Rams rookie hype sparks dramatic speculation about veteran star’s future

The Los Angeles Rams seldom push rookies along, and rarely do when there are healthy veterans who are still competing. And that's not an opinion; it's been the historical track record of this team since HC Sean McVay began to pilot the team in 2017. It's neither a good thing nor a bad thing. It's just something that LA fans have learned to accept about the team.

Bleacher Report's Brent Sobleski sees things differently. In a recent article designed to tease NFL fans' imaginations, he asserts that seven veteran players on various teams could find themselves out of work when roster cuts begin as teams pare down to their 53-man limit. But it's a shaky argument at best.

The premise that ferments this brew of Tyler Higbee heading for release this season is the fact that the Rams have made investments into the tight end position. In 2024, they signed free agent Colby Parkinson to a multi-year contract. One year later, the team selected Terrance Ferguson in the 2025 NFL Draft, with the 46th overall pick of the second round.

But neither action was taken to move on from Higbee.

Tyler Higbee might be worth more to the Rams than fans realize

It's an argument about dollars and cents that makes no sense. The author draws a very bad conclusion by attaching unrelated actions chronologically, and coming to the only logical assessment allowed, as he orders the team's actions:

"McVay knows he can lean on Higbee as the veteran presence in the Rams' tight end room. At the same time, keep the following in mind. Higbee is 32 years old. The Rams can save $4.7 million towards the 2025 cap with this release. Los Angeles (Rams) have already made significant draft and financial investments in the duo of Ferguson and Colby Parkinson. Davis Allen is also a recent draft pick." - Bleacher Report's Brent Sobleski

The thing is, we need to investigate the state of the tight end room independently. Let's do so now and assess what we know about the 2024 season's production.

• TE1: Tyler Higbee | 58 snaps | 3 games | 8 of 12 rec | 66 yards | 2 TDs
• TE2: Colby Parkinson | 601 snaps | 17 games | 30 of 49 rec | 294 yards | 1 TD
• TE3: Davis Allen | 309 snaps | 15 games | 6 of 13 rec | 39 yards | 0 TDs

Rookies Terrance Ferguson (injured), Anthony Torres, and Mark Redman generated no statistics in 2024.

While he played just 58 offensive snaps in 2024, Higbee was the most effective tight end. And with the initial depth chart release, the team has shown no evidence of moving on from him in 2025. Quite the contrary. All evidence points to the team counting on Higbee to mentor the rookie this season.

The team is high on Ferguson, but no one is suggesting he's ready to start Week 1. But even his rapid ascension won't push Les Snead to penny-pinch $4 million.

Higbee is not a pro bono roster assignment. He is the most effective and productive tight end on the roster, even now. If you are a team in need of a tight end, look elsewhere. Higbee isn't going anywhere. As always, thanks for reading.

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