Injury Update: Rams LB Howard season over as team scrambles

Injury Update: LA Rams ILB Travin Howard out. Now the team must scramble to finalize the roster

In the days leading up to the LA Rams roster cuts to arrive at their 53-man limit, the worst possible news is now being reported. The LA Rams, a team already facing the reality that they are not a very strong team at their interior linebacker position, is now weaker.

That is due to the fact that the team just reported that ILB Travin Howard has suffered a season-ending injury. Howard was projected to start alongside teammate Micah Kiser this year.

Today, we learned that will not happen

What now? Well, the team has been working hard with rotations at the position.  Nobody has much experience, so everyone is in the same boat of needing more reps. This training camp, they’ve all been getting work. Now, that has the Rams at a better spot.  But bad is better than worse. Right now, the Rams are in a bad place.

Placeholder?

If the Rams truly believe in their young linebackers, then they have the option to target this season, say after their week nine bye-week, to integrate a new linebacker into the starting rotation. They seem to like rookies, Clay Johnston and Christian Rozeboom. And the team recently re-signed linebacker Daniel Bituli and added CFL star linebacker, Derrick Moncrief.

Will the team have enough time to coach them up? Well, they’ll run with Micah Kiser, Kenny Young, and Troy Reeder in the meantime. Will it be enough?  The Rams defense was already looking to use a healthy dose of nickel and dime packages. With Reeder out, the Rams will likely go heavier on an extra safety or cornerback

A new “crop” of prospects shows up this weekend

While the Rams are hard at work determining who they must cut to achieve the NFL 53-man limit, other teams are going through that process as well. 27 players will be released from 31 other teams. That is over 800 players at once, all of whom would be more than happy to sign on with a new team.

Among those players who are looking for a team to play for, some players will be very intriguing to a Rams defense that is solid at the line of scrimmage and in the secondary. Who wouldn’t want to line up on a defense that boasts Aaron Donald and Jalen Ramsey? Even as time runs out, there will be plenty of time for a well-prepared front office to add talent even at this late hour. There is still time to get this right.