Rams vs Cowboys preseason Week 1: 12 storylines fans must monitor

(4) - When will team play newly added free agent additions?

The Rams have signed DB Jerry Jacobs, OL Conor McDermott, OL Matt Kaskey, and OL Alec Lindstrom. Despite three veteran offensive linemen and one cornerback having less than optimal time with the team learning the playbook, the Rams are not exactly game planning for the Cowboys. As such, you are not unreasonable to expect seeing all four players in action against the Cowboys at some point.

The question is: When?

I believe that Jerry Jacobs has been with the team long enough to warrant competing in joint scrimmages with the secondary. And so far, reports suggest that he is a valued contributor. But for the team's new offensive linemen, I suspect that their first appearance, if at all, will be in the first preseason game. Since the offense will be running vanilla plays, I suspect that veteran offensive linemen will learn enough of the playbook to be able to contribute to some extent in a preseason game against Cowboys defenders.

It will be of particular interest to see if the coaches allow former Cowboys center Alec Lindstrom to compete against his former team. I have to imagine that is an option on the table. And I can also imagine that being a rather important and emotional event for Lindstrom to return to face the team that released him.

(3) - How effective will Rams running backs be?

If the LA Rams are going to lean into the running game during the 2024 NFL season, the team will need to showcase a smart mix of running plays in joint practices / scrimmages to get the feel of how effective the ground attack will be. That is true even as we understand that the play calling for this round will continue to be vanilla.

While there is little chance that the team rushes either Kyren Williams or Blake Corum in the first preseason game, limiting their performance to joint scrimmages, the team will surely play Ronnie Rivers, Boston Scott, and Zach Evans in preseason games. And because competition is so heated for a limited number of roster spots, how well runners perform in preseason could be the deciding factor over who stays on the Rams roster for 2024.

That makes this first game quite pressure packed.