3 Rams who played themselves off the roster after preseason Week 2

The LA Rams are going to make some decisions very soon, decisions that will influence and impact the futures of 37 NFL players. By this time one week from now (or perhaps even sooner), reports will surface about players who dreams of playing in the 2024 NFL season must be placed on pause, for now. With the fury and passion that the current Rams roster exudes in preseason games, there will be many players who will need to find the strength to cling to their football dreams.

All 32 NFL teams must trim their active roster to 53 players by 1:00 pm PT on August 27, 2024.

Some will get an immediate reprieve. Of the 37 players waived by NFL teams, 16 can be resigned on the next day to their practice squad. But even that solution is not a true solution just yet. From the practice squad, young players can continue to refine their skills. But NFL teams do not count on those players when planning the roster the following year. It appears as though Logan Bruss, a player who battled through injuries in his first two NFL seasons, is finally prepared to step up and compete for a starting role on this team's offensive line.

Unfortunately, he is playing behind outstanding RG Kevin Dotson.

It's a numbers game. Players who lose ground at this time of year, regardless of why, are swept onto the roster bubble simply because that is a necessity of NFL teams right now. So who is making a case to have the roster bubble burst under them after two preseason games? How about:

(3) - DB Charles Woods

While he has had a promising training camp, Rams rookie cornerback Charles Woods had a bit of a mental lapse in Game 2 of the preseason against the Los Angeles Chargers. Unlike his respectable performance against the Dallas Cowboys, which ended with three tackles, Woods would only record one tackle against the Chargers.

But he did get flagged in the game for defensive holding. That play came on a third-down and eight yards to go on the Chargers 48-yard line. It was a penalty that reset the downs for the Chargers' offense, allowing them to remain on the football field with possession. Ultimately, the Rams' defense would hold, but not before the Chargers had driven all the way down to the Rams' 21-yard line. It was the type of mental mistake that could have lost the game. It is the type of timing of a penalty that will get you cut in eight days.

(2) - OLB Keir Thomas

While Keir Thomas is one of the veterans on this team at a position that is overflowing with youth, he has been a steady presence at the outside linebacker position. But this is no longer a spot where steady performers are waived through roster cuts with no questions asked. This season, it's a highly competitive role. And the first player to flinch is the one most likely to get cut.

Keir Thomas flinched.

With the scored tied, the Chargers offense had the football on a first down and 10 yards to go on the Rams 21-yard line. Unfortunately, Thomas's hand was on the ball carriers facemask during the tackle, drawing an immediate flag from the official. That moved the football to the Rams 11-yard line. The Rams defense held, but not before allowing the Chargers to kick a field goal that would allow them to take the lead.

(1) - DB Tre Tomlinson

Rams second-year cornerback merely had to show a bit more discipline, cut down on his penalties, and prove to the coaches that he deserves to remain on this roster for the 2024 NFL season. Unfortunately, I don't believe he is very successful at doing so. After his second penalty in two preseason games, Tre Tomlinson risks getting cut from this team.

If he has been told to cut down on the penalties (and you just know that someone has talked to him), he isn't listening. And the mistakes are at the worst possible time. In Game 2, with the Rams defense holding a huge advantage over the Chargers offense at third down and 19 to go on the Chargers 41-yard line, Tomlinson was flagged for illegal contact. While that penalty advanced the football five yards, it did something else.

It gave the Chargers offense a new set of downs.

The Rams defense would hold on this possession as well, but not before the Charges advanced the football to the Rams one-yard line. There, the Chargers would fumble the football, and Rams DB Jason Taylor II would recover it to stop the drive.

Three players, all fighting for a spot on the roster, flinched. It may not result in their release, but it certainly does not help their cause. And with rosters trying to shake out players for many reasons, this could be the event that leads down that path.

As always, thank you for reading..