The Los Angeles Rams announced they placed defensive back Derion Kendrick on the injured reserve list after he tore his ACL in training camp.
Kendrick suffered the injury during the Rams’ Wednesday practice and will miss the 2024 season. He is scheduled to go undergo surgery to repair his ACL in a few weeks.
Kendrick was originally a sixth-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft and started 12 games for Los Angeles in the 2023 season. He recorded one interception and 10 passes defensed.
This is a blow to the Rams’ secondary as Kendrick was in consideration to play the “Star” role in defensive coordinator Chris Shula’s defensive scheme as well as spend time in other packages. Making matters worse is that Darius Williams suffered a hamstring injury, though the severity has yet to be determined.
The cornerback room is suddenly lacking depth with Kendrick out for the year and Williams potentially forced to miss time as well. Veteran cornerback Tre’Davious White is making progress in his rehab from a torn Achilles and it is not yet known if he’ll be ready to go for Week 1 of the 2024 season.
While Kendrick has had his ups and downs since coming to Los Angeles, his familiarity with the defense made him a quality depth piece at worse. With him out for the year, the Rams will be forced to rely on players like Cobie Durant and Tre Tomlinson if Williams and White can’t go.
The team could also look toward the free agent market to help bolster the defensive back room. At this point of the summer, the Rams should try to see if they can find any value with some of the veterans left in the market.
Shula already had a tough task calling the defense with Aaron Donald retired, but with multiple players ailing in the secondary it makes it even more difficult. Fortunately, there is still over a month left until the start of the season, so hopefully L.A. can get healthy and roll into the year with enough depth to get by.
Rams signing former Lions cornerback Jerry Jacobs
In response to the Derion Kendrick injury, the Rams signed former Detroit Lions cornerback Jerry Jacobs.
Jacobs was a great piece for the Detroit defense in 2023 as he recorded a career-high three interceptions to go along with eight pass break ups.
His physical style of play in coverage should help the Rams secondary and could be in line for a major role off the bat.
