Rams inactives for Week 12 hold at least one surprise

The LA Rams are playing the second game in Week 12, a road game against the AFC West Division-leading Kansas City Chiefs. Because the kickoff is slated for 1:25 pm PT, the list of inactive players for both teams comes later in the day.

The LA Rams entered this week knowing that both offensive center Brian Allen (thumb) and starting veteran quarterback Matthew Stafford would be out for this one. But the Rams slipped two players onto the inactive list who were listed as questionable before game time.

The first surprise is the inclusion of offensive tackle Ty Nsekhe. He has been fighting through an ankle injury, and was designated as a questionable status for this one and noted as a game-time decision. The belief now is that rookie offensive tackle A.J. Arcuri will play at the left offensive tackle spot this week.

Another name that showed up with a bit of a surprise is that of Rams WR Allen Robinson. While Robinson showed up on the injury report with a questionable status for this one, the hope was that it was only a minor matter. That clearly is not the case, as the Rams will sit him this week as well. Look for the Rams to rely upon Van Jefferson and Ben Skowronek in this one.

I also recommend that you keep an eye on undrafted rookie wide receiver Lance McCutcheon this week. He and LA Rams backup quarterback Bryce Perkins had tremendous chemistry in their preseason games.

Here is the full list of inactive players for Week 12:

LOS ANGELES RAMS

WR Allen Robinson
QB Matthew Stafford
LB Travin Howard
C Brian Allen
OT Ty Nsekhe

KANSAS CITY CHIEFS

QB Shane Buechele
WR Kadarius Toney
S Juan Thornhill
DE Joshua Kaindoh
G Joe Thuney
T Geron Christian
DE Malik Herring

The LA Rams continue to be plagued with no continuity on the offensive line, now facing their 11th different starting offensive line in 11 games. The problem with this LA Rams offensive is not a lack of talent. It’s the problem with not having the same five guys lining up from one week to the next. So evaluating how well this group is performing is akin to trying to bake a cake in the middle of an earthquake.

The only thing we can do is hunker down and hope that the Rams roster finally holds healthy enough to get the same five offensive linemen starting in consecutive weeks. Until that happens, there is really no way to gauge how effective these offensive linemen can gel together.