Injuries absolutely decimated the Los Angeles Rams last season, but no area was hit harder than the offensive line. One important player the team lost was tackle Joseph Noteboom, who went down with a torn Achilles in Week 6 but was back and ready to make a difference in 2023.
But in Week 2 against the San Francisco 49ers, Noteboom left the game early in the second half with a shoulder injury and did not return. Noteboom has yet to allow a sack or quarterback hit so far this season so his loss is a huge one on the offensive line, but head coach Sean McVay believes it won’t be something that keeps him out for any extended period.
McVay spoke on Noteboom’s injury, saying the tackle suffered a deep bruise and is considered day-to-day, via Stu Jackson of TheRams.com:
“He got a good, deep bruise on that shoulder,” McVay said during a video conference with reporters. “But we think he’s going to be okay. We’ll kind of take it day-to-day with him, but don’t expect it to affect his game status next Monday.”
This is some much needed positive news for the Rams as Noteboom is such an important piece of that offensive line and losing him for any extended period would be awful. But while surely painful, it looks like something he will be able to play through and he’ll likely be on the field next Monday for a Super Bowl LVI rematch with the Cincinnati Bengals.
While the Rams are outperforming expectations coming into the season, the Bengals have been a huge disappointment through two weeks so far. As such, the Rams can expect Cincinnati to throw everything they have at them in order to get their first win of the season and that includes getting after the quarterback as they have just three sacks and 10 pressures so far this year.
Noteboom has been a reliable option on the line and it is great for the Rams that it looks as if he won’t be missing any time going forward.
Sean McVay encouraged, wants Rams to learn from Week 2 loss to 49ers
Even though the Rams came up short to their division rivals, Sean McVay was not discouraged by the loss. The 49ers are one of the Super Bowl favorites and the Rams played them very competitively.
McVay called the loss a ‘great opportunity’ for the Rams to learn and noted that the margin for error against a team like the Niners is extremely thin.
