LA Rams Practice Squad Tracker: Effective August 30, 2023
By Bret Stuter
So the LA Rams are making their roster cuts, or have made their roster cuts, before the deadline to match the NFL's 53-man roster limit. That deadline is, as stated below, 1:00 pm PT on Tuesday August 29, 2023. So why is that relevant for an article about the LA Rams generating a 16-player practice squad? Just one day later, the LA Rams can begin signing players back to their practice squad.
And that is when the fun, and the strategy, level up.
What strategy am I talking about? Well, the strategy of balancing out those anticipated shortcomings in the initial 53-man Rams roster by added depth on the practice squad. And it is those strategy-infused decisions that can make a material impact on the Rams success or failure for the upcoming 2023 NFL season.
If the Rams carry just two quarterbacks on the active roster, you can bet that they will pursue adding a quarterback to the practice squad. But it goes beyond that in terms of strategic importance.
Projecting the positions that will be readily available in the 2024 NFL Draft and 2024 NFL Free Agency market, and which positions will be in short supply, also contributes to the decisions in terms of who will and who will not be re-signed to the Rams practice squad throughout the 2023 NFL season.
In 2020, the Rams loaded up on a number of talented defensive linemen after the 2020 NFL Draft, and carried many of them on the practice squad that year. The following year, defensive linemen were in short supply, but the Rams had wisely planned ahead.
LA Rams Roster Cuts Tracker: DEADLINE August 29, 2023, 1:00 pm PT
The LA Rams roster now stands at 53 players.