LA Rams does the unthinkable as front office takes a huge gamble in 2024

The LA Rams roster has been hammered with injuries after just one game, and that does not bode well for the team throughout a 17-game season. With three starters (well, two starters and a key swing tackle) being sent to IR, the team has a problem brewing. And no, it's not just about who will suit up and compete in Week 2 and games going forward. As we had cited previously, NFL teams can only restore players off the IR roster eight times in the season.

And no single player can be restored to the active roster more than twice in one season. c

Beyond the players out for the season, the Rams opened the season with three players on IR who were eligible to be restored to the active roster. They are:

• Rookie OT KT Leveston - ankle
• Veteran DT Larrell Murchison - arm
• Veteran DB Darious Williams - hamstring

Now we are learning that the Rams will add three more key players to the IR list, bringing the number to six in terms of key players who will be eligible to be restored to the active roster after a minimum of four games has elapsed. And those players are:

With those additions, the Rams are entering Week 2 with these six players on IR:

• Rookie OT KT Leveston - ankle
• Veteran DT Larrell Murchison - arm
• Veteran DB Darious Williams - hamstring
• Veteran WR Puka Nacua - knee
• Veteran IOL Steve Avila - knew
• Veteran OT Joe Noteboom - ankle

Of course, when it comes to the Rams' offensive line, that is only the tip of the iceberg. The team has starting right guard Kevin Dotson is day-to-day with an ankle sprain. Starting left tackle Alaric Jackson is not only fighting off an ankle injury, but he is serving a two-game suspension. Starting right tackle Rob Havenstein is still fighting through an ankle injury, an injury that prevented him from competing in Week 1. And then there is the case of Conor McDermott, added to thicken the team's depth at offensive tackle, but who was sent to IR as the team shaved the active roster down to 53 players.

That's a lot of injury 'hits' to the team this early in the season. And that is why the team must weigh each restoration from their Injured Reserve roster very carefully and strategically. We know that when they are healthy enough to return to the active roster, the team will restore DB Darious Williams, WR Puka Nacua, and IOL Steve Avila. But will the team restore other players from IR too? Or will the front office hit the pause button, allowing the opportunity to save some moves for starters if they should be injured later in the season?

Six players to IR this early in the season is a huge gamble. Either the team risks leaving some healthy players on IR all season, or the team will carry injured players on the active roster, such as the case with RG Kevin Dotson and RT Rob Havenstein.

Eventually, the Rams will get starters back on the football field. But for now, there is a lot of strategy as to how the front office can act to repair roster for the immediate future, while allowing for restoring starters from the IR roster as they heal and are ready to return to the active roster.

However you slice it, the front office is taking a huge gamble by sending three more players to IR. But, the team is painted into a corner, and to meet the demands of their schedule, the roster had to be restocked now.

Stay tuned, I'm not convinced that the front office is done quite yet. And as always, thanks for reading.