action.
With Noteboom out, Goff was sacked a season-high four times. San Francisco has been terrific on both sides of the ball throughout 2019, but their defense gave the Rams fits on Sunday.
Goff being sacked seems to be trending upwards with each passing game. So far he has been sacked 11 times on the season, one shy of his 12 from last year. The Rams let go of center John Sullivan this offseason, as well as losing Rodger Saffold to the Tennessee Titans. The youth movement along the Rams offensive line may be contributing to the mixed results the team has seen so far.
