The Los Angeles Rams are again taking no chances this preseason. After a somewhat injury-ridden year in 2018, head coach Sean McVay wants his starters to be as healthy as possible for the 2019 season.
With that in mind, it should be no surprise that the Rams starters have yet to play in the preseason. Most starters did not even make the trip to Hawaii to take on the Dallas Cowboys.
Of course, typically the starters get some playing time before the regular season, giving them a chance to get on the field in a professional setting. According to Stu Jackson of TheRams.com, quarterback Jared Goff thinks that a lack of preseason time will not have any effect on the starters:
“I don’t think it will be any different than last year.”
This is the second year of limited preseason time for Rams starters. Last year due to changes in the defense McVay did let that unit get on the field once. This year, however, it appears that no starters will play in the preseason at all. Micah Kiser was battling for a starting linebacker job and suffered a significant injury against the Cowboys, so McVay is not going to let that happen to any more of his significant contributors.
McVay feels that this year’s team is more or less the same and will be ready for the regular season. He also maintains that the joint practices with the Raiders and Chargers were more than enough to get his guys ready.
The third-year head coach has revolutionized the Rams on the field, and does not think a different method before the regular season is necessary:
“That’s just the approach that we think is best for us.”
With all that being said, do not expect to see the Rams starters until September 8 for their Week 1 matchup against the Carolina Panthers. For their upcoming preseason matchup this Saturday against the Denver Broncos, you can expect a similar crop of role players to take the field.
In particular, Darrell Henderson has been interesting to watch this preseason. The rookie running back has repeatedly been called the “change of pace back” that McVay has wanted since taking the helm. So far he has played decently in the preseason, but it still remains to be seen how much time he will get once the real competition begins.
