The Rams did the right thing at the wrong time with this veteran player

Rams secondary needed help in Summer 2024

The secondary situation was compounded further when the team attempted to get Williams back onto the football field. As is often the case with any hamstring injuries, aggravating the injury or reinjury to the same site is at a much greater risk. The team discovered that after trying to get Williams folded back into practice sessions. He reinjured his hamstring, and was subsequently placed on IR to fully recover before trying to return.

So now, six weeks after Williams' original injury, the team was right back to being down two key cornerbacks. And yet, the urgency to act was still not a priority. You see, the front office needed an additional week before reinforcing the roster. When the team finally made a move, they re-signed former 2023 starting cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon.

But the team signed him to the practice squad:

Even as the front office and coaching staff passed over extending Witherspoon for the option of building a bigger, badder, better secondary in 2024, the team missed a golden opportunity to add him at the first sign of Darious Williams injury. Failure to do so cost the team and Witherspoon six weeks of valuable training and practice time.

Ultimately, even the move to reinforce the practice squad (and not the active roster) with Witherspoon seemed almost punitive in some fashion. How could the guy who started just one year earlier not be worth a spot on the active roster? Once again, the fans seemed to hold Ahkello Witherspoon in much higher regard than the football team.

Was it merely a precaution? The Rams elevated Witherspoon on September 28, October 5, and October 16 from the practice squad for game day eligibility. So even though the team hesitated to commit to Witherspoon initially, he proved to be the answer for the secondary's woes after all.