TE Tyler Higbee is not prepared to play for the Rams, so who will be?

The LA Rams have started training camp. Well, most of the LA Rams have started training camp. As expected, starting tight end Tyler Higbee is not ready to go yet. After suffering a brutal injury in the Wild Card Round of the 2024 NFL Playoffs that forced Higbee to surgically repair his damaged knee, Tyler Higbee is not yet medically cleared to resume football activities.

That is unfortunate, because the Rams have started training camp.

And so, to nobody's surprise, the team has designated TE Tyler Higbee to the IR/PUP list already. The move not only ensures that Higbee is handled appropriately, as in he will only be able to perform football moves after given medical clearance, but opens a roster spot fort the team to consider additional player(s).

The team announced assigning Higbee to the Physically Unable to Perform list yesterday:

But don't look for the team to backfill the tight end room with a veteran or rookie tight end in response. After all, the team knew and anticipated that Higbee's recovery would take a rather long time to accomplish, and proceeded to sign veteran tight end Colby Parkinson as a result. But the team is not facing a new season with an injured starting tight end.

The team is also seldom-used reserve tight end Brycen Hopkins. Hopkins was drafted in 2020 to fill in for the expected loss of TE Gerald Everett, but never truly lived up to those expectations. As a result, Hopkins played a very limited role in the Rams offense, catching 17 of 23 passes for 243 yards, 12 first downs, and 0 touchdowns in four seasons.

So the Rams not only must be prepared to handle the absence of starting TE Tyler Higbee for an undisclosed amount of time to open the 2024 NFL season, but also to ensure that this team has a second tight end ready to play if the team has the opportunity to run a 12-personnel sub package on offense.

Okay. Two roles to fill. So who are likely to be counted on in 2024 to step up? Don't look now, but the team has some very talented players in the running. They are:

TE Hunter Long

While the team has not seen a lot from veteran TE Hunter Long on the football field, that could change quite rapidly in 2024. After all, Long only saw action in 55 offensive snaps over four games with just one start last season. And despite that small amount of work, you would not be wrong in presuming that the team would have thrown at least one pass his way.

But he was never targeted.

So the question is in 2024 whether or not the team has a greater role for a player whose first season with his new team as anything but a success. After all, he is the 'other guy,' in the trade that sent All-Pro DB Jalen Ramsey to the Miami Dolphins. While the Rams front office certainly optimized the value of the lone draft pick received in the exchange by selecting OLB Byron Young, Hunter Long was certainly expected to deliver in 2023.

But that has yet to happen.

Long is a 6-foot-5, 243-pound tight end whose forte so far on both the Miami Dolphins and LA Rams rosters has been his ability to block. In three NFL seasons, Long has hauled in just one of four passes for eight yards. Can he catch more passes in 2024? Of course. But if you are looking for a tight end to break though a 500+ receiving yards on this team, I'd look elsewhere.

TE Coach Nick Caley loves Hunter Long from his New England Patriot coaching days, as Long played for Boston College. But familiarity and friendships can only go so far. While I am not ready to rule Hunter Long out as a candidate for a larger role in this offense in 2024, I see other players as far more likely.

TE Davis Allen

Davis Allen is a second-year tight end out of Clemson University who may be the guy who explodes in production in his second NFL season. Whether or not the LA Rams recognized in as the 2023 season occurred, Allen put up small but undeniable numbers last season that screams for a bigger role in 2024.

He stands 6-foot-6 and weighs 251 pounds. Can he block? He is as sturdy at blocking as an offensive lineman. One of the key benchmarks for playing at the tight end position for the LA Rams is a clearly defined ability to block consistently. While that is what kept former TE Brycen Hopkins off the football field for the Rams, it will be what gets Davis Allen a greater share of playing time in 2024. Just check out this social media clip shared by Reese Senior Bowl Director Jim Nagy:

Allen is a big ole bodied tight end who is a very gifted blocker. And while blocking is not what gets fans excited about tight ends, he has the gold gift of catching passes too.

Factoring in preseason games, Davis Allen caught 21 of 22 passes thrown his way in 2023 for 182 yards and one touchdown. Considering he missed just one pass all season, I'd say that he has earned a greater role in tis offense beyond a shadow of a doubt. But wait, there's more.

When starting TE Tyler Higbee fell in the 2024 NFL Playoffs, Allen was thrust into the game with no preparation. If you are to trust his Pro Football Focus post-season grade, he was outstanding for the Rams. Clearly, he developed into a true NFL-ready starter for this team in his rookie season. I cannot wait to see what he does in Year 2.

We won't have long to wait.

TE Colby Parkinson

When the LA Rams signed veteran tight end Colby Parkinson to a three-year deal worth $22.5 million, it was glaringly obvious that the front office viewed Parkinson as more than a stop-gap measure to the team's roster shortfall to open the 2024 NFL season. While I could understand a veteran player on the roster as an insurance policy in case Davis Allen failed to deliver out of the gate, a multi-year contract brings the belief that Parkinson is viewed as a successor to Higbee.

After Davis Allen's ultra-impressive rookie season, is that fair? Well, Fair or not, we have that video of the LA Rams' efforts to trade up in Round 1 in the 2024 NFL Draft in an attempt to draft former Georgia Bulldogs' Brock Bowers. He plays tight end. And that comes on the heels of the team trying to trade into Round 1 of the 2023 NFL Draft to select another tight end, Dalton Kincaid.

So even after Davis Allen's rookie season, signing Parkinson to a multi-year deal, Hunter Long returning, and Tyler Higbee recovering this season, the front office was still eager to add more tight end talent.

Even as the team continues to frantically shop for more tight ends, they landed a player who could fill an incredibly huge niche void in this offense. Let me explain.

Colby Parkinson stands 6-foot-7 and weighs 265 pounds. By even conservative estimates, he is a big-bodied tight end who is a solid blocker and respectable target in the passing game. But the Rams front office sees much more in Parkinson, and they may be right.

The LA Rams red zone offense stalled frequently in 2023. In fact, in the Wild Card Round of the 2024 NFL Playoffs against the Detroit Lions, the Rams were 0-3 in the Red Zone versus the Lions defense. The Rams would lose the game by a score of 24-23.

Even if Parkinson does not deliver to the tune of 500+ receiving yards in a modest role in this offense, he most certainly has a tremendous size advantage to deliver scores in the red zone. The offense struggled to put up points close to the end zone because the team did not trust power RB Royce Freeman, the team was unable to connect with banged-up veteran WR Cooper Kupp, and the team simply was unable to get the ball into the hands of Puka Nacua.

Colby Parkinson gives this offense a huge option in the red zone.

Can the team find the right player or combination of players to make this offense run smoothly in Tyler Higbee's absence? Absolutely. And it may be that the team rotates some combination of tight ends to ensure that they have the right player on the football field for the right situation.

As always, thank you for reading.