The Los Angeles Rams have been without starting running back Kyren Williams since Week 6 when he suffered an ankle injury against the Arizona Cardinals that landed him on injured reserve. Head coach Sean McVay pivoted to some familiar faces in Darrell Henderson and Royce Freeman in the meantime, but left the door open for Williams to return in Week 12, the first week he is eligible to.
Now, as Week 12’s matchup against the Cardinals once again approaches, the Rams have a decision to make on their running back core and whether or not Williams is going to make his highly-anticipated return. McVay spoke on Monday about the second-year back, saying that he will be returning to the lineup.
“Yes, he’ll be back. It’ll be great to be able to get him back, his productivity, his play energy, his overall just presence. He’s a guy that we’ve missed. I think a lot of guys have done a good job stepping up in his absence. Thought (RB) Royce Freeman did an especially good job down the stretch being able to really convert and create on some hard, tough runs that kept drives alive and ran some clock off. It’ll be great to be able to continue to see those guys develop but get Kyren back into the mix and do his thing and hopefully pick up where he left off against Arizona.”
Williams was finding his rhythm in the Rams offense just prior to the injury. He had over 100 yards from scrimmage in two of his three games before getting hurt and is now going to try and get that rhythm back for L.A. to make one final push towards a surprise postseason berth.
At 4-6, the Rams sit in the No. 9 spot of the NFC postseason picture and are only one game back in the loss column from the No. 7-seeded Minnesota Vikings. They are in a four-way tie with the Green Bay Packers, Atlanta Falcons and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Cooper Kupp day-to-day
Just as Williams preps to re-enter the Rams lineup, they are dealing with another injury to star receiver Cooper Kupp. McVay gave an update on Kupp and what it means for the team moving forward.
“Yeah, it’ll be day-to-day,” McVay said on Monday. “It was just a lateral ankle sprain so that was positive news for us.”
