3 fringe roster candidates grabbing spotlight in Week 2 of Rams Camp

TE Hunter Long

For Rams fans, Hunter Long will forever be immortalized as the guy that the team received in trading All-Pro CB Jalen Ramsey to the Miami Dolphins. The team also received a Round 3 pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, a pick that was used to select OLB Byron Young. But it is Long, and not Young, who is most directly related to that trade.

On paper, it's easy to see why Hunter Long was sought as part of the compensation in that exchange. Standing 6-foot-5 and weighing 243 pounds, Long was viewed as a natural successor for the soon-to-be-expired-contract veteran Brycen Hopkins. He was a proven NFL blocking tight end, and the team felt that given patience, the right coaching, and opportunities, that he would become dangerous as a downfield receiver as well.

It's no secret that the Rams' top two tight ends so far have been second-year Davis Allen and newly signed veteran Colby Parkinson. But Hunter Long is proving that he is unwilling to fade away just yet. Rams beat reporter Stu Jackson shared camp highlights from July 29 that illustrated that Hunter Long is competing hard for a Rams roster spot.

"One of Garoppolos best passes of the day came in redzone drills, firing a touchdown pass to tight end Hunter Long. Longs catch in the back of the endzone was equally impressive, tapping both feet down for the score"

- Stu Jackson

Plays will be made by all players, and it's impossible to track every play from every player. But Long needed to show up in this training camp, if for no other reason than the fact that he is at risk of getting squeezed out by the surge of both Allen and Parkinson.

Hunter Long is not ready to pack it in just yet. We'll know more about the team's plans at the tight end position when preseason games arrive. But for now, the competition appears to be a three player race.