Coming into the regular season, the Los Angeles Rams were widely considered Super Bowl contenders, but for six weeks they sit last in the NFC West and they will now be without three key players for an extended period of time, one for the rest of the year.
Head coach Sean McVay announced that wide receiver Davante Adams ruptured his hamstring in Sunday’s 18-16 loss to the Arizona Cardinals and is expected to miss 6-10 weeks, with hopes of returning shortly after their team’s bye (Week 11).
Additionally, the Rams placed defensive tackles Kobie Turner (groin) and former Seahawk Poona Ford (ruptured triceps) on injured reserve. Turner is expected to miss 4-6 weeks, while Ford will not return this season.
As for special teams, recently signed kicker Blake Grupe suffered a torn ACL in his team debut Sunday and is expected to miss the remainder of the season, leaving Los Angeles searching for its third kicker of the season following the release of Harrison Mevis.
It’s a blow for the Rams, who are still without Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett (knee) and considering they’re 2-4 with two losses to division opponents, it’ll be an uphill battle if they want to reemerge as a legitimate threat in the NFC.
As one of the league’s most dangerous red zone threats, Adams’ absence is particularly troubling, especially considering his backups (Tutu Atwell, Konata Mumpfield, Jordan Whittington and Xavier Smith) have combined for just eight career touchdowns, compared to the star’s 18 over the past two seasons.
While Adams’ injury timetable is fairly lenient, there remains the possibility that he could still be sidelined for the team’s Week 16 matchup against the Seahawks.
On the defensive side, the absence of Turner and Ford will likely impact the Rams’ ability to stop the run, an area they have already struggled in so far this season. Former fifth-round picks Ty Hamilton and Larrell Murchison appear poised to see increased playing time, although neither has ever been a solidified starter.
With a cloud of uncertainty hanging over their future, wild card and division rankings are likely to be affected. The Rams are currently three games behind the San Francisco 49ers for first place in the NFC West and 1.5 behind the Detroit Lions for the final wild card spot.
This bodes well for Seattle, which, like Los Angeles, has lost back-to-back games and has looked like a shell of itself of late. However, it certainly also helps one of the most dangerous forces in the NFC.
Despite the injury news, the Rams are scheduled to face the Las Vegas Raiders, Los Angeles Chargers, Washington Commanders and Cardinals in their next four games – a favorable stretch of games by any measure.
Given the star power on their roster, it’s hard to count Los Angeles out of the playoffs even as they approach the midseason mark, but there’s certainly work to do if they want to keep up with the NFC race.
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