7 Rams must defy the odds and win a 2024 roster spot, even Stetson Bennett?

VII: ILB Christian Rozeboom

The LA Rams truly wanted to build a solid interior linebacking core to create continuity. While ILB Ernest Jones has certainly risen to fulfill hopes of the field general ILB role, Christian Rozeboom has not yet quite reached a safe harbor in his performance.

While 2023 was his most impressive season of his three-year NFL career, Rozeboom has been in the NFL since signing with the team after the 2020 NFL Draft. While that first season was a struggle simply to land on the team's practice squad, and he did play for the Kansas City Chiefs in 2021, he has slowly worked his way into the teams rotation.

After the team parted ways with All-Pro veteran inside linebacker Bobby Wagner after the 2022 NFL season, Rozeboom was one of the players who was given a chance to grow into the starting role alongside Ernest Jones. While Rozeboom did start five of 17 games in 2023, teammate Troy Reeder started six games. The other starts were mixed among various nickel defensive backs.

While even a solid performance out of Rozeboom would be unlikely to thwart his removal on passing downs, the truth is that Rozeboom is the guy who this defense is depending on to create problems for opposing quarterbacks in terms of pass coverage. Rozeboom did pick off one pass, broke up four pass plays, and denied completions on 10 of 49 passes thrown to his receiver. But he also allowed a touchdown, and his 19 blitzes only yielded two quarterback hits and no sacks.

Of course, Christian Rozeboom did put up 79 tackles in 2023, a combination of defense and special teams play. But this defense cannot be experimenting with new confitgurations in 2024. Rozeboom either has to lock down his spot on the defense, or make way for someone who can.