5 LA Rams players you won’t see in horns in 2023

Player V: Running back

The LA Rams running back room entered the 2022 NFL season a bit light in the cleats. Of the players who were suiting up for the team, only veteran running back Cam Akers stood 5-foot-10 or higher and weighed 210-plus pounds. The team was content to go that direction until rookie running back Kyren Williams was injured for the second time in the season.

As a result, the LA Rams brought back former Rams big-body running back Malcolm Brown to help out the Rams roster. At the time of his signing, the possibilities over how the team might make use of Brown extended from a power back in short yardage to a lead blocking back for teammates, to even as a deceptive receiver either out of the backfield or lined up as either a slot, Y, Z, or even wide receiver.

LA Rams never got the memo to play Brown

Instead, the Rams got little work from the guy. By the end of the season, Brown played in only 95 offensive snaps, rushed with the football just 18 times for yards and one touchdown, and was targetted just six times, catching five passes for another 37 yards.

All the while, the Rams continued to line up wide receivers and tight ends in the backfield, both as lead blockers and as pass options as they slipped undetected through the line of scrimmage. Those roles could easily and effectively have been performed by the veteran Brown. But the team opted to use different personnel, and the truth is that if Brown, in a year with such a poorly performing offense, could not earn more snaps, then the truth is that the team is unlikely to extend him for the 2023 NFL season.