With all the talk of Allen Robinson fitting in and understanding the Los Angeles Rams’ offense earlier than expected, it’s easy to forget about Van Jefferson.
Jefferson is coming off a solid season where he accumulated 50 receptions for 802 receiving yards and six touchdowns, flashing the skills that prompted the Rams to take him in the second round of the 2022 NFL Draft. The wideout acted as the team’s de facto deep threat but assumed a larger role once Robert Woods went down with an ACL tear.
The 26-year-old is a name to watch out for when the 2022 season kicks off, but he is already banged up as he is dealing with a knee injury. Head coach Sean McVay announced Jefferson is dealing with a tweak in his knee and is scheduled to undergo minor surgery, via Stu Jackson of TheRams.com:
Rams head coach Sean McVay on Monday said wide receiver Van Jefferson has “a little knee tweak” and will undergo “minor surgery” on Tuesday to fix it.
McVay said Jefferson’s timetable for return is a few weeks. The tweak is ton the same knee Jefferson previously underwent surgery on, but a different area, according to McVay.
“It was really positive news that we got on him,” McVay said after Monday’s practice at 2022 Rams Training Camp presented by UNIFY Financial Credit Union. “He’s in good spirts.”
When asked if he expects Jefferson to be available for Los Angeles’ season-opener against the Buffalo Bills, McVay said “that’s up in the air right now.”
“There’s definitely a chance for that, but we’ll see how the surgery goes and kind of have a better feel,” McVay said.
When news of Jefferson’s knee injury originally broke, there was concern that he could miss significant time. However, it sounds like his upcoming procedure won’t force him to miss much time, which is better than expected.
As of now, it’s probably best to assume that Jefferson will be unavailable for Week 1 against the Buffalo Bills, which means receivers like Ben Skowronek or Tutu Atwell will have an opportunity to step up in his place. However, the bulk of the offense should run through Cooper Kupp and Robinson, so Los Angeles should be able to weather the storm until Jefferson is back healthy.
