LA Rams DB Jordan Fuller is on track, but not back, from ankle injury

The LA Rams have not exactly been lucky when it comes to the health of their defensive backs, but when it comes to ankle injuries, the Rams have reason to be concerned. In 2020, the team lost promising defensive back, Terrell Burgess, to an ankle injury.

That injury required surgery and held him out of the rest of the 2020 season. Is he fully healthy and back? While he may be restored medically, he has not returned to the ‘soon-to-be-starter’ track that he was on before the injury.

Now, the LA Rams have a second defensive back Jordan Fuller with an ankle injury.  This injury also required surgery. Will the outcome be similar? Will Jordan Fuller, who earned a starting role as a rookie, suddenly be derailed on the back end of the LA Rams secondary?

While signs do not point that way, we cannot ignore the fact that Burgess stood a year ago where Fuller stands now. And Burgess has significantly more time to rehab before the 2021 NFL season.

Jordan Fuller is back, but how far back?

The injury sidelined Fuller just as the team entered the playoffs. As his teammates competed, Fuller was forced to watch from his home, viewing the televised broadcast from the comfort of his own sofa. That was a tough time for Jordan Fuller because he wanted to be out there with his teammates. So how is Fuller doing right now?

So far, so good. But here is the press conference, so we will let him tell you himself where he stands.

While Fuller may have played more games, his interception total dropped in his second season. He has been a huge part of the LA Rams defense to this point. In his second year, he played 16 games and put up 113 tackles, one interception, four passes defended, and one tackle for a loss.

Rams roster: Time for depth players to compete

Fuller is returning for his third season. While there has been plenty of speculation that his role would be improved that much more from his first two seasons. But that has become a bit complicated with his ankle injury and now rehabbing to get back onto the field.

Of course, with the arrival of a newly-signed veteran inside linebacker Bobby Wagner, there was some room to debate who would wear the green dot this year. With Fuller rehabbing, that could mean that the distinction will migrate to Wagner. We’ll soon find out.

Furthermore, the fact that Fuller is working to get up to all of the on-field drills certainly opens the door for any number of his teammates to get the attention of the coaching staff, and perhaps make some inroads early in terms of playing time and earning minutes in the rotation of the team’s secondary.

Stay tuned