Football is happening! LA Rams 53-man roster prediction

SPECIAL TEAMS: (5)

Starters: Kicker Lirim Hajrullahu, Punter: Johnny Hekker LS: Jake McQuaide
Fighting for Practice Squad:  K Austin McGinnis, K Sam Sloman

Starters: KR Greg Dortch, PR Nsimba Webster

The Rams need a new kicker, and for now, I’ll anoint Lirim Hajrullahu as the starting kicker. While not a scientific approach, I desperately want the Hallelujah Hajrullahu anthem to be part of the LA Rams mantra this year. Yes, it’s come to that.  All-Pro punter Johnny Hekker and long snapper Jake McQuaide will be back. So it will come down to those return specialists.

Who will win the job?  Well, we can decide that right now if we had 10-sided dice. Well to be fair, we identified at least seven players who will certainly be heated competition for the roles.  Will the team accept Dortch and Webster as the default return specialists, simply from having played snaps in those roles a year ago? With the new special teams’ coordinator John Bonamego,  I don’t see that happening.  But we need to name two, so they’ll do it for now.

Final thoughts

Examining Bonamego’s returners from other teams, there appears to be a pattern of very fast (perhaps Brandon Polk?) and a taller returner (perhaps 6-foot-0 Easop Winston) will be the duo. In any case, the Rams will not have any preseason games to sort it out, so look for the team to lean towards more familiar players for now. Of course, as we learn about players’ health, COVID-19 test status, opting out, and other roster impacts, we reserve the right to modify this prediction.

That is not to say that the Rams are not still shopping. If cuts from other teams occur in the linebacker or offensive line areas, I would not be the least bit surprised if the Rams release an additional player in order to sign an inexpensive alternative to the roster. Of course, there is the matter of cutting down to the 80 man roster before the August 16th deadline. From that roster, an additional 11 players will be released to pare down to the 53-man active roster and the 16-man practice squad roster.