The injury bug has hit the Los Angeles Rams early in training camp as Puka Nacua, Rob Havenstein, Alaric Jackson, Jonah Jackson, Darious Williams and Derion Kendrick are among the players that have already gone down.
The injuries have been to different degrees and so far Kendrick is the only one of that bunch that has been ruled out for the season after tearing his ACL.
Missing 60% of your starting offensive line is never ideal though, and that is what the Rams are currently dealing with. Sean McVay gave updates on Havenstein, Alaric Jackson and Jonah Jackson and all are week-to-week, via Stu Jackson of TheRams.com:
Head coach Sean McVay on Saturday downgraded offensive lineman Alaric Jackson (ankle) from day-to-day to “week-to-week.” Additionally, McVay clarified Rob Havenstein’s injury – sustained in Thursday’s practice – as an ankle injury, and said Havenstein is also week-to-week but that his injury is not season-ending.
“We want to be smart,” McVay said regarding Alaric Jackson’s return. “It was a weird deal where he kind of just rolled up his ankle. It’s nothing that we expected to be long term. It was day-to-day, now it’s kind of week-to-week. But I thought he was having a great camp and I think the worst thing we could do is rush him back. In the meantime, we’re going to learn about some guys and I mean it’s a Rolodex of guys that are in there right now, even with that first group. And I think it’s only going to force those guys to mature and accelerate their learning process.”
McVay this week said Jonah Jackson (shoulder) is week-to-week.
McVay added that he is not overly concerned that any of them will miss time in the regular season:
“No, here’s the one thing I’ve tried to be disciplined about is these guys… you sit there and you start saying ‘Oh man, you’re bummed out.’ And it’s like how selfish of me. What about these guys?” McVay said Thursday. “I know they want to be out here. I think the important thing is let’s pour into the guys that are not able to be out here and the ones that are able to be out here. So we’ll be better when those guys are back, whenever that timetable is. In the meantime, we owe it to ourselves and to those other guys to be able to pour into them.”
With these guys being out, it gives the chance for backups to get valuable reps during training camp, which will also help the coaching staff evaluate their young players.
The Rams have a tough Week 1 opponent in the Detroit Lions, so hopefully McVay is right not to be concerned and all of those guys will be in the lineup on Sunday Night Football to kick off the season.
Rams star Puka Nacua considered week-to-week
Similar to the offensive linemen, Rams star receiver Puka Nacua is currently considered week-to-week after injuring his knee in Sunday’s joint practice with the L.A. Chargers.
