week 3: camp over, Dallas scrimmage

10 Observations from Day 10 of 2025 Rams Training Camp: Quentin Lake nabs another interception as defense creates three turnovers, Davis Allen’s one-handed catch and more

Stu Jackson & Wyatt Miller

https://www.therams.com/news/10-observations-day-10-2025-rams-training-camp-quentin-lake-nabs-another-interception-as-defense-creates-three-turnovers-davis-allen-s-one-handed-catch-and-more

LOS ANGELES – The Rams held their final open practice of training camp on Sunday, a day that featured more turnovers created by the defense and some highlight-reel catches on offense.

Senior staff writer Stu Jackson watched the defense, while staff writer Wyatt Miller watched the offense. Notes on each unit below.

Offense

1) Blake Corum runs wild. Corum broke a long run after weaving through defenders and then exploded down the sideline for what might have been a touchdown in game action. He also had a nice cutback on a pitch play that turned what would have been a modest gain into a decent chunk. Later on, he caught a screen pass with one and followed his blockers downfield for an explosive reception. The running back’s vision and agility were both on display in the final practice of training camp.

2) Play of the day from tight end Davis Allen. Running straight down the seam, quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo floated a pass to Allen’s back shoulder. He adjusted and grabbed the ball with one hand and jogged into the end zone for a touchdown. The sideline erupted.

3) Running back Kyren Williams finds the holes. Williams’ increased explosiveness, which running backs coach Ron Gould expressed to theRams.com earlier this offseason, was on full display. He made decisive cuts to speed through holes and arm tackles into the secondary more than once. Williams then capped off a two-minute drill with a somersault over the goal line for a touchdown.

4) Wide receiver Puka Nacua continues to stack productive days. There wasn’t one ridiculous grab, like the falling touchdowns he’s caught previously, but Nacua brought in just about everything that came his way. Whether he was high pointing the ball on the sideline, elevating for a touchdown grab or hauling in an intermediate pass between the zones, Nacua was on point once again.

5) Offensive line creates space for backs. The running backs had room to run on Sunday. They pulled well to the outside and provided gashes in the middle of a defensive line that has played extremely well during camp. Corum, Williams, Jarquez Hunter and even Ronnie Rivers benefitted from that.

Defense

6) Quentin Lake finds the ball again. It’s been a good week for the fourth-year safety, as he snagged his second interception of the week. This time, it was on a Garoppolo pass intended for Allen.

7) Nate Valcarcel joins the pick party. The undrafted rookie free agent signee and safety out of Northern Illinois was also responsible for one of the takeaways created by the defense, snagging an interception on a Stetson Bennett deep pass intended for Konata Mumpfield during team drills.

8) Shaun Dolac with his own “peanut punch.” The undrafted free agent signee and inside linebacker out of Buffalo used a one-handed punch to record a forced fumble for the defense during team drills.

9) Troy Reeder brings the boom. It may only be “thud” tackling with an emphasis of keeping players on both sides of the ball on their feet, but the veteran linebacker had one of the most physical tackles of practice with the thud he delivered on wide receiver Jordan Whittington after Whittington caught a pass from Garoppolo.

10) Pooh Paul Jr. being eased back in. It was good to see the rookie inside linebacker on the practice field Saturday after a calf injury had kept him out of multiple training camp practices.

“It’s hard to say (where he’s at in the process), because he just got out here,” McVay said. “He has done a nice job. We’re kind of just easing him back in because he did have a calf (injury).”

zn wrote:

Garoppolo hit Davis Allen on a beautiful seam thrown that Allen hauled in one handed for a touchdown.

zn wrote:

Play of the day from tight end Davis Allen. Running straight down the seam, quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo floated a pass to Allen’s back shoulder. He adjusted and grabbed the ball with one hand and jogged into the end zone for a touchdown. The sideline erupted.

Davis Allen with the one-handed snag! 👀😮‍💨 pic.twitter.com/cWIIbflIin

— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) August 4, 2025

Cowboys defense won’t face Stafford in joint practice with Rams

https://www.si.com/nfl/cowboys/news/dallas-cowboys-defense-wont-face-stafford-in-joint-practice-with-rams

In his debut scrimmage as Dallas Cowboys’ defensive coordinator, Matt Eberflus won’t have the services of holdout pass-rusher Micah Parsons. He also, however, won’t have to face an elite quarterback.

When the Los Angeles Rams visit Oxnard on Tuesday for a joint training camp practice session, Rams’ starting quarterback Matthew Stafford won’t participate because of a lingering back injury. In his place the Rams’ No. 1 offense will led by veteran backup Jimmy Garroppolo.

Former University of Georgia star and former fourth-round pick Stetson Bennett will also get reps at quarterback for coach Sean McVay’s squad.

Though head coach Brian Schottenheimer has yet to unveil his plans for the scrimmage, Cowboys’ quarterback Dak Prescott is expected to be in uniform.

Eberflus’ unit, which features new faces in pass-rusher Dante Fowler Jr., cornerback Kaiir Elam and linebacker Kenneth Murray Jr., will still be tested despite Stafford’s absence. The Rams spot a star-studded receiving corps led by Puka Nacua and veteran Davante Adams.

For what it’s worth, last season Eberflus’ Chicago Bears beat Stafford’s Rams 24-18, holding the quarterback to 224 passing yards while intercepting him once and producing three sacks.

Despite the high-profile absence of Parsons, Cowboys fans are anxious to see Eberflus’ defense. in eight of the past 12 seasons he’s involved in the NFL, his defenses have finished in the Top 10. In his final two seasons with the Cowboys (2016-17) working under coordinator Rod Marinelli, the Cowboys finished No. 1 and then No. 8 against the run.

“One of my mentors used to say, ‘No house guests,’ Coach Marinelli, and that’s true,” Eberflus said earlier in camp. “That starts with we’ll be a good tackling team when our corners tackle, and that’s important because all the schemes now make your corners tackle. Our guys will be a good tackling bunch, and we’ll work on that daily.”

In their first live action against an opposing team, Eberflus’ Cowboys won’t get to lay a hand on the one the NFL’ s best quarterbacks.

Brock Vierra@BrockVierra
3 Immediate Takeaways From Rams-Cowboys Joint Practice

1. Tutu Atwell was used in a new way, and he made Dallas pay

2. Davante Adams and Xavier Smith woke up ready to dominate

3. Jimmy Garoppolo just made himself millions with his performance in Oxnard

from Cowboys-Rams observations: What we saw from George Pickens, Davante Adams and more

Jon Machota and Jourdan Rodrigue

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6537818/2025/08/06/cowboys-rams-joint-practice-observations/?source=emp_shared_article

OXNARD, Calif. — Dallas Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer mentioned multiple times after Tuesday’s joint practice with the Los Angeles Rams that they were trying to keep things vanilla on offense.

That’s particularly notable because it was not a great day offensively.

“Today was more about us,” Schottenheimer said. “It was, ‘See how we do. Throw the ball out there and see what happens.’ We did some good things. We need to do some things better.

“I’m not going to say we played great. We didn’t. I thought it was solid. We’ll go and make the corrections.”

Here are five key takeaways from watching Dallas’ offense during the roughly 90 minutes of 11-on-11 work against the Rams.

1. The Cowboys’ run game was one of the NFL’s worst last season. It didn’t look much improved Tuesday. Javonte Williams got the bulk of the first-team reps. He had very little room to work. Not much changed when rookie Jaydon Blue was given opportunities.

“They gave us some fits,” Schottenheimer said. “We had some communication errors. The run game wasn’t great.”

His biggest concern was how they handled the Los Angeles linebackers.

“What happens when you’re double-teaming people is the linebackers have to make a decision,” he explained. “The linebackers were playing fast and downhill and they were fitting their gaps. It’s all based on how you try to build a wall on defense. We just got to play with our eyes up a little bit better. We got fit on the double-teams but we didn’t come off to the second level, so there’s too much color at the point of attack.”

Schottenheimer liked the opportunity to face a 3-4 defense, which they don’t see in practice. This was the best run of the day.

…

Five Rams items that mattered from joint practices, from the offensive field:

1. Quarterback Matthew Stafford did not participate in practice but was present on the sideline for the session. Stafford, 37, has twice seen a back specialist for an ongoing issue that has held him out of training camp. McVay has called Stafford’s status “week to week,” noting that the team is holding Stafford out of practice out of an abundance of caution.

“He’s making good progress, he feels good (and) we’ve been able to kind of increase some things behind the scenes,” said McVay. “He’s in good spirits. … We do have a good plan in place that we feel good about, and he’s progressing in the right direction.”

Team sources have reiterated their overall lack of worry about Stafford’s status for the season itself, but it bears noting that the Rams consider joint practices as some of the most valuable snaps the offense can get together in the offseason because it’s close to live action, and they don’t play starters in the preseason. Stafford has so far not gotten those snaps with his teammates. McVay did not disclose when Stafford would begin throwing with the team again.

2. Veteran receiver and free-agent acquisition Davante Adams and backup quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo (who also won’t play in the preseason, per McVay) connected several times in team drills including on a touchdown catch up the right side earlier in the day and again in an urgent move-the-ball team period on an outbreaking route to the left side. Puka Nacua will clearly still be a blocking asset on run plays. Tutu Atwell caught a deep ball for a touchdown during a team period — and is easy to lose track of as the Rams’ often-motioning player.

That receiver hierarchy is established, but second-year player Jordan Whittington and rookie Konata Mumpfield both took reps with the first team. It will be hard to keep either player off the field, especially Whittington who can contribute in the run game and will play on special teams.

3. Left tackle is still in question with starter Alaric Jackson continuing his treatment and recovery from blood clots. Veteran free agent DJ Humphries and third-year swing tackle Warren McClendon rotated in the role on Tuesday. When backups came in, veteran free-agent David Quessenberry took over at right tackle (Rob Havenstein is the starter). Right guard Justin Dedich got some snaps with the first-team offense, in part to give starter Kevin Dotson a break and in part because he could be playing the position in the preseason.

4. The tight ends — starter Tyler Higbee, No. 2 Colby Parkinson and No. 4 Davis Allen were extremely active and rotated (together and separately) often in and out of the offense. When rookie Terrance Ferguson is healthy, McVay has a true four-deep at the position and all contribute as blockers which helps disguise elements of their pass and run game when in heavier personnel.

5. Depth players who stood out: Reserve defensive tackle Tyler Davis, who clearly has gotten his body ready to take the next step in his second season. Backup running backs Blake Corum, who took on some red zone work, and rookie Jarquez Hunter who showed his speed on a short outlet throw catch-and-run from third-string quarterback Stetson Bennett, center Beaux Limmer, who started most of last season (but was replaced by veteran Coleman Shelton, who re-signed with the Rams in free agency), is the clear backup to Shelton but undrafted free-agent Willie Lampkin IV got some reps as well. Lampkin did limp off the field near the end of practice after a player rolled over his foot.

Other notes:

• Absent from Tuesday’s practice (though on the field in team-issued clothing): Emmanuel Forbes (hamstring), Nate Landman (calf; Troy Reeder and Omar Speights filled in and drew praise from Schottenheimer for their run-blocking), Ferguson (groin), Kam Curl (got stepped on), Kobie Turner (back) and, of course, Stafford.

• Retired franchise left tackle Andrew Whitworth was present and spent several minutes speaking with Dallas star pass-rusher Micah Parsons, who is in the middle of a very public contract dispute with team owner Jerry Jones and was not practicing.

• Starting running back Kyren Williams spoke after practice just hours after signing a three-year contract extension that league sources said earlier Tuesday is worth up to $33 million. “I will never forget this day,” said Williams, beaming, adding that he felt like he had better call his mother a second time once he got back to his home just to make sure the signing had really happened. The icing on the cake? The practice wasn’t full-contact, but the Rams (behind Williams and their other backs) ran the ball well.