LA Rams: Effort to claim OC Lamont Gaillard thwarted by the Bengals

Are the LA Rams having second thoughts about the status of the offensive line? Well, maybe. And maybe not. You see, the Rams are fairly well known for scanning waiver wires constantly, seeking to help the team through the addition of another team’s subtraction. That subtraction happened just two days ago when the Arizona Cardinals announced the unexpected release of offensive lineman Lamon Gaillard.

Gaillard was selected by the Cardinals in the sixth round of the 2019 NFL Draft. While he was a practice squad player for the team that year, he earned a spot on the 53-man roster in 2020. He appeared in 13 games for the Cardinals last year, primarily as a special teams player. However, he did start twice for the team, starts which many believed were crucial to keeping the offensive line on course.

And then, the fan-favorite was forced to say farewell. And the Cardinals fans are a bit confused.

Of course, the LA Rams have a roster spot opening, so it made sense to submit a waiver claim. The guy is young, is signed to an inexpensive contract, and the team needs options for their 2022 offensive line. Unfortunately, that effort came up empty because two other teams, the Cincinnati Bengals and the New York Giants, have higher priority on waiver claims.  The Bengals emerged with Gaillard.

While this is a standard NFL front office housekeeping action to fill the last open spot before training camp, it won’t go unnoticed that the same front office and coaching staff that swore by the oath of “We’re good” at offensive line, already attempted to add options to the roster in that area before training camp arrives.

Of course, there are even more developments afoot. The Bengals will be spinning the tires on veteran offensive center Austin Reiter. If the two sides can reach an agreement, that could mean that the Bengals will need that roster spot just filled by Gaillard.

Keep in mind that the New York Giants, who hold a higher waiver priority over the LA Rams, also placed a claim on Gaillard.

Was it all just a target of opportunity, or do the Rams have a specific search algorithm in place to find just offensive linemen right now? If the Rams are indeed focusing their search for waived offensive linemen, what triggered the sudden interest? Does this indicate a sudden concern over the offensive line as is currently projected? Or does the concern stop among the ranks of reserve players?

This could indicate future efforts to add to the offensive line in the future. Stay tuned!