Dominoes fall Rams way as Roger McCreary trade weakens NFL contender

After the BYE, it's never too early to take a glance at the seeding of teams for the upcoming NFL Playoffs. As the Los Angeles Rams pivot to face the New Orleans Saints in Week 9, they are clinging to a berth in the postseason. But several NFL teams remain firmly entrenched in postseason discussions, and not all fall on the schedule.

For those teams to falter on their way to the NFL Playoffs, Los Angeles must rely upon other teams. And as luck would have it, the recent trade for Tennessee Titans cornerback Roger McCreary started the dominoes falling in a direction that nobody could have anticipated.

You see, to fill McCreary's now vacant spot in the Titans' roster, they signed promising cornerback Micah Robinson off the Green Bay Packers practice squad. Robinson was the only corner on the Packers practice squad.

Robinson did not make the Packers' active roster, but he was re-signed to their practice squad for good reason. Green Bay knows that pass defense is vital in the NFC North Division, and Robinson was viewed as a future contributor to that defense. With his signing by the Titans, the Packers were compelled to sign a former cornerback who was cut earlier in the year, Tyrone Herring.

Rams getting stronger forces Packers to get weaker at trade deadline

Even as general manager Les Snead moved to add McCreary to strengthen the secondary, he also set the wheels in motion for other moves that could benefit the team in the long run. The Titans grabbed a promising young cornerback who has the potential to become an NFL starter.

As all NFL fans know, the further into the season, the more important those developmental players become. Even if Herring is as talented as Robinson, he joins the Packers at mid-season. LA fans can recall that claiming Emmanuel Forbes Jr. off waivers required many weeks until he saw action. For a player on the practice squad. The time needed to get up to speed is even longer.

The loss of Robinson to the Titans will not trigger a losing streak for the Packers this season. But it may complicate their ability to respond to adversity. Los Angeles lost multiple promising players to other teams when it was forced to pare down the roster to the 53-player season limit.

However, it has created a stir among some NFL experts to suggest the Packers may now be shoppers for cornerback help before the NFL trade deadline. Hopefully, they will be squeezed to overpay for whomever they acquire.

Now, it's the Packers who must adapt to losing a promising young player. And it all happened thanks to Les Snead. As always, thanks for reading.