As minicamp nears, Rams hold more questions than answers over OL status

When the Los Angeles Rams finished the 2024 NFL season, fans were concerned about the status and quality of the offensive line. After all, the Rams opened the season without the benefit of either starting tackle, who were and still are LT Alaric Jackson and RT Rob Havenstein. By the time the team had lost in Week 1, four offensive linemen were injured. The added injuries included both swing tackle Joe Noteboom and left guard turned center returned to guard Steve Avila.

The Rams allowed Noteboom to walk away in free agency. The team still has a healthy Steve Avila at left guard. But the 2025 NFL season is already growing eerily similar to that of the 2024 NFL season. How so? Veteran right tackle Rob Havenstein had some minor medical repairs in the offseason to clean up his shoulders. He is expected to return in time for the season, but he was unable to participate in OTAs.

Veteran left tackle Alaric Jackson is also now a huge question mark about his future availability. Jackson has reportedly been suffering from blood clots, the same medical condition that completely shut him down in the middle of the 2022 NFL season.

The team was willing to trade up frequently in the 2025 NFL Draft, often addressing positions on the Rams' roster that appeared to be just as deep, if not deeper, than they had been in the previous season, but failed to address either the cornerback or offensive tackle positions. It was not just fans who expected the team to bolster those positions, but many NFL draft analysts as well.

Except for signing free agent center Coleman Shelton, the Rams front office seemed content to trade away veteran IOL Jonah Jackson and allow both veteran offensive tackles Conor McDermott and Joe Noteboom to leave without any plans to bolster the ranks. Not only did the team not add offensive tackles by signing free agents, but it also made no effort to select rookies during the 2025 NFL Draft.

And yet, the same team that resisted the urge to invest in the offensive line before OTAs seems to have had a complete change of heart since OTAs have begun and concluded. The team has since added two veteran offensive tackles, David Quessenberry and DJ Humphries.

Confused? You have every right to be. After all, it's impossible to understand if the team is worse off, the same, or better off than at this point one year ago. Worse yet, until the pads go on and fans know who is and is not likely to suit up as starters for the Rams' offensive line for Week 1, many serious questions have no answers.

In the meantime, we can assemble some of the many questions currently facing the Rams 'offensive line and try to summarize what we know at this point.

Question 6 - How quickly can Rams fans expect Alaric Jackson to be medically cleared?

The shocking and disappointing news that recently extended starting left tackle Alaric Jackson has caught both the team and fans by surprise. Alaric Jackson faced an unexplained blood clot ailment in 2022, forcing him to sit out the final nine games of the season on IR. Now that the medical condition has returned, there is a bit of uncertainty to the matter of when Jackson can be expected to return.

The truth is, nobody can say.

The Rams were pleased to learn that Alaric Jackson was able to return to the team without restrictions in 2023 and has played as the starting left tackle for the team over the past two seasons. But the re-emergence of the clotting issue complicates matters. For starters, the condition is treatable with blood thinners. But while those are administered, Jackson will be unable to participate as any nick or cut can trigger either a serious loss of blood or a new round of clotting.

But even after successfully being treated, physicians must now investigate further as to the cause of the ailment to return to Jackson. Until doctors can identify and treat the underlying cause, Jackson may be unable to secure medical clearance to return to football activities.

We know from the experience in 2022 that the medical condition takes no less than nine weeks. The actual treatment using VTE takes a minimum of three months. But it's a more likely scenario to allow at least 12 weeks for Jackson, or through mid-October, to be medically cleared. With the need to rejoin the team and reintegrate with his teammates, I would speculate by anticipating Jackson's return to the football field will be by early November.

Question 5 - How quickly can Rams fans expect Rob Havenstein to be medically cleared?

We have a stronger sense of veteran right tackle Rob Havenstein's timeline. because the player shared his expectations in late April 2025 with team reporter Wyatt Miller. In the interview, Havenstein shared that he had opted to have minor medical procedures performed on each shoulder in the offseason. While the procedures would limit his availability through OTAs, he expected to be a full participant by the time training camp arrived on the calendar.

"There was some junk in there that did not need to be in there, so they went in and grabbed the old butter knife and took it out. And nothing got fixed or repaired, so it was nothing like anything crazy like that, just had some wear and tear and (they) shaved it all down, gave me a couple new shoulders, feel pretty good."

Rob Havenstein

If you want to catch the entire video, you can click on this link here and queue the embedded video at the bottom of the article to the 45:50 time mark. Havenstein confessed that he would be working to restore his strength so that he would be ready to go by the time training camp returns.

Keep in mind that much of the offseason work is relatively ineffective for players who compete in the trenches until the pads go on and the practices involve live contact, but with blocking and tackling. As a veteran, Havenstein understood that he had a grace period in OTAs to heal up, and his durability has been shrinking in recent years. Curiously, he had shoulder work done, but much of his 2024 struggles seemed to occur elsewhere with his body.

Havenstein wants to play in 2025. He is rejecting the idea that he has diminished passion or physical ability. But as we have witnessed in the past, the Rams have to be prepared for unexpected injuries. Hopefully, Havenstein's availablity will not become an issue in 2025.

Question 4 - Will the real Rams starting center please stand up?

Rookie center Beaux Limmer has nothing to be ashamed of when looking back at the 2024 NFL season. He was drafted in Round 6 of the 2024 NFL Draft, despite being the fourth-highest ranked rookie center on the draft board. On some draft boards, he was projected as early as Day 2. So the Rams selecting him so late in the draft was an unexpected bargain.

Limmer appeared in 16 regular-season games and started 14 games in 2024. Per his 2024 grades from Pro Football Focus, he was better than expected as a run blocker, but struggled with pass blocking. That comes as no surprise, as he had to await his training camp reps behind veterans Steve Avila and Jonah Jackson. Much of his work with the starting offensive linemen had to occur as on-the-job training (OJT) as he was thrust into a starting role in Week 1.

But he was ineffective in the playoffs, earning a PFF pass blocking grade of 34.9. That is the equivalent of an orange pylon, and it was pretty accurate when revisiting hsi performance against Philadelphia Eagles DT Jalen Carter.

Shelton is the more polished veteran, a center who has deep familiarity with the Rams' offensive linemen, offense, and coaching staff. Best of all, he is solid at both run and pass blocking. Shelton was the Rams starting center for Super Bowl LVI, so he has earned the dependability merit badge for postseason competition.

While Beaux Limmer is not going to like the idea, he will be a better player in the future to take a demotion to backup center in stride. The Rams are vying for one more ring for veteran quarterback Matthew Stafford. Beaux Limmer's chapter as the starting center begins as soon as the successor to Stafford takes over the team's offensive reins.

Question 3 - Why did Rams sign offensive tackles David Quessenberry and DJ Humphries?

The Rams' front office made some mistakes in the past. But rather than try to gloss over them, the team tries very hard to learn from past miscues. One such gaffe was last year's pivot from veteran center Coleman Shelton to free agent left guard Jonah Jackson. Jackson was injured and never truly fit into the Rams' scheme. LG Steve Avila was cross-trained to center, never quite fit there, returned to left guard, and was injured. He struggled a bit more than expected last season.

And the team was forced to start rookie Beaux Limmer at center as a result of a series of mishaps that began by trying to upgrade the offensive line with two veteran left guards. So why didn't the Rams sign David Quessenberry or DJ Humphries sooner?

The Rams learned that the unpredictability of the NFL draft and even OTAs demands patience. While the Rams understood that the depth chart would suffer temporarily from Rob Havenstein's absence, the team awaited the initial results of how prepared younger players might be to step up this season. The unexpected medical setback with Alaric Jackson complicated the situation even further.

The Rams signed veteran David Quessenberry to add a veteran presence at right tackle for the team. And signed DJ Humphries out of necessity to ensure that the team had a solid starter at left tackle in place for Week 1. As of right now, the team expects Rob Havenstein to be a full go in training camp, preseason, and the regular season. There are no certainties where Alaric Jackson is concerned.

So the team waited until the dust settled, then acted to add the right player to the anticipated roster need of the team. Lesson learned.

Question 2 - How does all of this affect the Rams depth chart at OL?

When it comes to the LA Rams' depth chart for the offensive line in 2025, things do not appear as desperate as you might expect. While injuries to offensive linemen seemed to keep the entire team on its heels throughout the first five games of 2024, the team appears to be in better shape this year.

Gone are IOL Logan Bruss, swing-tackle Jone Noteboom, IOL Jonah Jackson, and even veteran reserve tackle Conor McDermott. In terms of new faces on the roster, the Rams have veteran center Coleman Shelton, OT David Quessenberry, OT DJ Humphries, and rookies Wyatt Bowles, Ben Dooley, Willie Lampkin, and Trey Wedig.

So, how do all of these moves impact the Rams' depth chart? Here is a projection of how the Rams' depth chart appears as the team enters minicamp:

• LT - *Alaric Jackson*, DJ Humphries, Warren McClendon Jr., AJ Arcuri
• LG - Steve Avila, Justin Dedich, Wyatt Bowles
• C - Coleman Shelton, Beaux Limmer, Dylan McMahon, Willie Lampkin
• RG - Kevin Dotson, KT Leveston, Ben Dooley
• RT - **Rob Havenstein**, David Quessenberry, Trey Wedig

* Alaric Jackson is unlikely to start in Week 1
** Rob Havenstein is expected to start in Week 1

While you may be concerned over the team's offensive line status right now, fans have several reasons for optimism. Unlike past seasons that depended heavily upon young and untested players to step up in case of injury, the Rams have deliberately reinforced the depth chart to supply experienced players in almost every backup position.

Furthermore, even as the team did not select an offensive lineman during the 2025 NFL Draft, the team signed two undrafted collegiate free agents after the draft who were projected to be drafted. They are North Carolina rookie IOL Willie Lampkin and Indiana OT Trey Wedig.

While I am not so naive as to predict any undrafted rookie will crack the starting lineup or even as a primary backup, the presence of promising rookies on the roster for training camp does serve notice to returning offensive linemen that their quest to earn a spot on the Rams roster or practice squad that much more difficult.

Question 1 - Does this destroy hopes for a fast start to Rams season?

Now we boil all of these variables, changes, and impact items into the grand question posed by almost all fans. Do these changes and course corrections that have continued even after OTAs destroy any hope of a fast start for the Rams this season?

To know the answer to that, let's revisit what caused this team to struggle out of the gates in each of the past two seasons.

In 2023, the Los Angeles Rams roster was severely impacted by injuries. And the early games for the Rams were difficult early in the schedule, but softened considerably later that season. It was a season that found the team relying upon rookie Puka Nacua to compensate for the absence of Cooper Kupp, and the ascension of RB Kyren Williams (after he was healthy) to lead the offense. The team delayed starting RG Kevin Dotson until Week 3. Injuries created a kaleidoscope for the team's offensive starters.

Similar circumstances impacted the team in 2024. The team opened the season without both starting offensive tackles. By Week 3, the tackles were back, but two interior offensive linemen fell to injury. So, isn't the Rams' offensive line already facing similar circumstances this year?

Not exactly.

Unlike past years, with the team forced to promote inexperienced offensive linemen into starting roles, the front office shelled out a bit more currency to pad the depth chart with veterans who boast ample experience at starting in the NFL. And the lone player who does not have a battle-tested backup is ironman Kevin Dotson, whose durability is very impressive.

Even in the gloom and doom worst-case scenario, the Rams can start:

• Rams' 2025 primary OL backups
• LT - DJ Humphries
• LG - Justin Dedich
• C - Beaux Limmer
• RG - Kevin Dotson (who's kidding who? Dotson needs no backup)
• RT - David Quessenberry

And that is before the pecking order is modified after the pads go on and the Rams afford an opportunity to younger players to earn a chance at a backup role. What that tells fans is that the Rams are taking the protection of veteran quarterback Matthew Stafford quite seriously this season. For a team that has made big splashes to go All-In in the past, the Rams' subtle moves so far this season may have the biggest positive impact of all.

As always, thanks so much for reading.

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