LA Rams: Hollins to IR, best free agent OLBs to keep an eye on

Familiar face

Finally, the LA Rams could work out a deal to bring former outside linebacker John Daka back. The LA Rams claimed Daka in May 2021, and at the time the Rams outside linebackers seemed rather plentiful. While he didn’t generate much information in training camp, he did do a pretty good job for the LA Rams in preseason games. Even as he rotated in those three contests, he recorded nine tackles, two of which were for a loss.

Daka has two distinct advantages over any other free agent. First, he is the only player who is intimately knowledgeable about the LA Rams defense. He knows the coaching staff, the defensive playbook, the players, and pretty much has a jump on everything. And there’s that high production at a small college football program.

Another advantage that he has is his knowledge of what the role truly is. It has a glass ceiling to it. This is a role that may flex from the active roster to the 53-man roster with almost no notice. Since he trained and practiced with the team for months, he knows the routine. While he may not have NFL playing experience, he does have LA Rams organizational experience. For the role that the LA Rams have right now, organizational experience may be better equipped to handle the uncertainty that surrounds this role right now.

The LA Rams have resigned players to the roster after waiving them in the past. Sometimes it works out, sometimes not. But the LA Rams have suffered repeated player injuries at both the running back position and now at the outside linebacker position. It’s never too early to plan for an emergency. It may already be too late to start discussing the problem.