LA Rams Atwell and Howard to IR, add Darious Williams and Von Miller

The LA Rams are finally reporting the addition of veteran All-Pro outside linebacker Von Miller. It was a highly anticipated but mysterious bit of cloak-and-dagger events by the team that left plenty of clues and bread crumbs to allow us to conclude that the Rams most definitely had ulterior motives as the NFL Trade Deadline approached.

The only bit of evidence that was missing was who the LA Rams were targeting. Well, that news broke on Monday morning. The rumors were confirmed later in the day by the LA Rams team Twitter account.

The Rams were sitting on a completely staffed 53-man roster. So where would the team fit him onto the roster? That trade news was accompanied by a host of other roster moves, many of it expected after Week 8’s news of Tutu Atwell’s injury.

Rams roster morphing once more

So let’s unpack what we have here, and see if we can detect any challenges or boosts to the team’s roster in the near term future:

The LA Rams announced sending two players to injured reserve, while also sharting that the team has elevated the formerly injured defensive back, Darious Williams. Of course, Williams will join Von Miller on the Rams practice field, but it could be that Darious Williams is the greater addition for this Rams defense in the short term.

As Von Miller will learn his responsibilities and the LA Rams nomenclature, Williams is believed to be quite familiar with everything as he regains NFL game speed this week in practice. The LA Rams have gotten a lot of solid play out of defensive backs Donte Deayon and Robert Rochell, while still rotating David Long Jr. onto the field.

Welcome back Darious Williams

With Williams back, the Rams’ secondary will get a huge boost. Perhaps that is well-timed because the Tennessee Titans will be looking to work their passing game heavily in Week 9 after news of an injury to running back workhorse, Derrick Henry. To compensate, the Titans are reportedly signing veteran running back Adrian Peterson to help the offense handle the load.

While the Titans passing offense is currently the 21st-ranked passing game in the NFL, they boast both A.J. Brown and Julio Jones, two incredibly accomplished receivers who are each capable of carrying the Titans to a victory.

Now with the Rams facing a team that is quite good in its own right, but will be forced to change their playmaking due to new faces, the Rams will have quite a challenge in the upcoming Week 9 matchup.