LA Rams down to 18 hours to cut 21 more players

After the LA Rams made their initial wave of roster cut announcements at noon of Monday, August 30, it appeared that the team had sinched up the saddle and were riding into the day with the objective of clearing roster space with plenty of time to spare.

And then after six names were reported by the team, crickets.

After the team had been so effective and prompt with cutting the roster down to 85 by the deadline 24 hours ahead of schedule, it appeared that roster cuts at the final deadline ahead of schedule were a possibility. When the team duplicated their roster cuts down to 80 by the deadline, again 24 hours ahead of schedule, it seemed that the Rams were on track to repeat the 24-hours ahead of schedule roster cuts for the final 53-man roster.

But the team got stalled after waiving six players. And that is where the number remained.

The LA Rams stopped there.

Rams Roster

With the number now down to 74, the LA Rams need to find 21 more players to cut. In theory, getting to 63 should not cause too much angst and controversy. It’s getting the final 10 players is where the situation gets a bit dicey.

There are players who will be waived and not brought back. There will be players designated for Injured Reserve and will need to be on the active roster as part of the 53-man roster. That’s where it gets tricky. Players assigned to IR before the 53-man deadline must remain on IR all season. It’s only the players who are assigned to IR after the 53-man roster is established who can be returned to the active roster in as little as three weeks’ time.

Right now, the LA Rams have Ben Skowronek, Cam Akers, Terrell Lewis, and Ogbonnia Okoronkwo who could eventually be assigned to injured reserve. But to be available at some time in the 2021 season, they will need to be on the 53-man roster. Confusing?  Yes.

About those waivers

Players who are cut/waived by the team by the 1:00 pm PT deadline of August 31, 2021, must remain waived by their original team until the same time on September 1st. During that time, other teams can submit a claim for that player. If multiple claims are submitted, the team with the worst 2020 record will be awarded the player.

After a player clears waivers, they are free to re-sign with their original team to either the active roster or the practice squad. In fact, players can negotiate their best deal possible, and could still end up signing on with another team if they are offered a contract to do so.

What this all means is this: Either the Rams will carry injured players on the initial 53-man roster, and cut players who they intend to re-sign after they are cleared to designate those injured players on a temporarily injured reserve roster. Or the Rams commit injured players to injured reserve for the season and do not risk losing valued players to waiver claims of other teams.

Perhaps it’s that strategy session, and the subsequent consensus and buy-in of stakeholders, that has halted the waiver process at the roster count of 74.