Rams shock with 2nd pass rusher. Is defensive flex coming?

The LA Rams had just added DE/OLB Zach VanValkenburg to the team’s practice squad but subsequently lost OLB Benton Whitley off the same practice squad to the Kansas City Chiefs. After the dust settled from the two roster moves, the Rams were no further ahead at reinforcing their pass rush in the number of players chasing down opposing quarterbacks, and may have regressed somewhat in flipping a young player who was familiar with the Rams for one who was, well, not.

Now the LA Rams have just signed another defensive end, this time he is a player who is quite familiar with the 4-3 version of the Raheem Morris defense. He is Takkarist “Takk” McKinley, and he has been a rather productive NFL player. At least, until you consider that he was drafted 26th overall by the Atlanta Falcons in the 2017 NFL Draft.

And just like that, the LA Rams have added a solid pass rusher to their defense.

Tic Takk time

Takk McKinley is the second defensive end added to this roster in as many days. While Zach VanValkenburg was signed to the Rams practice squad, McKinley has been signed off the Tennessee Titan’s practice squad to the LA Rams active roster. Due to the NFL rules, the Rams must now keep McKinley on the roster for three weeks. Hopefully, far longer.

The addition of McKinley directly to the Rams active roster is a curious move for this team at this time. The front office has now added two new defensive ends to the roster, and no clear outside linebacker, in the past two days. Of course, the lines do get blurred with some smaller defensive ends, who could also transition to the 3-4 outside linebacker with a bit of practice. But the Rams appear to have a growing number of concerns at their outside linebacker position.

Rookie Daniel Hardy is still out for a minimum of two games, the Rams just lost promising OLB Benton Whitley from the team’s practice squad, and the durabilty of veteran OLB Leonard Floyd is a growning concern. Will McKinley help the Rams instantly?