LA Rams News: McVay disappoints with no ETA for NT A’Shawn Robinson

The downside

Of course, this strikes a huge blow to the Rams defensive front for 2020.  After all, Robinson on the defensive line would allow the Rams to anchor him at the nose tackle, and give both Aaron Donald and Michael Brockers the opportunity to wreak havoc from the flanking defensive end positions. This will force either Brockers (most likely) or Donald to rotate inside, and promote a backup, likely Sebastian Joseph-Day.

That will likely force the Rams to carry extra defensive linemen on the roster. The designation of Active/Non-Football Injury allows the team to activate Robinson to the active roster immediately upon clearing his medical restrictions.  With no available details, there is no basis to even guess when that might happen.

Reserve/NFI list

For now, the team can carry Robinson on the roster as one of the 80 players. But if he is unable to return to the active roster when the team must cut players to achieve the 53-man roster,  look for him to move to the Reserve/Non-Football Injury list. If he is assigned to that list, Robinson will be ineligible to meet or practice with the team for the first six weeks of the season.

The fact that the team has caught Robinson’s condition after the results of his team physical suggests it is a medical condition that can be treated.  While I have no basis to speculate, situations like this often involve a minor sprain, strain, or other soft tissue injuries that require time to heal. The timing of this discovery could not happen at a worse time.