LA Rams Sean Mcvay: ‘About 35 won’t play’ Chargers Per ESPN’s Thiry

It certainly appears like getting listed as the starter on the first LA Rams depth chart comes with its own share of perks. Much like the playoff format of win and you’re in, apparently, the LA Rams believe that the team’s roster is set in stone at the upper-tier already. Blame it on COVID-19 from the 2020 NFL season, because that year unleashed an entire array of new ways to do things from the perspective of the NFL offseason process.

The LA Rams certainly embrace the change of culture forced by the new regulations imposed by the NFLPA and NFL to navigate the perilous challenges from a year ago and deliver an NFL season that many feared might not take place. Some of the changes were back-office stuff – like receiving medical data on rookie prospects via an NFL database. But other changes were a bit more dramatic.

In 2020, direct contact between NFL teams and players was prohibited. As a result, teams needed to convert scouting and draft information to a virtual platform, a migration that the LA Rams had already made prior to the 2020 NFL Scouting Combine.

Those same changes compelled the Rams, and 31 other teams, to fast-track their assessments, evaluations, deliberations, and decisions over the roster. In doing so, the Rams have already arrived at their starters, and that comes with the benefits of not competing in preseason games. If you cast a net over the Rams ‘starters’, you will come up with approximately 27 players.  Now factor in additional players who may be dinged up and you are at 30 or so.

But the Rams will be sitting 35 players when the team faces the LA Chargers on Saturday.

Does this mean that players who figure into a solid rotational role like Jake Funk, Xavier Jones, and Terrell Burgess will be sitting this one out at well?

It certainly seems that the Rams are protecting players that they expect will play vital roles for them in the 2021 NFL season. So in terms of the 53-man roster, we will know who is not on the bubble (for the most part) by who plays on Saturday. Of course, players who will not see action will likely include OT Ryan Pope and DB Tyler Hall, both of whom were just added to the team this week.

Of course, a little bit of math suggests that of the 55 players competing against the Chargers, the Rams will likely retain 20-25 of them. So it’s going to be a very competitive preseason game for the players, even without the benefit of starters. There will be plenty of solid competition, and even those players who may not make the Rams roster will certainly be competing for a practice squad invitation or a phone call from another team.

The Rams face the Chargers on Saturday. Players face the first wave of roster cuts on August 17. There is plenty at stake right now. Chill your beers and get the taco bar set up. We got our football back.