Higbee hurt in the game (confirmed, and it’s bad)

Recent Forum Topics Forums The Rams Huddle Higbee hurt in the game (confirmed, and it’s bad)

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  • #148735
    zn
    Moderator

    #148739
    Zooey
    Participant

    Yeah, I don’t know if we will see him next year. That looked bad.

    #148799
    zn
    Moderator

    #148819
    zn
    Moderator

    #148822
    nittany ram
    Moderator

    Hope Higbee can be healthy before the start of next season.  Fortunately the Rams have some nice depth at TE.

    I don’t buy the defender’s claim he wasn’t trying to hurt Higbee. He has a history of this.

    You can’t outlaw all hits below the waist (can you imagine trying to tackle a guy like Earl Campbell if you couldn’t hit him below the waist?) but the NFL should outlaw hits directly to the knees.

    #148827
    Billy_T
    Participant

    Hope Higbee can be healthy before the start of next season. Fortunately the Rams have some nice depth at TE. I don’t buy the defender’s claim he wasn’t trying to hurt Higbee. He has a history of this. You can’t outlaw all hits below the waist (can you imagine trying to tackle a guy like Earl Campbell if you couldn’t hit him below the waist?) but the NFL should outlaw hits directly to the knees.

     

    Looked like he speared him. That should be outlawed, regardless of where, when, who, how, etc. No leading with the helmet, ever, period. The physics of this tells us that a shoulder/arm/wrap-up tackle, on the same part of the body, just isn’t going to cause as much damage, if any.

    #148830
    zn
    Moderator
    Stu Jackson@StuJRams
    Higbee’s injury will require surgery. Doesn’t know timeline yet, but one of initial steps in determining is after that surgery takes place. McVay said Higbee could be a candidate for PUP
    #148839
    wv
    Participant

    Sigh.  Well, I get the frustration old-schoolers have with toning down the violence.  I get it.   And DB’s are in a difficult situation with the big Tight Ends running over and through the small DBs these days.

    But…ya just cant allow that kind of hit on a football player anymore.  You cant allow launching at the knee.   Even if its not intentional.

    The DB should have to go lower or higher.  And yeah, its asking a lot.  But the NFL wants offense and they want healthy players.  So, figure out a rule.

     

    w

    v

     

    #148850
    zn
    Moderator
    Sarah Barshop@sarahbarshop
    Sean McVay said TE Tyler Higbee tore his MCL along with his ACL.
    #148857
    zn
    Moderator

    #148863
    InvaderRam
    Moderator

    yeah. this all of a sudden becomes the rams biggest need on offense.

    #148864
    zn
    Moderator

    yeah. this all of a sudden becomes the rams biggest need on offense.

    But it doesn’t have to be a priority need in terms of which draft picks to use, or how much FA money to spend.

    Rams have gotten decent production from the TE spot and they certainly use TEs in blocking, especially in 2023 by putting them in motion to block. In terms of targets/receptions/yards, Rams TEs in 2024 accounted for 88 Ts, 62 Rs, & 668 Ys. That’s with a 3rd rounder, a 4th rounder, and a 5th round rookie.

    The Rams TE is not a superstar, he’s a good and functional and valuable role player. You don’t need to spend high resources to reproduce that.

    That leads to a related but not identical issue–why isn’t Hopkins the next guy up? He knows the system, when he plays (which is not often) he performs, and he knows the system. It ought to be the case where they go “we’ll lose Higbee for a while but then Hopkins can replace him.” They don’t seem to be thinking that way. In 2023 they used Allen more than Hopkins. In fact they kept using Higbee even when he was clearly struggling instead of using Hopkins. I wonder what gives there.

    #148869
    InvaderRam
    Moderator

    But it doesn’t have to be a priority need in terms of which draft picks to use, or how much FA money to spend.

     

    oh. no. i’m not saying they have to spend a high pick on the position or throw huge money at a free agent. but a trade or a mid round pick is necessary. a multi-functional tight end. i like allen,  but he’s a largely untested rookie and i don’t trust long.

    #148875
    zn
    Moderator

    oh. no. i’m not saying they have to spend a high pick on the position or throw huge money at a free agent. but a trade or a mid round pick is necessary. a multi-functional tight end. i like allen,  but he’s a largely untested rookie and i don’t trust long.

    Yeah we’re on the same page. I expect them to take the “Vermeil” approach to this, which is to do everything. A mid-round draft pick or trade, a UDFA, a “ronin” type (a released young veteran), a  not-too-expensive FA if there is one (like Robinson). Maybe 3 new guys? That combined with Long and Allen gives them a group to work with, out of which comes the starter or rotation of starters.

    As I said, just on paper Hopkins ought to have been the obvious solution to this, but for whatever reason that seems not to be the case.

    #148880
    Billy_T
    Participant

    I wouldn’t spend an early pick on TE, either. But they should use one of their 5th or 6th rounders, IMO.

    Personal preference would be for a true TE type, not an H-back. So someone at least 6’4,” 250. Good blocker, solid hands, some speed.

    Draft boards will shift a dozen times before the big day, but a way-too-early look at (possible) late-rounders to watch for:

    Dallin Holker,  Colorado State
    Ben Sinnott, Kansas State
    Theo Johnson, Penn State
    Trey Knox, South Carolina

    Soon after the Combine, sports media will make things easier for us by compiling lists of small college standouts, too. Folks we likely didn’t get a chance to see at all on TV, but pundits did, etc. That will change things yet again. I’ve always liked the idea of rolling the dice on small college players late in the draft. I’d generally rather take a size/speed wonderkind from Western Apple Valley State than a smaller, lesser athlete from Georgia, Michigan, Notre Dame, etc.

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