This Rams starter may have just lost his job before camp even begins

The Los Angeles Rams may have finished atop the NFC West Division in 2024, but the team is nowhere near 'complete' in terms of what it wants to do versus what it did. Success does not happen to NFL teams that open the season with a record of 1-4. Nor does success fall to teams whose offense ranks 15th in the NFL in yards gained, and 20th in points scored.

The Rams defense was no better, ranking 26th in terms of yards allowed, while surrendering 22.7 points per game, ranking the defense no better than 17th in the NFL. So, the belief that the Rams simply have to suit up and try again is a bit . . . simplistic. This is a team that retooled its roster throughout the entirety of the 2024 NFL season. As such, the team that competed in the NFL Playoffs was a new iteration of the team that faced the Detroit Lions in Week 1.

The problem is that the Rams injuries cycled rapidly through the roster, forcing the team to make-do with staring lineups that changed drastically week-to-week. The Rams were foced to start veteran DB Tre'Davius White in the first four games of the season. But he turned out to be so bad that he was benched after those four weeks, and was traded away in November 2024.

Likewise, the Rams offensive line was shredded by early season injuries, forcing the team to start longtime backup IOL Logan Bruss. Bruss started at left guard for three games for the Rams, but he was inept in a starting role. He was also released in November 2024.

The Rams 2024 season is littered with evidence of trying out players who simply did not work out. On the offensive line, the team trialed swing tackle Joe Noteboom, and veteran interior offensive lineman Jonah Jackson. On defense, the team tried to make a combination of veterans Troy Reeder and Christian Rozeboom work. Reeder fell to injury and Rozeboom signed elsewhere Troy Reeder re-signed with the Rams as an insurance policy, but evidence suggests that he will not be a starting inside linebacker in 2025. He may not even make the team.

Why not check out this informative article about the Rams tight end position: Why LA Rams must find their next franchise tight end in the 2025 NFL Draft

That transformation continues into the 2025 NFL season for the Rams roster, accelerated by a sneaky good rookie draft that did not rival the previous two draft classes in terms of quantity of picks. But the Rams front office flexed its confidence a bit by emerging with six quality rookies to compete for playing time, and veterans who returned this season with larger roles in their sights may be shocked at how difficult that goal has become.

Tightening up the tight end room

The Rams tight end room is finally at full strength. The team welcomed back veteran tight end Tyler Higbee to full health at the end of the 2024 NFL season. And now, the Rams have finally signed rookie wunderkind TE Terrance Ferguson. While the team did lose veteran tight end Hunter Long in the offseason, the Rams current roster boasts six tight ends.

When it comes to the tight end depth chart for the Rams in 2025, there is no question that the team will view veteran TE Tyler Higbee as the true featured tight end for this season. While that may cap the offensive output of the position this season, it certainly ensures a very high floor. And that may be a fine starting point for the team this season, but the Rams need to do more. Do they have the right players to do so this year?

it's a very important question to ask. In the past three drafts, the offense was clearly lacking a talented rookie tight end. How do we know this? From the Rams own efforts to trade up to select a top-tier tight end in the 2023, 2024, and 2025 NFL Drafts. In 2023, the Rams attempted to trade up to select Utah tight end Dalton Kincaid. In the 2024 NFL Draft, the Rams attempted to trade up to select Georgia tight end Brock Bowers.

The Rams even tried to trade up to be in position to select a Top-10 player in the 2025 NFL Draft. Some have reported that the Rams were in hot pursuit of rookie WR Tet McMillan. But both elite rookie tight end prospects: Michigan TE Colston Loveland and Penn State TE Tyler Warren were on the draft board. When both tight ends were gone, the Rams were open to trading back, confident that Oregon rookie tight end Terrance Ferguson, who the Rams also covetted, would still be on the draft board.

Terrance Ferguson is crucial for the Rams offense this year. This is a new offense, one that is no longer powered by former All-Pro wide receiver Cooper Kupp. As such, this offense has to design new ways to move the chains and put points up on the scoreboard. While there are limitless options for doing so, it's clear that the Rams have held the tight end position is high regard for years.

Now that the team has finally quenched its thirst for a highly talented rookie tight end, the plans for a tight end renaissance can finally be initiated. The team can refurbish only 12-personnal plays, and add new wrinkles to ensure that Ferguson is optimized in the offense this season. At the same time, the team has veteran TE Tyler Higbee, who can be extended throughout the season by strategically infusing rests throughout games.

The Rams can finally follow suit on the pattern of elite tight end play that seems to favor Super Bowl competitors and winners. With one of the most talented tight ends on the roster to be drafted by the team in years, the offense finally has all of the pieces to score points early and often.

Colby Parkinson could become the odd man out

The challenge with adding more talent to a roster is how to reconfigure the roster to optimize the talents of players, while also allowing the team to afford necessary future moves that may be required in case of untimely injuries. In a recent 53-man Rams roster projection, I projected the Rams depth chart at the tight end position to be comprised of Tyler Higbee, Colby Parkinson, and Terrance Ferguson. But holding the depth chart up to the light over time gives me a different sense.

For starters, let's break down the number of targets for the Rams four tight ends in 2024, and how each player managed to convert targets to productive outcomes:

• TE Colby Parkinson | 17 games | 49 targets | 30 receptions | 61.2 % catch | 294 yards | 1 TD
• TE Tyler Higbee | 3 games | 12 targets | 8 receptions | 66.7 % catch | 66 yards | 2 TDs
• TE Hunter Long | 17 games | 9 targets | 7 receptions | 77.8 % catch | 60 yards | 0 TD
• TE Davis Allen | 15 games | 13 targets | 6 receptions | 46.2 % catch | 39 yards | 0 TD

It's pretty clear that from the table above, that the Rams did not get much out of the tight end room in 2024. But let's add some new variables to the your data. Let's look at 2024 salaries and snap counts.

• TE Colby Parkinson | 601 offensive snaps | $3.6 million cap hit
• TE Tyler Higbee | 58 offensive snaps | $12.6 million cap hit
• TE Hunter Long | 279 offensive snaps | $1.3 million cap hit
• TE Davis Allen | 309 offensive snaps | $1.0 million cap hit

Knowing that the Rams were willing to part ways with veteran TE Hunter Long, the team has a curious decision to make this year. Of course, the team could choose to keep four tight ends on the Rams roster in 2025. But unless this team suffers a devastating injury to a tight end before the season starts, that is overkill. The Rams knew that Higbee would be out for almost the entire 2024 NFL season, necessitating more players at the position to fill in the gaps.

But no such need exists in 2024. In fact, with rookie tight end Terrance Ferguson's arrival, the team will be scrambling to redirect offensive snaps in his direction.

So what makes the most sense for the Rams depth chart at the tight end position? This is where things now stand:

• TE - Tyler Higbee | Terrance Ferguson | Colby Parkinson/Davis Allen | Mark Redman | Anthony Torres

* Bold names now projected to make Rams roster, italicized names projected to practice squad.

The team could elect to retain veteran tight end Colby Parkinson, a player who offers a minimal offensive presence at a prohibitive salary cap hit of nearly $10 million. That is more than starting tight end Tyler Higbee's salary cap it is slated to be in 2025. On the other hand, the team could opt to stick with young blocking tight end Davis Allen, who may not offer quite as much offensively as Parkinson, but whose sticker price is just 11 percent the salary cap hit of his teammate.

In light of this new financial information, I'm more inclined to believe that the team may be willing to shed Colby Parkinson to give rookie TE Terrance Ferguson a clearer path to more offensive snaps. And that does not even take into account that the Rams face a serious overpay for Colby Parkinson in 2025. The Rams may prefer veterans on the roster for 2025, but I'm not convinced that the team is willing to pay nearly $10 million for that benefit.

The Rams have salivated over a rookie tight end on this roster for three seasons. Now that he is finally signed, sealed, and delivered, former Rams starting tight end Colby Parkinson may be facing the loss of his job before camp even begins. What's worse, he may lose his roster spot on the team when the 2025 NFL season begins.

UPDATE: Seahawks release TE Noah Fant

If you doubt the belief that Colby Parkinson is now on the bubble, consider the Rams' rival, the Seattle Seahawks. The Seahawks decided to extend TE Noah Fant over his teammates Colby Parkinson and Will Dissly. Now, with the signing of rookie TE Elijah Arroyo, Fant is superfluous and will be released.

This is the same decision that the Rams must address, hopefully sooner rather than later. Ferguson needs as much work as the team can feed him in training camp. Releasing Parkinson clears the way for the offense to do so. The Seahawks made the call. Now, how long will it take for the Rams to come to the same conclusion?

As always, thank you so much for reading.

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