Can the LA Rams trust OLB Terrell Lewis’ knees?

He’s incredibly huge. He makes such a dominating presence on the LA Rams defense. He stands 6-foot-5 and weighs 262 pounds. When healthy, he can dominate off the edge as well as any NFL player past present, or future. So the trick is, keeping him healthy. And the Rams haven’t learned that trick yet. Of course, we’re talking about outside linebacker Terrell Lewis. And after a preseason build-up of projected solid production and first-year contribution, it all just fell apart.

The first year of an NFL player’s career is typically their healthiest. But that was not the case for Lewis. He played in just eight games and saw just 124 defensive snaps. On a rotational basis, that placed him at fifth on the number of defensive snaps for the team. But with both Leonard Floyd and Samson Ebukam expected to find plenty of suitors in the NFL Free Agency market, Lewis was intended to make up the difference on defense.

Plans have been modified.

Of course, things could all fall into place for the second-year pass rusher for the Rams. After all, he was rather coddled in his first NFL season. He was slow out of the gates, suffering a mysterious swollen knee ailment that delayed his debut until the Rams’ fifth game of the season.

He missed another four-game stretch as well. After defeating the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on the road, he did not return to the defense until week 16, when the Rams traveled to face the Seattle Seahawks.  It was the first meeting against the Seahawks when Lewis flashed brilliance, sacking Russell Wilson twice. They were Lewis’ only sacks of the season.

The thing is not that he missed games. It’s because the Rams medical staff were absolutely mystified by whatever knee ailment kept Lewis off the field in 2020. No diagnosis means no treatment or cure. That means that Lewis and the Rams could face a repeat in 2021.  Can the Rams trust him to show up ready to play in 2021?

Ideally, he could take on more defense snaps, but I wouldn’t expect him to do more than about 250 defensive snaps in 2021. That means that the Rams will need to find players to take on about 1100 more snaps in the new year. Some of that will be distributed among the existing players. But the Rams roster definitely needs a veteran edge player capable of starting.

It’s very likely that the Rams will look for an additional edge rusher on day two of the 2021 NFL Draft as well. Overkill? Considering how the team continued to shop for EDGE depth throughout the season, I don’t think so.  The Rams are extremely light at all of the linebacker positions. If Lewis can earn and retain a starting role for 2021, so much the better. But to be sure, look for the Rams to plan for a part-time contribution from Lewis for now.