Why waived RB Wayne Gallman II should be claimed by LA Rams

Why now?

The waiver wire is open for business now and will remain open until 1:00 pm PT on September 1st. After that time, the original team (in this case the San Francisco 49ers) can re-sign Gallman to their practice squad. Even if he were simply a free agent, he would most certainly be worth kicking the tires.

But the Rams have more incentive to ink Gallman to a 2021 contract.  Right now, the LA Rams are banking on Darrell Henderson, who has been plagued with availability issues in his NFL career, on Sony Michel, a solid veteran who has some availability issues in his own right, and rookie Jake Funk, who comes from the University of Maryland where he was plagued with, you guessed it, availability issues.

This isn’t an article about some pie-in-the-sky proclamation attesting to Wayne Gallman’s potential to run for 1200 yards and 10 touchdowns in a season. It’s simply a bit of pragmatic wisdom. The Rams face a 17 game season, and it really makes sense not to roll the dice on three running backs with a track record of injury in a season when injuries seem to be dropping running backs on the Rams roster every week.

If it doesn’t work out? Well then, cut the guy. Turn him loose once more. He fits the Rams criteria, or at least what I make it out to be. Gallman is cheap, on a one-year deal, has demonstrated significant physicality when running, is not a noted risk for injury, comes at minimal cost, has four seasons of NFL experience, has demonstrated progress and development, is quite familiar with NFC West teams, and is entering the prime of his life.

The Rams need only to submit a waiver claim and see what happens. I expect if they do, good things will soon follow.