5 LA Rams players most hurt by no OTAs this year

The LA Rams schedule for the 2021 NFL season will be out in a matter of hours. It’s another NFL media event, complete with all the pageantry, glitz, and glamour of the NFL Draft. Good for them. And with the release of the 2021 NFL schedule, analysts and blog websites will pour over every detail. Who will play in the season opener? Who will compete in the season finale? When is the bye week?

All the while the focus and analysis will pour over who is played and when and where. But there is another matter of dates to mark on the calendar that is more impactful, particularly to a number of LA Rams players. The LA Rams will hold their mandatory minicamp from June 15-17. But there is a bit of debate whether or not the rookies will attend their minicamp currently scheduled for May 14-16.

The NFLPA Is discouraging any and all rookies from attending rookie minicamp.  However, rookies are not guaranteed any roster spot. Coaches will still make the decisions of who makes the team and who does not. So it’s a precarious position imposed upon rookies, who have no familiarity with the team, the coaches, or teammates.

ProFootballtalk’s Peter King and Mike Florio have a good discussion over the NFLPA position over not showing up for voluntary Organized Team Activities in the video below. The discussion touches base on a wide host of discussion points, but one we are most interested in here is the point of the uneven burden imposed on the lesser established NFL Players to skip activities that ultimately will place the newcomers on a more equitable footing to compete with established veterans.

Have a look. We’ll wait on the other side of the video panel until you are ready to move on.

Welcome back. Now, where were we? Ah yes…

You see, the LA Rams have multiple situations that reflect players who are in fierce competition for a greater role with the team, and perhaps even a roster spot. That’s huge. After missing out on a chance to compete a year ago, should they so easily roll over and play dead this year?