6, er 5 LA Rams players on the bubble after the draft

On the bubble: Player 4

The LA Rams signed running back Raymond Calais off the Tampa Bay Buccaneers waiver wire as teams pared down to their 53-man roster. At that time, the Rams were eager to find a special teams return specialist, and the team cast a fairly wide net for wide receivers, running backs, and even defensive backs for a player who could run quickly and could do so comfortably with a football in their hands.

The 5-foot-8 188-pound running back did carve out a minor role as a kick returner for the team that year, returning seven kickoffs for 152 years, to average 21.7 yards per return. He did manage a 41-yard return on the season, which was promising enough to welcome him back to compete for the role once more.

But before the 2021 NFL season, Calais suffered a foot injury that would derail him the entire season. While that was a true setback, perhaps a greater setback was the fact that the Rams discovered that mid-season signing, WR Brandon Powell, had a true knack to excel at the special teams return role.

Meanwhile, the Rams have now drafted 5-foot-9 194-pound running back Kyren Williams.  So the two roles that seemed to be wide open for Calais in 2020: running back and PR/KR; now appear to be filled. Calais’ own status with the team is further complicated by the need to rehab and recover from that devastating foot injury suffered in 2021.

The Rams’ training camp is somewhat of a fixed schedule, and may not align with Calais’ timetable for a full recovery. The Rams have plenty of running backs at the moment. Calais could find that he is the odd man out.