Today’s minor moves:
Denver Broncos
Miami Dolphins
Philadelphia Eagles
Tennessee Titans
Bruss was waived by the Rams yesterday to make room for returning linemen Steve Avila and Jonah Jackson. A former third-round pick, Bruss didn’t make an appearance through his first two seasons in the NFL but started three of his eight appearances in 2024.
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.
With a handful of teams getting eliminated from the playoffs this weekend, those front offices are starting to prepare for the offseason. Here are today’s reserve/futures deals, with the majority coming from recently eliminated squads:
Cleveland Browns
Dallas Cowboys
Los Angeles Rams
Miami Dolphins
Minnesota Vikings
Following the 53-man roster cutdown deadline Tuesday, many teams will make slight tweaks to their rosters. In addition to waiver claims, teams can begin constructing their 16-man practice squads today. These 49ers, Cardinals, Rams and Seahawks moves are noted below.
Claimed:
Waived:
Signed to practice squad:
Claimed:
Waived:
Signed to practice squad:
Placed on IR:
Signed:
Claimed:
Waived:
Signed to practice squad:
Claimed:
Waived:
Signed to practice squad:
The Rams did a bit of work yesterday in moving towards the 53-man deadline. Here are the additional moves the team made today to get down to the max roster number to start the season:
Waived:
Waived/injured:
Released:
It appears that fourth-round rookie draft pick Stetson Bennett won out in the battle for the backup quarterback job, leading to the expendability of Rypien and Winn. Youth similarly won out at the running back spot as rookie Zach Evans and second year backs Kyren Williams and Ronnie Rivers beat out the veteran backup in Freeman. On defense, Copeland is bit of a surprise after starting nine games last year for the Rams.
The special teams room is quite intriguing for now. The room was looking to hold three rookies before the above waiver of the undrafted Oklahoma State kicker Brown. Seventh-round rookie punter Ethan Evans and undrafted rookie long snapper Alex Ward remain on the roster, but without Brown, the Rams will need to look into adding a new kicker out of the free agent market. Or they may attempt to follow the recent trends and trade for one.
Rumored ahead of training camp to be holding four position battles along their offensive line, the Rams have made one notable change up front and are considering another. Their top 2022 draft choice is now at a new position, while the left tackle they re-signed for more than $13MM per year is not a lock to be Matthew Stafford‘s blindside protector to begin this season.
Logan Bruss is moving back to his college position of right tackle, per Sean McVay, who indicated this switch — which The Athletic’s Jourdan Rodrigue notes (via Twitter) came about because of injury issues at the spot — will likely be for good. Bruss, who was transitioning to guard before ACL and MCL tears nixed his rookie year, is set to back up Rob Havenstein at right tackle — the Rams’ lone solidified starting O-line post coming into camp. The Rams chose Bruss in the 2022 third round.
While Bruss (25 right tackle starts at Wisconsin) is moving to a backup role, the Rams are also considering the prospect of Joe Noteboom not opening the season at left tackle. Introduced earlier this offseason, the notion of Noteboom at guard is now firmly in play, per McVay.
“We want to find the best five,” McVay said. “But I think every one of those positions is incredibly valuable and really whatever we deem is the best fit for the five players at the two tackles, two guard spots and center. But I think Joe is a guy that can start at guard or tackle and he’s played at a high level so players like him are very rare that have the ability to do that. … Whether or not he ends up doing that or playing tackle, we’re still kind of working through that.”
Returning from an October 2022 Achilles tear, Noteboom is attached to a three-year deal worth $40MM. The Rams paid up to keep Noteboom in the wake Andrew Whitworth‘s retirement. Whitworth’s fill-in at that high-profile blocking post to close his career, Noteboom attracted a free agent market that led to the $13.3MM-per-year accord. The Rams used a few left tackles following Noteboom’s injury — one of many maladies to affect Los Angeles’ O-line during a disastrous Super Bowl title defense — and one of those options (Alaric Jackson) is pushing the incumbent for the job.
Using the increasingly popular “or” distinction to denote a position battle, the Rams’ depth chart lists Jackson as a co-left tackle starter. A 2021 UDFA, Jackson made six starts for the team last season. But a blood clot issue ended the Iowa alum’s season.
Jackson joined Tristan Wirfs as Iowa’s starting tackles in 2018 and ’19. The lower-regarded prospect started as the Hawkeyes’ left tackle from 2018-20, earning first-team All-Big Ten acclaim in 2020. This did not lead to a high profile coming into the 2021 draft, but the Rams have seen enough from the 25-year-old blocker to give him a legitimate shot at unseating Noteboom.
A “best five” scenario may well involve Noteboom shifting to right guard, where the depth chart lists Tremayne Anchrum — a 2020 seventh-rounder who started one game for the team last season — as the present first-stringer. With second-round pick Steve Avila set to start at the Rams’ other guard spot, Noteboom — who previously played guard before settling into the role as Whitworth’s apprentice — could return to an inside spot to accommodate Jackson. Anchrum joins Noteboom, Bruss and Jackson in coming off a season-ending injury — a fractured fibula.
With Jordan Fuller finally making a healthy return after missing most of the 2022 season on injured reserve, the Rams should be set at one of their safety spots. Fuller had started all 28 games he’d appeared in over his first two years, and he’s stood out so far this offseason in OTAs and minicamp. The battle for who will start next to Fuller, though, has become a situation to watch in Los Angeles, according to Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic.
There appears to be two second-year players at the forefront of the race: last year’s sixth-round pick Quentin Lake and seventh-round pick Russ Yeast. Lake got a late start to his rookie year after starting the season on the reserve/physically unable to perform list. Once activated, he played almost exclusively on special teams until the team’s season finale in Seattle. Yeast also started off mainly on special teams before earning a good number of defensive snaps late in the year. He made his first career start in that same Seattle game.
Lake and Yeast will both get significant run with the first team in an effort to determine a starter. A dark horse in the competition could be rookie seventh-round pick Jason Taylor II. The Oklahoma State product had an impressive 99 tackles last season to go along with six interceptions for the Cowboys. While each player should get a strong chance, it’s believed that Yeast has the early edge.
Here are a couple other rumors coming out of LA:
Although Rams-related discussions have generally veered toward what the team has lost this offseason, its offensive line figures to be better positioned compared to a disastrous 2022 campaign. The player whose injury began a steady deterioration for the unit is nearing a full return to work.
Logan Bruss, saw ACL and MCL tears wipe out his rookie season, has received the green light for full participation at Rams OTAs, Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic notes (subscription required). Bruss, the Rams’ top 2022 draftee, participated fully during the team’s first OTA session before being limited during the ensuing workout. While we are still more than two months away from padded practices, this certainly represents a positive step for Bruss and Los Angeles’ O-line.
Chosen late in the third round last year, Bruss was set to compete for an L.A. starting guard gig. Coleman Shelton ended up winning the job, with Bruss sustaining the knee injuries during the Rams’ second preseason game. The injury occurred nine months ago, and the Rams not holding Bruss out of OTAs represents a reasonable indication he will avoid the active/PUP list when training camp starts.
Bruss’ injuries preceded a brutal year for the Rams’ O-line, and those dominoes falling played a lead role in the team completing the worst Super Bowl title defense in NFL history. After Bruss went down, the Rams lost Shelton, Brian Allen, Joe Noteboom, David Edwards, Alaric Jackson and Tremayne Anchrum to injuries. All missed at least four games, with Noteboom, Edwards and Jackson suffering season-ending maladies. In-season free agency additions became starters during a season in which Matthew Stafford eventually went down.
The Rams let Edwards walk in free agency, a year after the team passed on re-signing fellow Super Bowl LVI guard starter Austin Corbett, and the Bills will give the three-year starter a bounce-back opportunity. L.A. again used its top draft choice on a guard, selecting TCU’s Steve Avila in Round 2. Avila figures to be ticketed to start in Week 1, but Bruss may soon be the favorite to be L.A.’s other guard starter. He had been attempting to transition from college right tackle to NFL guard. His early participation points to no further delays in that effort.
As the Rams look to defend their Super Bowl title, the team reduced their roster to the 53-man limit today:
Jacob Harris getting cut came as a bit of a surprise after the 2021 fourth-round pick got into nine games as a rookie. However, he rarely got a look on offense in 2021, and despite the Rams only rostering two tight ends at the end of the day (Tyler Higbee, Brycen Hopkins), Harris was let go. Chris Garrett was also a 2021 draft pick, being selected by the Rams in the seventh round. He only got into one game as a rook.
AJ Arcuri was a seventh-round pick in this year’s draft, but the rookie didn’t show enough to crack the 53-man roster. There’s a good chance the Michigan State product lands back on the Rams practice squad.
The first of this year’s Rams draft picks will not make his NFL debut until at least 2023. Guard Logan Bruss will miss this season after suffering right ACL and MCL tears during the Rams’ preseason game Friday night, Sean McVay said.
Chosen 104th overall, Bruss was expected to be at least a key backup for the Rams in 2022. The Wisconsin alum had been competing for the Rams’ starting right guard position during his first NFL offseason.
Austin Corbett‘s Panthers signing opened the door for a newcomer to step in, and while fourth-year blocker Coleman Shelton had emerged as the favorite, Bruss still loomed. This thins a Rams position group already weakened by Corbett’s Carolina defection. The team still has third-year lineman Tremayne Anchrum as an option and rosters 2019 third-round pick Bobby Evans as well.
Bruss was attempting to transition from college tackle to NFL guard. The Badgers used him as their primary right tackle from 2019-21, playing him only sparingly at guard. This injury will obviously hinder Bruss’ development. He finished his Big Ten career as a second-team all-conference performer in 2021.
The team’s other guard starter, David Edwards, is going into a contract year. That undoubtedly impacted the Rams’ decision to make Bruss their top 2022 draftee. Annually lacking a first-round pick — this time due to last year’s Matthew Stafford trade, which cost the Rams two firsts — the team was without its second- and third-round picks because of the Von Miller deadline swap. Bruss came to Los Angeles as a compensatory selection.