12 players you may have forgotten still play for the LA Rams

As the Los Angeles Rams scramble through the 2025 NFL Free Agency market and prepare for the 2025 NFL Draft to restock the roster, some players who have fought and won the battle for roster spots with the team have fallen off the radar screen. It's not their fault, as their roles with the new Rams roster will not be decided until the team reconvenes.

Since the Rams continue to be led by Head Coach Sean McVay, the Rams will first regroup on or about April 21, 2025. That is just days before the 2025 NFL Draft takes place. This year, the three-day event is scheduled for April 24-26, 2025. And immediately after the draft ends, there will be a scramble as all 32 NFL teams work feverishly to sign undrafted collegiate free agents to round out the 90-man training camp roster.

But what of the players who made the Rams roster in 2024, but did not make much of an impact? Perhaps they were slotted into a special teams role that they were unable to break free from. Perhaps they filled a vital depth role that simply was unneeded in 2024. Whatever the case, here are 12 players who need to show up and have excellent training camps in 2025, or risk being glossed over one more time.

Do they fit the direction the team is taking in 2025? That is up for debate. But each of these players has earned the right to be in the discussion. If they are less familiar to Rams fans, then it's time to refamiliarize ourselves with these players

(12) - WR Xavier Smith

If you are excited about the Rams re-signing veteran WR Tutu Atwell for one more season, then you will be thrilled to learn that he has an understudy named Xavier Smith. Smith is a 5-foot-9, 176-pound wide receiver who found a niche on the team on special teams as a punt and kickoff returner. He is a 2023 rookie prospect out of Florida A&M who signed with the team in May 2023. He fits the category of speedy wide receiver, with a 40-yard-dash time of 4.38 seconds.

Smith has had limited roles on offense. But with the team parting ways with three key receivers, Smith stands to benefit immensely. The larger the role for Tutu Atwell in the offense in 2025, the larger the backup role for Xavier Smith. He had a great 2024 preseason, and caught both passes thrown his way in 2024. While he may not get many targets in 2025, he has the potential to be a solid rotational receiver this season.

(11) - OLB Keir Thomas

I don't think any confuses the fact that this is a make or break year for powerful outside linebacker Keir Thomas. A 2022 rookie prospect out of Florida State, Thomas stands 6-foot-2 and weighs 260 pounds. The problem is that he has been good enough to stay with the team, either on the 53-man roster or the practice squad, but not quite good enough to get a steady diet of defensive snaps. In three NFL seasons, he has appeared in 17 games, started one game, gotten 204 defensive snaps, and recorded 13 tackles, three tackles for a loss, and three quarterback hits.

He had a solid 2024 preseason. But he faded with an ultra-light workload in 2024. Can he earn a steady diet of defensive snaps in 2025? The exodus of DT/OLB Michael Hoecht certainly creates an opening to do so. It's just difficult to envision an edge rusher who seems to have plateaued already to suddenly find a new level of play. He is a passionate and powerful player. But the odds are against him.