Shuffling Rams roster proves team has one eye on limited IR restorations

With the latest round of injuries, some fans have drawn hope and optimism from the fact that the LA Rams have not placed veteran WR Cooper Kupp on injured reserve. Could that mean that Kupp may be back in less that three weeks? Perhaps. But perhaps not. You see, the NFL has restored limits as to how frequently an NFL team can restore injured players from IR to the active roster. Right now, that annual limit is eight players.

Right now, the LA Rams have 11+1 players on IR. The +1 reflects the team adding Derion Kendrick to IR as roster cuts were being made. Because he was beyond the two IR slots that can return to the active roster (DT Larrell Murchison and OT KT Leveston), he cannot be returned to the active roster for the 2024 NFL season.

So the decision NOT to add Kupp to the IR roster is as much strategy to avoid the bottleneck of leaving players on IR throughout the season. As of right now, Kupp has a chance of returning to the active roster for Week 7 (the week after the BYE week). How probable might that be? I wouldn't look for him to return unless there is confirmation that he is participating in practice.

So who have the Rams placed on the IR roster? Well, starting IOL Jonah Jackson and DB John Johnson have both been added to IR. That means that neither player is eligible to return to the team's active roster until Week 8. That means the Rams first chance of welcoming J. Jackson and J. Johnson III back to the active roster occurs as the team prepares to face the Minnesota Vikings.

If and when the Rams start welcoming injured players back to the active roster, the team can turn things around rather quickly. The trick is guessing when players will be ready to return. Perhaps the greater challenge is halting the addition of multiple players to IR in the meantime. By Week 5, the team can begin to restore players to the team's active roster.

But with so many players on IR already, and limited opportunities to return players, don't be disheartened if the team only adds players back to the active roster as some of the most vital players are ready to return.

It's no longer checkers for the Rams roster. It's now a game of chess-like strategy. In the end, how and who the Rams choose to reclaim from IR could have a significant impact to the 2024 NFL season.

As always, thanks for reading.