Through the first four weeks of the 2024 season, the Los Angeles Rams have gotten far more bad injury news than good. It seems as though about half of their offense is on IR, and while they haven’t sustained any major injuries on defense during the season, they had plenty — like Darious Williams and Larrell Murchison — during training camp.
Williams was one of two starting cornerbacks to suffer an injury, with the other being a torn ACL for Derion Kendrick. Williams suffered a hamstring injury and was placed on IR. Meanwhile, Murchison — the fifth-year defensive tackle — has been out with an arm injury.
Head coach Sean McVay spoke about the statuses of both players, and it appears that the practice windows on both are expected to be opened this week.
“Yeah, the plan is with him and [Larrell] Murchison is in to start their clocks. We’ll get them on the grass and then we’ll see what that looks like.”
McVay was less committal, though, when discussing the concept of either player making it on to the field for their Week 5 matchup against the Green Bay Packers.
“I’m optimistic that we will evaluate it,” McVay said. “I don’t want to put any unnecessary timetables on those guys, but I know they’re making good progress. I think playing football and simulating some of the settings that occur in practice are going to be the best indicators. They’re making good progress. That certainly isn’t something I would rule out the possibility of them going.”
It’s not necessarily rare for players to go from IR to practice window to playing all in the same week. However, the Rams have to be cautious given the amount of injuries they have. L.A. needs to be certain that once they get players back into the lineup, they won’t lose them again due to the same injury.
With Williams especially, hamstring injuries are always tricky to return from. Both he and the medical staff need to be certain that a re-injury risk is low before sending him back on to the field, and that is the exact purpose of the 21-day practice window.
If the Rams can get one or both players back before their Week 6 bye, it could be a huge victory for a team that has desperately needed help in the secondary and turning pressures into sacks on the defensive line.
Rams rule Cooper Kupp out for Week 5
Anyone anxious to see the return of wide receiver Cooper Kupp to the lineup will have to wait until at least Week 7, as the Rams ruled their All-Pro pass catcher out for Week 5 against the Packers. Kupp has not played since Week 2 against the Arizona Cardinals.
