LA Rams News: Team activated S Juju Hughes to face the NY Giants

LA Rams News: The team activated defensive back Juju Hughes from the practice squad to face the New York Giants

The LA Rams know they will face a lot of passes in their week four contest with the New York Giants. So it makes sense to reinforce the secondary. The team did exactly that by announcing that they have activated defensive back Juju Hughes for week four. Does that surprise you? It does seem to come a bit out of the blue, particularly in light of some coverage breakdowns in week three when Taylor Rapp subbed in for an injured Jordan Fuller.

Now a week later, Jordan Fuller is still nursing an injured shoulder. And the results of Taylor Rapp playing in Fuller’s position did leave a bit to be desired against the pass-happy Buffalo Bills. With no running attack to threaten the Rams defense, the visiting New York Giants will likely attempt a similar aerial barrage. To get ready, the Rams are calling up some reinforcements.

And the team is bringing in the big guns, Juju Hughes, known for his infamous toothpick from HBO Hard Knocks

Hughes call-up may be huge

While this may be nothing at all, simply a precaution, let’s give this a bit of analysis.  We know that safety Jordan Fuller sees 70 percent of the defensive snaps and only a modest number of special team snaps, while Taylor Rapp sees about 20 percent of the defensive snaps and 50 percent of the special team snaps.  If Fuller is a full go tomorrow, the LA Rams will be able to shift all his special teams work to Rapp or another player and Rapp picks up what Fuller cannot do.

But if the team is either concerned about Fuller’s durability, or plans to manage his workload, then the callup of Hughes is an indication that Rapp will be more aligned with Fuller’s role than anticipated, which necessitates Hughes on the active roster to pick up the slack of what Rapp cannot do.

I think this is a smart move. Whether or not Fuller is ready to take on 100 percent of his workload, the Rams are smart to have another safety ready to play just-in-case. He could get some work on special teams or defense. But whatever the opportunity, he and the Rams will benefit from the experience.