7 Los Angeles Rams players who won't be back in Horns next year

(5) - Swing tackle Joe Noteboom

The LA Rams enjoyed a deep offensive line this season. Well, that is until the team began to suffer injuries to starters before preseason. By the time the 2024 season began, the Rams were unable to suit up either starting offensive tackle. Normally, that would mean swing tackle Joe Noteboom would suit up and start for an injured teammate. But Noteboom was injured in Week 1. If not for the return to health of veteran right tackle Rob Havenstein, the Rams would have been in dire straights.

Of the 1090 offensive snaps played by the offense in 2024, Joe Noteboom suited up for 220 snaps. Second year swing tackle Warren McClendon Jr. suited up for 334 snaps. Nobody expects a backup tackle to play as well as the starter. But the team had to scramble to fill three games for left tackle Alaric Jackson, and five games for right tackle Rob Havenstein. With Jackson's contract expiring, and Havenstein getting older, the offensive line needs dependable backups on the offensive line for 2025.

They are likely to get plenty of starts in relief.

Availability is the best attribute for a swing tackle. Unfortunately, that is not what Noteboom brings to the offense any longer. His inability to suit up and hold a position until the starter returns is no longer at the level that he provided in 2020, when he started half the season at left tackle for starting veteran Andrew Whitworth. Now, the Rams are fortunate to get two consecutive games out of him in relief.

The team had hoped Noteboom would elevate his game to become a starter. He never did. Making matters worse, he made more in 2024 than starting left tackle Alaric Jackson. Unless Noteboom re-signs for cheap, he will be playing elsewhere.

(4) - Tight end Hunter Long

When the LA Rams signed free agent tight end Colby Parkinson to a three-year deal in the 2024 NFL Free Agency market, the presumption was that he would step in as the team's future starting tight end. But after a 2024 NFL season in which just three games for TE Tyler Higbee resulted in catching eight of 12 passes for 66 yards and three touchdowns. Curiously, all other tight ends on the Rams roster combined for just one touchdown.

The LA Rams had displayed strong interest in drafting a top-tier tight end in each of the past two NFL Drafts. Unfortunately, the prospect that the Rams wanted remained out of reach. That is unlikely to happen in the 2025 NFL Draft, as the rookie class appears to be loaded with tight end prospects.

That does mean that the team is unlikely to re-sign veteran TE Hunter Long. After all, the team already has TEs Tyler Higbee, Colby Parkinson, and Davis Allen. If the team follows their past trend and aims at a top-tier tight end in the 2025 NFL Draft, the offense has no reason to retain Long. Long is an effective blocker, He even caught seven of nine passes for 60 yards in 2024. But the Rams need offensive weapons who can score. Hunter Long simply does not fit that description.