The Los Angeles Rams will hold a joint practice with the Dallas Cowboys on Aug. 8, prior to their preseason opener against each other on Aug. 11. The practice will take place at the Cowboys’ training camp home at the Oxnard River Ridge Complex and will be open to the public.
This will be the first time since 2021 that the two teams will have a joint practice, though they didn’t play in a preseason game afterwards.
Head coach Sean McVay has regularly had his team hold joint practices over the past couple of seasons. In addition to the Cowboys, the Rams have also held practices with the Las Vegas Raiders, Denver Broncos and Cincinnati Bengals.
Many teams enjoy holding these practices with other teams as it allows for players to face off with new faces who aren’t their teammates. With so much energy being built up, the competitiveness of these practices is extremely high and can sometimes lead to some scuffles between the squads.
Last season, these two teams faced off in the regular season with the Rams having arguably their worse performance of the season in a 43-20 Cowboys victory. But the Rams would turn things around following their bye week and make a push all the way to the playoffs where they suffered a heartbreaking defeat to the Detroit Lions in the Wild Card round.
Now, the Rams will be looking to progress even further in 2024 as McVay hopes to build on last year’s success and take another step towards contention in the NFC. With the Cowboys looking to do the exact same, this joint practice and preseason game will be a nice test to see how the Rams stack up.
Sean McVay: Aubrey Pleasant ‘earned’ Rams assistant head coach title
Of course the Rams have made some moves to the roster that the believe will help get them to the next level, but Sean McVay’s coaching staff also underwent some changes, especially as defensive coordinator Raheem Morris left to take the Atlanta Falcons head coach position.
One change was a promotion from within as Aubrey Pleasanat was given an assistant head coach title.
McVay was pleased to make that happen for one of the long-time colleagues, saying that Pleasant ‘earned’ that title by being an excellent teacher, leader and communicator. McVay added that Pleasant’s presence was felt immediately when he returned and seeing the response from the players and coaches upon announcing it was one of the coolest moments he’s been a part of.
