Is everything all holly Jolly for the LA Rams secondary?

With the LA Rams resting and reformulating a new plan for success during the Week 10 BYE, the team will surely be looking for ways to bolster some of the weaker areas of the team. In that effort, there may be a growing concern over the Rams' pass defense, and specifically, whether or not the Rams have the right players in a position to succeed.

One player who is currently not directly involved in any immediate plans to show up and contribute is defensive back Shaun Jolly. Jolly was added to the Rams roster in 2022 and played a minor role on the Rams' defense last season.

He returned in 2023, had an excellent training camp, and appeared to be in line for a slot on the active LA Rams roster. Unfortunately, he suffered a hamstring injury, which compelled the Rams to settle his contract and release him. Now, he is healthy enough to play football once more and was re-signed to the Rams practice squad in mid-October.

Jolly is ready to pitch in once more.

Jolly can make a difference

Thanks to the rule changes, the LA Rams can elevate Shaun Jolly to game day status three times over the course of the last eight games before the team is forced to sign him to an active contract. While that may not sound like a bonus, the Rams have already made a decision to switch DB Cobie Durant to outside CB, sit the inconsistent DB Derion Kendrick, and promote DB Quentin Lake to a starting role as a slot or star DB.

While that will surely help, the truth is that the Rams will eventually need a new DB to slide into coverage for dime packages, or simply to give a starting DB rest. At the moment, the Rams have a limited supply of game-ready defensive backs who are playing at peak form.

Jolly could be a solid contributor in that type of role for the Rams. He has his wits about him, can defend passes, can stay close to opposing receivers, and has a solid knowledge of the Rams pass coverage and defensive strategy. While the Rams are certainly interested in seeing how well rookie DB Tre Tomlinson is all about, there is plenty of football to get an effective pulse on multiple players competing for a future role on the Rams roster.

I think that Shaun Jolly has the potential to be a long-term contributor for the Rams. We'll see over the course of the last eight games whether or not he can secure that type of role with the team.