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Rams Activate Steve Avila, Jonah Jackson

November 11th, 2024 at 3:27pm CST by Adam La Rose

As expected, Steve Avila and Jonah Jackson have been activated from injured reserve. Both starting offensive linemen are thus in line to play for the Rams tonight.

Avila suffered an MCL sprain in Week 1, forcing him onto IR right away. Jackson managed to make it through his Rams debut that week, but during the following contest he went down with a shoulder injury which also led to a lengthy period on the sidelines. Getting both back will be a signficant and welcomed development as the Rams look to field a consistent unit up front.

Avila worked at left guard during his rookie campaign, and at times this offseason it appeared he was on track to move over to center in Year 2. That role was given to Jackson, however, with the free agent addition’s placement in the middle allowing Avila and Kevin Dotson to remain in place at guard. Jackson was added on a three-year pact including $25.5MM in guarantees. His ability to remain healthy now that he is back in the fold will be crucial for Los Angeles up front.

The tackle spot has also seen plenty of shuffling this year for the team. Alaric Jackson was suspended for the first two games of the year, and Joe Noteboom has been limited to one game so far. The latter was activated last week, paving the way for him to suit up tonight as well. Right tackle starter Rob Havenstein is not expected to be available for Week 10, though, so the Rams will still not have their ideal lineup along the O-line against the Dolphins. Still, the unit’s health is in a much better place now than it has been for much of the year.

In a corresponding move, Logan Bruss has been waived. The 2022 third-rounder did not make any appearances during his first two seasons with Los Angeles, and even amidst the multiple injuries being dealt with up front this year he has made only three starts amongst eight appearances. Bruss will available for any interested teams on the waiver wire; if he clears, he will become a free agent and thus have the chance to re-join the Rams on a practice squad deal. Los Angeles now has one IR activation remaining for the year.

Rams To Activate OLs Steve Avila, Jonah Jackson

November 10th, 2024 at 9:00am CST by Nikhil Mehta

NOVEMBER 10: Both Avila and Jackson are expected to be activated off of IR and suit up against the Dolphins tomorrow night, per Stu Jackson of the team’s official website.

NOVEMBER 7: The Rams are one step closer to major reinforcements to their offensive line after opening the practice window for Steve Avila and Jonah Jackson to return from injured reserve.

Both players landed on IR in September, Avila with a sprained MCL that required surgery and Jackson with a broken scapula suffered in Week 2. Rookie Beaux Limmer has started the last seven games at center, while both Justin Dedich and Logan Bruss have stepped up at left guard.

The injuries to Avila and Jackson prevented the Rams from getting a solid look at their new-look offensive line. After drafting Avila with the 36th overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, the Rams spent almost $100MM to sign Jackson in free agency and retain starting right guard Kevin Dotson in 2024. The trio played just 37 snaps together before Avila’s injury, though all three players are under contract through at least 2026 and will have plenty of time to gel.

Los Angeles is getting healthy at the right time after winning their last three games. Their star wideout duo of Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua is back catching passes from Matthew Stafford, who will be playing behind his intended starting offensive line for the first time since Week 1.

Avila and Jackson both have 21 days to practice with the team before they must be added to the active roster or revert to season-ending IR.

Rams Place Jonah Jackson, John Johnson On IR; Cooper Kupp To Stay On Active Roster

September 19th, 2024 at 8:58am CST by Sam Robinson

SEPTEMBER 19: Kupp will be in a cast for the next week before beginning his rehab, McVay said, via The Athletic’s Jourdan Rodrigue (subscription required). He added the injury will not require surgery, which is another positive development. McVay also said a final decision on injured reserve has not been made yet in Kupp’s case, however, so he could still be shut down for notable stretch.

SEPTEMBER 18: This season is skidding off track quickly for a Rams team that carried higher expectations compared to 2023. More IR placements are on tap for Sean McVay‘s team.

Jonah Jackson and John Johnson are heading to IR, the team announced. Jackson joins O-linemen Steve Avila and Joe Noteboom on the injured list, with more injury trouble persisting on the team’s front beyond the IR crew.

That said, some good news has come out of this early-season bloodbath. Cooper Kupp is not currently viewed as an IR candidate, ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweets. Kupp is again battling an ankle injury. McVay had previously said Kupp was an IR candidate.

[RELATED: Steve Avila Undergoes MCL Surgery]

Previously the last man standing among Rams starters in terms of health and overall availability entering Week 2, Jackson aggravated the shoulder injury that sidelined him for much of training camp and the preseason. The free agency addition must now miss at least four games. Jackson must sit until at least Week 8, while Avila and Noteboom are out until at least Week 7. The Rams have their bye in Week 6. That suddenly looms as an important recovery period, despite it coming so early in the season.

The Rams gave Jackson a three-year, $51MM deal days after re-signing Kevin Dotson (three years, $48MM) to remain at right guard. A four-year Lions left guard starter, Jackson has bounced between LG and center early in his Rams tenure. But injuries have overshadowed the entire O-line’s work thus far. Dotson is playing through a sprained ankle.

Alaric Jackson‘s return from a two-game suspension will help a Rams team in crisis. That will give the team three of its five O-line starters available, with longtime RT Rob Havenstein returning in Week 2. But the team is battling injury issues at multiple spots. Johnson sustained a hairline scapula fracture and had loomed as an IR candidate. Re-signed to continue his second Rams stint in July, Johnson had started one game for a Rams team otherwise retooling at safety.

As the Rams’ O-line injury issues remind of their 2022 problems, Kupp’s most recent trouble is familiar as well. Kupp suffered a foot injury in October 2022 but then went down with a more significant ankle malady a month later. The All-Pro receiver underwent season-ending tightrope surgery to repair the issue, and while he returned in time for training camp in 2023, a hamstring issue delayed his debut last season.

Kupp has missed 13 games since his dominant 2021 season, stalling the crafty wideout in his early 30s. The Rams gave Kupp a big raise after his Super Bowl MVP showing — during an offseason in which the team paid Matthew Stafford and Aaron Donald — but have not seen much to justify it since.

Kupp, 31, does lead the NFL with 18 receptions through two games; that total came despite leaving the Rams’ Week 2 loss early. The team has Puka Nacua on IR as well, leaving the likes of Demarcus Robinson, Tutu Atwell and rookie Jordan Whittington as Stafford’s top targets.

Rams WR Cooper Kupp Candidate For IR

September 16th, 2024 at 5:27pm CST by Ben Levine

The injury issues keep piling up for the Rams. Days after placing wideout Puka Nacua on injured reserve, coach Sean McVay revealed that fellow star receiver Cooper Kupp will also miss “an extended period of time” (per ESPN’s Sarah Barshop).

[RELATED: Rams To Place WR Puka Nacua On IR]

Kupp missed the second half of yesterday’s loss to the Cardinals following a second-quarter ankle injury. The receiver was spotted wearing a boot after the game, and McVay has since acknowledged that the veteran may land on injured reserve.

This is a tough break for Kupp, who has missed time in each of the past two seasons. His 2022 season ended prematurely following a high ankle sprain that required surgery, and he missed the beginning of the 2023 campaign while nursing a hamstring issue. Kupp’s latter absence allowed Nacua to establish himself atop the depth chart, and there was plenty of optimism that the duo would emerge as one of the league’s top WR tandems in 2024.

Instead, Matthew Stafford will likely have to navigate the next month with the likes of Demarcus Robinson, Tyler Johnson, Tutu Atwell, and sixth-round rookie Jordan Whittington. We already got a preview of the Rams’ offensive struggles during yesterday’s game. Per Barshop, yesterday marked the first time Stafford failed to toss a touchdown since Week 1 of the 2023 campaign. That ended the second-longest active streak in the NFL (behind Kirk Cousins).

The injury news doesn’t stop there. Guard Jonah Jackson re-aggravated his shoulder injury and could also land on IR, per Barshop. The offseason acquisition dealt with a shoulder injury for much of training camp and the preseason but was able to make his way into the lineup for Week 1. Jackson’s injury will stress an already depleted OL depth chart that’s without Steve Avila and Joe Noteboom.

The injuries also extend to the defensive side of the ball, as Barshop reports that safety John Johnson III is also a candidate for IR while dealing with a shoulder injury. Per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, Johnson suffered a hairline fracture in his scapula and is expected to miss four to six weeks. The veteran defensive back started eight of his 17 appearances during his first season in Los Angeles in 2023.

Rams To Place WR Puka Nacua On IR; Nacua To Miss Five To Seven Weeks

September 15th, 2024 at 7:35am CST by Ben Levine

SEPTEMBER 15: Nacua is expected to miss five to seven weeks, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter. While the wideout could still return as early as Week 7, this timeframe puts him in danger of missing that Week 7 bout with the Raiders as well as the Rams’ Week 8 contest against the Vikings (which is a Thursday night game).

SEPTEMBER 9: Puka Nacua‘s knee injury will keep him off the field for the next four weeks. Coach Sean McVay told reporters that the wideout will be placed on injured reserve. The Rams have a bye during Week 6, so the earliest Nacua can return to the field is Week 7.

McVay also revealed that Nacua’s latest injury is a continuation of a nagging knee issue that forced him to miss several weeks during training camp. McVay said Nacua aggravated his knee injury in a “more significant” manner (per Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic), and the wideout was officially diagnosed with a PCL sprain. The second-year wideout hauled in four catches last night before limping off the field during the second quarter. He briefly returned to the contest before exiting for good.

The 2023 fifth-round pick set the NFL rookie records for receptions (105) and receiving yards (1,486), earning him All-Pro and All-Rookie team honors. He only got into 12 games alongside Cooper Kupp in 2023, and the Rams will now be extra reliant on the 31-year-old wideout over the next month. Both Demarcus Robinson and Tyler Johnson saw increased roles following Puka’s exit on Sunday night, and tight end Colby Parkinson also contributed four receptions.

The Rams’ injury issues don’t end there. Offensive lineman Steve Avila suffered an MCL sprain and is also a candidate for injured reserve, per Rodrigue. Avila is also on track to miss at least four games, Rodrigue adds, even though the team has not yet placed him on IR yet.

The 2023 second-round pick earned All-Rookie team honors after starting all 17 games as a rookie, but he could end up missing a handful of weeks during his sophomore campaign. Avila started at left guard last night and was later replaced by sixth-round rookie Beaux Limmer, who bumped Jonah Jackson from center to left guard. Jackson will move back to LG, McVay said. The Rams signed Jackson to play left guard but shuttled him to center recently; a four-year Lions starter, Jackson played LG for nearly his entire time in Detroit.

Left tackle Joe Noteboom is week-to-week with an ankle injury. The lineman was limited to 27 snaps before being replaced by practice squad callup AJ Arcuri. Starting right guard Kevin Dotson didn’t miss a snap last night, but McVay said the lineman is day-to-day while recovering from a lateral ankle sprain.

Rams Likely To Move Jonah Jackson To C

August 30th, 2024 at 3:01pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

Rams head coach Sean McVay is “leaning towards” installing offensive lineman Jonah Jackson as the team’s starting center, according to The Athletic’s Jordan Rodrigue.

Jackson signed with the Rams on a three-year, $51MM deal back in March after spending the first four years of his career with the Lions. A shoulder injury in training camp sidelined him for the preseason, but he has been taking reps at center as he ramps up to return.

Jackson has spent almost his entire career at guard, with just 24 career snaps at center — in Week 18 of the 2021 season — per Pro Football Focus. But the Rams are returning both of their starting guards in recently extended Kevin Dotson and 2023 second-round pick Steve Avila, so Jackson’s move to center allows McVay to get his five best offensive linemen on the field.

Avila frequently played center at TCU but worked as a guard — as since-departed Coleman Shelton manned the Rams’ center post last season — as a rookie. Avila’s mobility at guard is crucial to Los Angeles’ offensive scheme, according to Rodrigue. That said, Avila spent the offseason back at center, as Shelton signed with the Bears, only to be moved back to guard just before the regular season. That will make for an interesting transition for the former Big 12 standout.

McVay also announced that third-year running back Kyren Williams will be the team’s punt returner, per ESPN’s Sarah Barshop. Williams seized the Rams’ RB1 job last season with 1,350 yards from scrimmage and 15 touchdowns in just 12 games and is set to reprise his role this season. His new special teams gig could indicate that his offensive touches will go down with former Michigan standout Blake Corum also on the roster.

It is worth noting that McVay also handed the punt returning job to Cooper Kupp in 2021. He went on to lead the NFL in receptions, receiving yards, and touchdowns on his way to Offensive Player of the Year honors. Kupp’s punt returning duties did not impact his workload; instead, he simply fair caught 20 out his 21 punt returns in the regular season, per PFF. McVay may be employing a similar strategy this year: get the ball in the safest hands possible to avoid any costly muffed punts.

The rest of the Rams’ 53-man roster has taken shape over the last week, with Cobie Durant as the primary backup to outside cornerbacks Tre’Davious White and Darious Williams, writes Rodrigue. Third-year defensive back Quentin Lake is expected to start at the ‘star’ position in the Rams’ sub packages where he will operate as a safety, nickelback, or dimeback depending on the play call.

NFL Injury Updates: Rams OL, Wingard, Jackson, Oweh

August 3rd, 2024 at 5:59pm CST by Ely Allen

Earlier this week, the Rams received unfortunate news that presumed starting left guard Jonah Jackson would miss the entire preseason with a shoulder injury. The hits keep coming as we learn that two other Rams’ starting lineman are dealing with injuries this preseason, according to Rams senior staff writer Stu Jackson.

Head coach Sean McVay listed left tackle Alaric Jackson and right tackle Rob Havenstein as “week-to-week” in a recent update. Normally, a week-to-week status wouldn’t pique much interest, but with Jonah already out, the Rams will be without three starting linemen in the coming weeks.

With the Jackson’s and Havenstein all out, Los Angeles will be fielding a “Rolodex of guys” in the meantime. While McVay claims that he isn’t too concerned about the injuries, the starters’ absences in the coming weeks will take away from the potential chemistry of the group as a whole. When incorporating a new starter in Jonah Jackson and moving last year’s left guard Steve Avila to center, that lost time could prove harmful to the group’s effectiveness early in the season.

Here are a few other injury updates from around the NFL:

  • The Jaguars lost some depth in their secondary recently, per Josh Alper of NBC Sports. Head coach Doug Pederson gave an update recently informing the media that veteran safety Andrew Wingard had suffered a knee injury. While the extent of the injury is as of yet unknown, Pederson predicted that Wingard could miss “significant time” with potential to even miss regular season games. Currently second-year safety Antonio Johnson and former Steelers safety Terrell Edmunds are competing for the starting job. Wingard’s presence provides additional starting experience that Jacksonville will go without until he can return.
  • 49ers pass rusher Drake Jackson missed the second half of last season with a knee injury and is reportedly still making his way back from the issue. After the losses of Chase Young, Clelin Ferrell, and Randy Gregory in free agency, San Francisco is likely hoping to see Jackson step into a bigger role this year. That will need to wait, though, as ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports that Jackson will miss the remainder of training camp, “at a minimum,” as he continues to work his way back from injury. Free agent signing Leonard Floyd will have to hold down the spot across from Nick Bosa, in the meantime.
  • Ravens pass rusher Odafe Oweh is having an outstanding camp out in Baltimore, according to Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic, despite the fourth-year defender reportedly having undergone a minor surgery in the offseason. Oweh didn’t specify what the procedure was or what he got repaired, but it doesn’t seem to have hindered him at all. The Ravens are desperately hoping to see his impressive ability to pressure the passer turn into sacks this year after watching Jadeveon Clowney walk in free agency.

Rams G Jonah Jackson Out For Preseason

July 31st, 2024 at 10:04pm CST by Ely Allen

The prospective start of offensive guard Jonah Jackson‘s new tenure with the Rams hit a bit of a bump in the road yesterday. After leaving practice Tuesday with a member of the team’s training staff, Jackson was absent at today’s walkthrough. Initially, the team called Jackson’s shoulder injury a day-to-day ailment, but ESPN’s Sarah Barshop reports the update that Jackson is set to miss the preseason with a bruised left scapula.

Jackson just played out his rookie contract with the Lions. When the two sides were unable to come together on an extension agreement in the offseason, the Rams swooped in and collected on Detroit’s loss. Los Angeles signed Jackson to a three-year, $51MM deal including $34MM in guarantees.

The guarantees came despite a recent trend of Jackson missing a handful of games in the last two seasons. He was unavailable for four games in 2022 and five games last year as he dealt with wrist, ankle, and knee injuries. Noting the history, Rams head coach Sean McVay insisted that, while Jackson was “in good shape,” the team was trying to be “smart” with how they were utilizing him at practices throughout the offseason. Their plan was for him to be full-go at training camp — a plan which has backfired as they can now add “shoulder” to the above list of body parts with recent injuries.

While Jackson’s sidelined for the rest of the preseason, the team will likely give players like Logan Bruss and Mike McAllister some run in his spot. Bruss is a former third-round pick who has yet to appear in an NFL contest. His rookie season was lost to a torn ACL and MCL in the Rams’ second preseason game that year, and he spent last season on the practice squad. McAllister was an undrafted rookie interior lineman a year ago who has also failed to see any NFL action. Joseph Noteboom could potentially backup Jackson at the position, but he’s already backing up an injured Alaric Jackson at left tackle, per Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic.

The lack of sufficient, experienced depth is a bit of a concern for the Rams, but they do think Jackson has a chance to return for the start of the regular season. The Rams open with the team that refused to meet Jackson’s contract demands as they head to Detroit for Week 1. They’ll hope Jackson is ready to face his former team, but if not, they may need to invest in a more secure backup situation.

OL Notes: Jets, Alt, Titans, Jones, Steelers, Shelton, Rams, Jones, Ravens, Giants, Hawks

April 4th, 2024 at 9:38pm CST by Sam Robinson

Once the draft moves past its quarterback stage, wide receivers are expected to be the focus. This draft also features a few high-level tackle prospects that should go off the board soon after, potentially breaking up the QB-WR string that could lead off this year’s event. Arguably the top tackle available, Joe Alt, has begun his run of pre-draft visits. The Jets and Titans used “30” visits on the Notre Dame tackle this week, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport tweets. A first-team All-American in back-to-back years and the top tackle on Daniel Jeremiah’s NFL.com big board (No. 8 overall), Alt should not need to wait long before his name comes off the board.

The Titans (No. 7) and Jets (No. 10) figure to be two prime suitors. The Jets are not as needy here compared to the start of free agency, having reacquired Morgan Moses via trade and signed Tyron Smith. The All-Decade blocker is among the NFL’s most injury-prone players, and with both Smith and Moses going into age-33 seasons, a tackle-in-waiting would benefit a Jets team that has encountered regular issues up front over the past several years. The Titans cut Andre Dillard and have not added a tackle, potentially making them the Alt floor. Though, the Chargers should not be entirely ruled out — now that Jim Harbaugh is running the show — of a first-round tackle investment to pair with Rashawn Slater.

Here is the latest from the O-line ranks around the league:

Lions Made Effort To Retain G Jonah Jackson

March 31st, 2024 at 11:17am CST by Sam Robinson

The Lions have two upper-crust contracts allocated to offensive linemen, having extended Taylor Decker and Frank Ragnow. They also have Penei Sewell on track to eventually score a monster right tackle deal. Exiting the season, these contractual components — along with plans for Jared Goff and Amon-Ra St. Brown — had made it more likely than not Jonah Jackson would need to find his second contract elsewhere.

That ended up happening, with the four-year guard starter landing a three-year, $51MM deal from the Rams. Jackson’s Rams deal came on a day in which two teams — the Rams and Panthers — each finalized plans to add two high-priced guards. Jackson joins Kevin Dotson as well-paid Rams guards; the latter signed a three-year, $48MM contract. While the Rams’ guard plan also involved re-signing a starter to keep him out of free agency, the Lions crafted a similar approach.

Although not much came out about a Lions effort to re-sign Jackson, the Detroit News’ Justin Rogers notes the team had hopes of reaching a deal that would keep him off the market. A belief in the building existed that Jackson would be retained even in the days before free agency, but Rogers adds the Lions then learned Jackson’s price tag would come in higher than they anticipated.

Other teams undoubtedly encountered similar issues, with the salary cap rising by more than $30MM from its 2023 place. This year’s guard class featured a number of candidates to score big contracts, and the cap spike effectively ensured that group would fare well. Dotson re-signing with the Rams before the market opened also helped players like Jackson, who received the second-highest guard payment among this year’s UFAs — behind only the Panthers’ five-year, $100MM Robert Hunt deal.

Jackson, 27, had expressed a fondness for Detroit and hoped extension talks would lead to his second contract coming with the Lions. But little emerged indicating the sides were serious about an extension entering last season. By late February, the parties were not close on terms. Jackson’s eventual defection led the Lions to add Kevin Zeitler in free agency. The 12-year veteran will team with Graham Glasgow, who re-signed (on a three-year, $20MM deal that includes $8MM fully guaranteed) just before the legal tampering period began.

Zeitler joined the Lions on a one-year, $6MM accord. His play in a midseason Ravens rout of the Lions impressed the NFC North champions, and Rogers adds the team made contact with Zeitler early in free agency. A deal took nearly a week to finalize, but Zeitler — a former Bengals first-round pick who later started for the Browns, Giants and Ravens — is now tied to a fifth team.

“You never know when guys get to that age how long they’re going to last,” Holmes said, calling the Zeitler-Glasgow combination Plan A going into free agency. “So, when it got to the end of the season, and really started diving into those targets, and looked at him again, I was like, ‘Wow, no. He sustained that for the whole season.’ He’s a guy that, he just fits like a glove for what we’re about.”

It cost the Lions less per year to sign both Glasgow and Zeitler, who received a combined $13.5MM. The Rams gave Jackson $25.5MM fully guaranteed. Jackson’s age helped secure that deal, with Glasgow and Zeitler respectively set for their age-32 and age-34 seasons. Glasgow, who had re-signed with the Lions in 2023, may well have needed to leave Detroit once again had Jackson agreed to terms. The Ravens had started talks on a second Zeitler contract but will move on; Zeitler joins guard John Simpson and right tackle Morgan Moses as starting O-linemen lost this offseason.

The Lions are expected to trot out three 30-something O-line starters this coming season, but Zeitler has been one of the NFL’s steadiest guards over the past several seasons. Pro Football Focus rated the former first-round pick as a top-15 guard in each of his three Ravens seasons. The advanced metrics site did not place Jackson in the top 20 during his four-year Detroit stay.

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