Will former LA Rams IPP OL Max Pircher be the one who got away?

I know that we all have our favorite players on the LA Rams roster, or after the "Purge of 2023," perhaps had our favorite player on the LA Rams rostter until we learn enough about the new players. But one player who was released by the LA Rams before his NFL career ever gained traction is that of offensive lineman Max Pircher.

Just for a quick recap, the LA Rams added Italian OL Max Pircher to the roster in 2021, via the NFL's International Player Pathway Program. The 6-foot-7, 300-pound Pircher was one of four international players who joined NFC West teams in 2021.

"I went there to the rookie camps they are making every year to give everybody the possibility to play football at least in the second team. Lee Rowland came to me already after the second practice we had at the camp and gave me the possibility to work out with him. He worked out with me every day and explained (me) the game” – Maximilian Pircher as interviewed by American Football International.com’s Alex Malchow

Pircher was certainly a promising young athlete. And wit the LA Rams ability to carry him on their practice squad without penalty, the hope was that coaches and veterans could mentor Pircher until he was ready to step up and start for the LA Rams. But the Rams financial woes derailed that plan, and the team release Pircher, which was a bit of a surprise.

After the Rams released Pircher, the thought was that he might struggle to find another opportunity in the NFL. Fortunately for Max, he found a new host NFL team, and to no surprise, it comes at the hands of former LA Rams personnel executive and Detroit Lions GM Brad Holmes.

Holmes knows a bargain when he sees one, and the opportunity to add an offensive lineman who has been mentored by both Andrew Whitworth and Rob Havenstein was too good to pass up. In fact, Pircher looked the part of an NFL offensive lineman in 2022 preseason games, as he was one of the more physical players at the line of scrimmage for the Rams.

Now he has the chance to start over with a new team. While his NFL career will no longer matter to the LA Rams, I'm glad that he landed on the Lions roster. But I won't lie, I think that Max Pircher has NFL starter potential. I think that he is one of those rare NFL players who just slipped through the cracks of the Rams hands.