Why Rams acted quickly to ink 13 players to Reserve Future contracts for 2025

(1) - OL AJ Arcuri

The experience with the LA Rams offensive line in 2024 should leave everyone wary of too few offensive linemen on the roster. At any given point in time in training camp and preseason, the 90-man Rams roster needs at least 15 healthy offensive linemen to run drills, conduct timely practices, and ensure a robust group of offensive linemen to compete against opposing teams.

The team signed Michigan State offensive tackle AJ Arcuri after the 2022 NFL Draft. While he has yet to earn a spot on the active 53-man roster, the team has made it a point to sign him to the practice squad in each of the past three seasons. His 2024 preseason grades from Pro Football Focus are very promising, as he earned an overall 80.8 grade. Unfortunately, that did not translate into regular-season production.

Arcuri is still young (27 years old) and he is good enough to serve as an insurance policy if the team does not extend OT Joe Noteboom. He started in Week 18 for the team against Seattle Seahawks starters and was competitive. He may not be a starter for the team in 2025, but he is a solid depth player. His 2024 preseason proved that he is close to making the roster.

(2) - WR Quintez Cephus

You didn't hear from Rams WR Quintez Cephus because he hasn't see any action since playing three seasons for the Detroit Lions. He attempted to earn a roster spot with the Buffalo Bills and Houston Texans before signing on with the Rams in 2024. He is a prototypical wide receiver for this offense, standing 6-foot-1 and weighing 208 pounds. He played 22 and started six games in the Lions offense. His best season was 2020, the year that he played with starting quarterback Matthew Stafford.

Cephus runs a 4.73-second 40-yard dash, which is not very swift when discussing NFL wide receivers. For comparison purposes, Rams WR Cooper Kupp runs a 4.62-second 40-yard dash. The Rams front office views linear track speed with far less weight that football field speed. The reason is that with pads, pivots, starts and stops, linear speed is a less reliable benchmark for a receiver's potential.

The team signed Cephus to the practice squad after the season started, shunting his ability to earn playing time. He does have plenty of NFL experience, has worked with Stafford in the past, and was selected in Round 5 of the 2020 NFL Draft with the 166th overall pick by the Detroit Lions. As such, he has managed to stick around in the NFL long enough to have promising traits.

The team is at risk of losing veteran WRs Tyler Johnson, Tutu Atwell, and Demarcus Robins to expired contracts at the end of the 2024 NFL season. While we have no true means of tracking the potential of Quintez Cephus in this offense, he boasts many similar traits of receivers who have been productive. A Reserve/Future contract is a low risk option.