Injury Update

Rams have injury crisis after being NFL’s healthiest team in 2023; how slew of ailments impacts Matt Stafford
Is a 36-year-old Stafford safe behind patchwork OL while throwing to less experienced receivers?

By Garrett Podell

Crisis isn’t a word typically used when describing many situations in professional sports, but it’s fair when discussing the 0-2 Los Angeles Rams’ injury situation through two weeks of the 2024 NFL season.

Quarterback Matthew Stafford’s longtime favorite target in Los Angeles, wide receiver Cooper Kupp, could miss “an extended period of time” after suffering a left ankle sprain in the team’s 41-10 loss against the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday, per ESPN. Kupp suffered an ankle sprain in Week 10 against the Cardinals in 2022 and needed season-ending surgery to fix the issue. Kupp is a candidate for injured reserve in 2024. as are guard Jonah Jackson (shoulder) and safety John Johnson III (shoulder), after Week 2.

“We’re kind of running out of those [injured reserve] spots and we’re only into Week 3 in terms of the return to play, but that is a possibility for all of those guys,” McVay said, via ESPN.

The trio of Kupp, Jackson and Johnson join a CVS receipt-long list of players on injured reserve, putting the prospects of the postseason in 2024 in early jeopardy.

Notable Rams on injured reserve
WR Cooper Kupp (ankle): possible IR candidate
WR Puka Nacua (knee): IR
TE Tyler Higbee (knee): PUP
OT Joe Noteboom (ankle): IR
OT KT Leveston (ankle): IR
OT Conor McDermott (undisclosed): IR
OG Steve Avila (knee): IR
OG Jonah Jackson (shoulder): possible IR candidate
DL Larrell Muchison (arm): IR
CB Darious Williams (hamstring): IR
CB Derion Kendrick (knee): IR
S John Johnson III (shoulder): possible IR candidate
McVay even noted how chaotic the offensive line’s lack of continuity in front of Stafford is just two games into the season.

“The amount of moving parts that we’ve had offensive line-wise has been wild,” McVay said. “And that’s such an important spot to be able to get a rapport with the guy that you’re playing next to.”

It’s remarkable the Rams are at this point despite McVay putting almost ever starter on ice in the preseason outside of joint practices, but according to Yahoo Sports, this glut of injuries isn’t all that surprising given the team’s recent trends.

“One tangible reason to worry about Rams regression is their injury luck last season,” Yahoo Sports’ Frank Schwab wrote in July. “In 2022 they dealt with numerous injuries and finished second in adjusted games lost due to injury (a metric by Aaron Schatz of FTN Fantasy). The pendulum swung the other way and last season the Rams were the healthiest team in the NFL, finishing with the fewest adjusted games lost due to injury. It went from 146.6 AGL in 2022 to 26.4 last season, which is an incredible shift and shows how injury luck often has no rhyme or reason. The Rams’ good fortune last season included the fourth-fewest injuries on offense and the fewest on defense. Just like the Rams’ miserable 2022 injury luck, the great run from last season is unlikely to repeat. Though, as Schatz pointed out, the Rams were in the top 10 in fewest AGL for six seasons in a row before 2022, so perhaps they have a formula that works.”

What to do with Stafford?
It turns out Los Angeles’ injury formula was unable to prevent all these injuries, leaving their 36-year-old quarterback in danger. Stafford threw for 216 yards and lost a fumble after being sacked five times in the loss against the Cardinals, tied for the third-most in Week 2 entering “Monday Night Football.” Part of the reason he was sacked so many times is because his 3.25 seconds to throw ranked as the fifth-longest average time to throw in Week 2 as he was scanning the field, desperate to find targets who could get themselves open with both Kupp and Nacua on the shelf. Life could get even more uncomfortable for Stafford ahead of the Rams’ Week 6 bye with Los Angeles set to face Nick Bosa’s San Francisco 49ers, Montez Sweat’s Chicago Bears and Rashan Gary’s Green Bay Packers the next three weeks.

While this may sound silly, it might be worth considering at some point during the year if all the aforementioned players’ stays on injured reserve last for weeks: should the Rams put Stafford in bubble wrap and wait to put him back on the field until his offensive line and/or receiving core is healthier? Stafford missed the second half of the 2022 season with a spinal cord contusion and concussion, which led to him having to clear up that he wasn’t retiring in the 2023 offseason.

Three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year and future Hall of Famer Aaron Donald is retired, leaving the Rams defensive front seven extremely young with rookies Jared Verse (2024 first round pick) and Braden Fiske (2024 second round pick) along the defensive line next to second-year players in Kobie Turner and Byron Young. Two key corners in Darious Williams and Derion Kendrick are on injured reserve. Donald no longer being around to be Los Angeles’ magic eraser when it comes to potential defensive weaknesses is a massive deal.

In the time since the NFL postseason expanded to 14 teams in the 2020 season, two teams across the previous four seasons have started 0-2 and made the playoffs, the Cincinnati Bengals in 2022 and the Houston Texans in 2023. Just five of those 32 finished their respective seasons with winning records. Los Angeles is up against in Week 3 against it since it is facing the reigning NFC champion San Francisco 49ers with a depleted roster. No NFL team to begin a year 0-3 has gone on to win a Super Bowl.

Should the Rams start 0-3 with all these injuries piling up, it would make a little sense, even though it would be pretty extreme, to preserve Stafford until his offensive line’s and receiving room’s health improves. Losing a few games early could go a long way toward providing general manager Les Snead much better draft picks in 2025. Better picks could be used to inject more youth into a squad that is aging rapidly in some positions. Or, Los Angeles could trade away its picks in the name of veteran aide, a Snead special. The Rams currently own the 2025 draft rights to their own first, third, fourth and sixth-round draft choice while also possessing a sixth-round pick from the Atlanta Falcons, Pittsburgh Steelers and Houston Texans via the Pittsburgh Steelers. {NB: This paragraph demonstrates that the article was written by a guy who doesn’t really follow the Rams}

McVay has long raved about his kinship with Stafford as a football mind, but his quarterback’s body may not be around for much longer if the Rams don’t take action quickly as their 2024 season continues to spiral out of control.

wv wrote:

Orlovsky, essentially sayin season is over.

And after the Rams beat the 49ers this week, he will be saying McVay and Snead are geniuses the way they keep finding great receivers where nobody else does.

So it goes.

zn wrote:

In ARZ the Rams were on their 4th LOT.

A guy who was starting an NFL game for the 2nd time in his life.