Los Angeles Rams Release DE Quinton Coples

The former first-round pick was signed by the Los Angeles Rams during the 2016 offseason.

It’s that time of preseason where teams have until Tuesday afternoon to trim their rosters down to 75 players and it looks like the Los Angeles Rams have already made a surprise move with the release of defensive end Quinton Coples.

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The former first-round pick of the New York Jets previously signed a two-year contract with the Rams in March with the intention of using Coples as an effective pass rusher on defense, but that obviously won’t be happening now. Even though he came in as a defensive end, Los Angeles switched Coples to tackle in the preseason and even though he looked impressive during the team’s second preseason contest against the Kansas City Chiefs, it still wasn’t enough.

In the video above (via Joe Curley of the Ventura County Star), Jeff Fisher explained his reasoning behind the team’s decision as the head coach made it clear he just didn’t see Coples making the team. With the preseason finale just a few days away, there’s a good chance Coples will find a new home sooner rather than later as plenty of teams could use an additional pass rusher.

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As for the Rams, it will be interesting to see how some of the remaining bubble players perform during the team’s preseason finale against the Minnesota Vikings on Thursday. It sounds bad, but the decision by Los Angeles to cut Coples was most likely a big eye opener for some of these players fighting for a spot on the 53-man roster.