Did the LA Rams shopping list off of the NFL Waiver Wire just grow to 6 positions?

The LA Rams have huge concerns over the backup quarterback, kicker, nose tackle, cornerback, safety, and perhaps most of all, pass rusher. These are the same areas that held a lot of question marks when the Rams entered their 2023 training camp. But this is the end of the preseason, and roster cuts are about to happen to all 32 NFL teams.

And from what I can tell, the LA Rams have every reason to give extensive overtime to everyone who works in their personnel department to monitor the NFL Waiver Wire to submit claims. Perhaps the Rams are warm and fuzzy over the status of their depth chart. After all, the Rams coaching staff continued to divert players who were contributing in a positive fashion to the bench.

Was the LA Rams effort in their third a final preseason game of horrific depth? Or did the Rams, through a process of cherry-picking their best performers, simply shoot themselves in the foot by sending players onto the football field who were buried deeply on the Rams depth chart?

Rams sat a lot of talent in this game

While we will discuss it soon in an upcoming article, the LA Rams chose to sit the following players in the third and final preseason game (in addition to starters and rotational player who did not suit up for preseason games):

• Name Position Projected Role
• Puka Nacua WR Rotational
• Ben Skowronek WR Rotational
• Steve Avila IOL Starter
• Tremayne Anchrum IOL Starter
• Alaric Jackson OT Starter
• Christian Rozeboom ILB Starter/rotational
• Jake Hummell ILB Starter/rotational
• Michael Hoecht OLB Starter
• Byron Young OLB Starter/rotational
• Kobie Turner DT Starter/rotational
• Bobby Brown III NT Starter
• Jonah Williams DE Rotational
• Russ Yeast DB Starter/rotational

While the Rams did not show a great deal of effort in their third and final preseason game, we do have to add context to what the LA Rams strategy has been throughout this preseason process. Unlike many teams that play their entire roster, or at least a significant portion of their full roster, throughout their three preseason games, the LA Rams tackle preseason a different way.

While the Rams will certainly try to upgrade their roster whenever and wherever possible, Rams fans have yet to see what this starting team looks like. And it has been very difficult to get a true GPS location of exactly where the LA Rams backups and reserves are relative to other NFL teams due to the aggressive and rapid rotations that the Rams deploy in preseason games.

Any Rams free agency signings in the near future?

Looking at the list above, and factoring in the already known starters who were sitting out, it's actually not so surprising that the Rams final preseason game was such a disaster.

While the Rams will be monitoring the NFL Waiver Wire closely, I don't know that I'd commit to asserting that the LA Rams roster needs wholesale changes just yet. Perhaps some pruning here, and a graft of new player stock there, is all that is needed to prepar the Rams roster for rthe 2023 NFL season.

While I cannot rule out any surprise Rams free agency signings completely, after looking over the list of players that sat out in Game 3 I can see that the Rams 53-man roster was clearly not represented in the final preseason game. That certainly has helped me place the outcome of that final game into perspective. I hope it helped you as well.