The Los Angeles Rams announced they signed defensive back Jake Gervase to the 53-man roster ahead of the 2022 season. In a corresponding move, they designated rookie linebacker Daniel Hardy to injured reserve.
Hardy suffered a high ankle sprain in the Rams’ preseason loss to the Houston Texans, making him a candidate to go on IR where he will miss at least the first four games of the season. With Hardy going on IR, Los Angeles was able to open a spot to bring on Gervase, who will provide more depth in the secondary.
The rookie linebacker had to make the initial 53-man roster before going on IR because had they designated him earlier he would’ve been forced to miss the entire season. For example, Logan Bruss was placed on IR after suffering a torn ACL and MCL against the Texans.
Gervase has been with the Rams organization since 2019 when he originally signed as an undrafted free agent. Gervase has bounced back and forth between the active roster and the practice squad, serving as a depth option on the defense. However, he was elevated to the postseason roster this past year where he appeared in all four games on special teams.
Both Hardy and Gervase are unlikely to get any meaningful snaps on defense this year, but the latter figures to take the former’s spot on the special teams unit. The Rams have struggled in that phase of the game under head coach Sean McVay, but hopefully both Hardy and Gervase can help that over the course of the year.
