Projecting the LA Rams initial 16 player practice squad

Offense (7+1)

OL Max Pircher (exempt, IPP)
OL AJ Arcuri
OL Chandler Brewer
OL Jack Snyder

Carrying eight offensive linemen on the initial LA Rams roster is worrisome, and will sort itself out during the regular season. In the meantime, the Rams will carry another four offensive linemen on the practice squad, and may even elevate a player or two as the season progresses as needed if players begin to get dinged up.

Max Pircher’s exemption due to the International Player Pathway program ensures that he is an automatic lock. The LA Rams loved what they saw out of rookie AJ Arcuri this year, and will continue to develop him on the team’s practice squad. Chandler Brewer is quite known by the team and will be re-signed. The inclusion of Jack Snyder is, in my opinion, the best option for the emergency backup center option. Jeremiah Kolone could go here, as could a veteran NFL center, but I’ll go with Snyder here.

WR Austin Trammell

I like what I saw out of Austin Trammell, and I believe that the LA Rams coaching staff did as well. He is not the biggest, standing just 5-foot-10 and weighing 185-pounds. He is not the fastest, running a 4.62-second 40-yard dash. But he seems to get open at will, has soft hands, and puts up plenty of positive plays.

TE Jacob Harris
TE Roger Carter

The LA Rams waived multiple tight ends who, in my mind, had made a legitimate case to earn a roster spot. As such, I’m not exactly convinced that either Jacob Harris or Roger Carter will remain unclaimed as the team prepares to re-sign them to the practice squad.

Another wildcard is the fact that the Washington Commanders, the team that had claimed TE Kendall Blanton, has subsequently waived him With the Rams currently carrying just two tight ends, and Blanton’s familiarity with the Rams offense, I could see the team extending an offer to bring Blanton back to the practice squad.

RB Trey Ragas

The LA Rams insist that all is well with the running back group. But there is plenty of evidence to support real concerns over the unit’s potential this season. The roster is going with Cam Akers, Darrell Henderson Jr., Kyren Williams, and Jake Funk. Not only were all three returning veterans injured last year, but rookie Kyren Williams also suffered a foot injury early in OTAs and missed much of training camp. Akers and Henderson suffered soft tissue injuries and were only recently cleared to put the pads back on. Finally, Jake Funk was very ineffective running with the football in the preseason.

While only a practice squad spot, re-signing Trey Ragas allows the Rams coaches to continue to work with the powerful running back. To be honest, Ragas clearly had the most impressive preseason for the LA Rams at carrying the football, and that is enough to justify adding him to a roster that could be desperate for healthy ball carriers rather early in the season.

That’s our prediction. How close will we come? We will know soon enough.