The Los Angeles Rams are quickly cementing themselves as a Super Bowl threat during the 2020 season.
Under Sean McVay, the Rams have a reputation as one of the more creative teams on offense but it has been their defense that has propelled them to the top of the NFC West standings. Defensive coordinator Brandon Staley looks like a home run hire from McVay as he has managed to cultivate the talent on the roster and turn it into one of the league’s best units.
However, Los Angeles unfortunately saw the team’s leading tackler, starting inside linebacker Micah Kiser, get hurt in the Week 11 win against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Kiser was subsequently placed on IR due to a knee injury, thus depleting what was already a thin linebacker corps.
According to Gary Klein of L.A. Times, McVay is hoping Kiser’s injury only holds him out a few weeks:
“The hope is that it’s just those three games,” McVay said during a videoconference after practice. “It was something that you even debate whether or not you wanted to do it [put him on injured reserve] because it’s kind of right in that fringe area.”
Losing Kiser hurts, but McVay seems to trust second-year linebacker Troy Reeder to step in until he is able to return:
“I do have a lot of confidence in Troy to step in and seamlessly handle the job,” McVay said Wednesday, when Kiser’s status was still to be determined. “He’s really done a great job of preparing himself for when his opportunities do come up.
“He was ready to go against Washington. I thought last year, he definitely demonstrated as a rookie it wasn’t too big for him where he started a handful of games at [middle] linebacker and played a significant amount of snaps. Expect him to step in and do a great job for us this week as well.”
Kiser was having a solid season as the starter, but Reeder is not a bad choice to fill his position after what he has shown in extended looks. Reeder had three sacks in the Rams’ win against the Washington Football Team, showing he has some juice around the line of scrimmage.
With Kiser out, Reeder will get a chance to show McVay and Staley he is deserving of more playing time. Hopefully he can another successful outing in Week 12 against the San Francisco 49ers.
