The Los Angeles Rams have played six games this season without right tackle Rob Havenstein. Head coach Sean McVay has been fortunate to have Joseph Noteboom to turn to in his absence, but having Havenstein is of great importance for a Rams team entering the postseason.
The Rams fought through all sorts of injuries — especially on the offensive line — to win the NFC West and make the postseason as the No. 4 seed in the conference. They host the 14-win Minnesota Vikings on Monday to cap off Wild Card Weekend, and would certainly love to have their entire starting offensive line fully healthy.
Havenstein missed the last two games of the regular season with a shoulder injury that he suffered in practice, but it does appear that he’ll be back for Monday’s postseason game, according to McVay.
“That’s the expectation,” McVay said.
McVay gave a more in-depth update on Havenstein’s progress, saying that even playing in Week 18 was on the table under the right circumstances.
“Yeah, he’s been great,” McVay said. “He’s done really well. There would’ve been a possibility that he would’ve played yesterday, depending upon the circumstances. I was talking to [VP, Sports Medicine and Performance] Reggie [Scott] about it this morning. He’s made great progress.
“You want to make sure that you don’t leave yourself susceptible throughout the course of the week in practice to any sort of setbacks while also making sure that you get it tested accordingly. Those will be things that we’ll be cognizant of. I know he’s really champing at the bit ready to go, ready to help lead and do his thing and play the way that he’s capable of. I thought it was a good performance by both Warren [McClendon Jr.] and Joe [Noteboom] yesterday. We are expecting Rob back and we’re excited about that.”
This is all great news for a team that, when fully healthy, has been dangerous this season. The Rams went 9-2 in the 11 games that they had a close-to-100% lineup and even defeated the Vikings during that stretch. So having Havenstein would be a massive boost in what could be an incredible postseason matchup.
Sean McVay praises Vikings ahead of Rams’ playoff matchup
The Rams clinched the No. 4 seed in the NFC playoffs and will host the Vikings on Monday night as part of NFL Wild Card Weekend.
The Vikings had a chance to clinch home-field advantage throughout the playoffs but fell to the Detroit Lions in Week 18 and dropped down to the No. 5 seed.
The Vikings still had an excellent season as they finished tied with the Philadelphia Eagles for the second-best record in the NFC at 14-3.
Minnesota poses a lot of challenges for L.A. as they are a well-rounded team on both sides of the ball. On offense, the Vikings are led by former USC Trojans quarterback Sam Darnold, All-Pro wide receiver Justin Jefferson and Pro Bowl running back Aaron Jones.
Minnesota also has a stout defense and is particularly stingy against the run. “Excellent team. You look at it, 14-3,” Rams head coach Sean McVay said of the Vikings.
