LA Rams add another defensive back Kareem Orr from free agency

The LA Rams are no longer holding the number of their rostered players at just 88. Per The Athletic’s Jourdan Rodrigue, that number of signed players is or soon will climb to 80. You see, the Rams have added former Tennessee Titans defensive back Kareem Orr to the roster. And this was not a name we expected, but adding another defensive back most certainly was.

After all, the LA Rams lost veteran starter Troy Hill via the 2021 NFL Free Agency and then cut cornerback Tyrique McGhee after two violations of the NFL substance abuse program. For all intents and purposes, McGhee was being groomed to have a larger role on the Rams defense in 2021.  Two players out, and the Rams drafted just one rookie replacement, cornerback Robert Rochell from Central Arkansas with their fourth pick of the draft, and the 130th pick overall.

Now, the Rams have one more, 5-foot-11 195-pound veteran Kareem Orr. In fact, he has been on the Titans roster for some of the past two years. So who is he?

Well, Kareem Orr is an undrafted defensive back who signed on with the Titans from the Chattanooga Mocs in 2019 as an undrafted free agent. And of course, there is never an abundant amount of information over young players from a football team that goes by the ‘Mocs’, but here goes.

In 2019, the Detroit Lions were keen on Orr as a late-round draft pick. In fact, the term steal was raised once or twice in a featured article by Forester Solmen, as well as these somewhat statistics:
College stats: 172 tackles, 9 tackles for loss, 12 interceptions (1 touchdown), 2 forced fumbles, 3 fumble recoveries, 20 passes defended

For the Titans, this young man has played in seven games, for 92 defensive snaps, and has recorded 16 tackles and one fumble recovery. On pass defense, he has allowed five completions out of seven targets for 46 receiving yards. Pro Football Focus assigned him a grade of 60.4 for his 2020 season, not bad for a part-time reserve player.

Of course, if you have followed along with the LA Rams modus operandi, you know that the team is very effective with picking up players who are cut from other NFL teams and developing them into NFL starters. In fact, the Rams did exactly that with Darious Williams, who they claimed off the Baltimore Ravens wire and coached him into one of the most effective defensive backs in the NFL.

Now the Rams have signed up another AFC defensive back who was cut by the team that signed him. Should we expect no repeat of history? Well perhaps not. He is at a minimum more than a camp body. Let’s just say that he is competing for a spot on the 2021 practice squad. For the 2021 NFL season, at least.