LA Rams officially waive LB Johnston and DB Deayon

LA Rams officially prune roster to 61 with the release of Johnston and Deayon

The LA Rams are back at the roster reduction goal. The official count is now at 61 as the LA Rams have announced separately the release of seventh-round drafted rookie inside linebacker Clay Johnston and defensive back Donte Deayon.

The Rams finished training camp with 80 players until the team announced releasing 17 players to bring that number down to 63. Now, the team is pruning selectively, likely in a one-by-one fashion as the position coaches meet with coordinators and head coach Sean McVay.  The news so far this morning is trickling in.

Back to the oven

The Rams likely want Clay Johnston to remain with the team this year on the practice squad and compete for defensive snaps next season. While his energy is very infectious, he just doesn’t appear completely ready for a significant number of defensive snaps this year.

After the Rams assign Travin Howard to Injured Reserve, that will place the Rams ILB at four, which is likely the number the team will carry on the 53 man roster.

Deep defensive backfield

The slightly more surprising news occurred when news broke about the LA Rams waiving defensive back Donte Deayon. Deayon has been a featured player on HBO Hard Knocks: LA and has been showing some good promise.

A complication to this news is the fact that the Rams contract with Deayon was set to expire at the end of this season.  With his release, he can return to the team’s practice squad after he clears waivers.

The Rams defensive backfield is certainly deep, for now. But of the Rams five projected starting defensive backs, four are projected to become free agents in 2021.  The team will likely stay a bit heavy on cornerbacks on either the roster or the practice squad, or both, for that very reason. The official roster count is now 61. That can drop to 59 as soon as the Rams move both A’Shawn Robiinson and Traving Howard to the reserve roster lists.  More roster moves to come. Stay tuned!