WOODLAND HILLS, Calif. — The Los Angeles Rams have entered their bye week feeling pretty good about where they are.
For one, they are 5-2 after a 35-7 thrashing of the Jacksonville Jaguars at Wembley Stadium in London. The past two years, their record entering the bye was a combined 4-10, only for those teams to finish 10-7 and reach the playoffs in both seasons.
With a bye week to self-scout and get healthy, and with a trade deadline approaching, let’s get into the questions readers had about where this team stands.
Questions have been edited for length and clarity.
Do you think the Rams will trade for another defensive back or make any other moves at the trade deadline? — John C.
Many of the questions this week were about trading for a cornerback. As I outlined in our staff-wide look at what each team should do, I labeled the Rams as buyers. But whether they will is harder to pin down.
It makes sense at outside cornerback. It’s the one premier position the Rams haven’t invested much capital in. Watching this pass rush, run defense and safety play can make it feel like they are a legit outside presence from being a top-five defense. They have a 37-year-old quarterback playing at a high level, and they showed the willingness and the value of going all-in by trading for Odell Beckham Jr. and Von Miller before winning the Super Bowl following the 2021 season.
But it’s also not that simple. The scheme that Chris Shula runs with three rotating safeties creates a friendlier environment for outside cornerbacks, and a run defense creating obvious passing downs for a wicked pass rush adds to that. The Rams also like their outside options better than most. Cobie Durant has played well, Darious Williams has gotten on track and they continue to like the upside of Emmanuel Forbes Jr. as a 2023 first-round pick.
What’s also hanging out there is a potential return for Ahkello Witherspoon in December.
You can never have too many good cornerbacks in this league, and one more injury would create an issue. If the Rams want to win a tight NFC West race and host a home playoff game, they need to take care of business with three divisional matchups before Witherspoon has a chance to return. They need to hold on to the two first-round picks next year to have a chance to take a swing at a quarterback of the future. They can’t bank on Stafford staying healthy and playing at an MVP level forever.
If the Rams were to make a move, what names make the most sense for you? — 1st & Tuna
Roger McCreary is on a Tennessee Titans squad that has already fired its coach and isn’t playing for much. The 25-year-old hasn’t made as many plays on the ball as in recent seasons, but a career 7.5 yards per target allowed and 37 starts provide some reliability. He can play inside and outside, which could open up a little more versatility with Quentin Lake. You just wish he were a little bigger than 5-foot-11, 190 pounds, given that physical receivers pose the biggest threat to the Rams right now. But I imagine the cost could be a Day 3 pick.
Roger McCreary, a second-round pick of the Titans in 2022, would be a nice fit at outside cornerback for the Rams. (Justin Edmonds / Getty Images)
Cam Taylor-Britt is on a Cincinnati Bengals team that’s still trying to win after trading for Joe Flacco, while hoping Joe Burrow can return later this season. But the 26-year-old was a healthy scratch last Thursday. Even at his best, Taylor-Britt is a boom-or-bust player, allowing a career 9.4 yards per target but with seven interceptions and 35 pass breakups. He offers some man and zone versatility. And the relationship between Rams coach Sean McVay and Bengals coach Zac Taylor could help facilitate a landing spot if he needs a fresh start.
The names fans are going to want to gravitate toward are Denzel Ward and Sauce Gardner, but I see them as long-term players those franchises won’t trade — and if they did, they’d require a first-round pick and to take on massive salaries beyond this season. If the Rams dip in here, I think it’ll be a shorter-term investment, like McCreary or Taylor-Britt, who are in contract years.
Do you think the Rams will lean into 13-personnel more, even when Puka Nacua comes back? Do you think we’ll finally start seeing Terrance Ferguson more often, or do you think he’s still weeks away from playing a lot of snaps? — Nate E.
It made sense that the Rams would go with more 12-personnel without Nacua on Sunday, but they used 13-personnel on more snaps in that game than in the four previous seasons combined, according to the NFL’s Next Gen Stats. The Rams then finished 4-for-4 in the red zone and had 10 different targets catch passes, including all four tight ends.
The tight end usage will obviously go down with Nacua back, which the Rams hope will be when they host the New Orleans Saints coming out of the bye. The other factor was Tutu Atwell playing just 10 snaps after entering the game off a hamstring injury and taking a collision early. He plays a vital spacing role for the passing game.
The run game also slowed to 89 yards on 29 carries Sunday, partly due to two and three tight ends pulling heavy personnel out of a Jaguars defense that hasn’t allowed a 20-yard run all season. The Rams are best equipped to run from 11-personnel, with Jordan Whittington and Nacua offering strong blocking against nickel packages.
The advantage of more tight ends is that it’s easier to muddy the picture on play action, and that proves effective on third downs and in the red zone, where the goal is to convert rather than to be explosive. Those are the only two areas of real concern on this Rams offense right now. And McVay said after the game that he has to get more of his offensive pieces involved than just Nacua and Davante Adams.
Ferguson’s first career touchdown was a nice sign, as was a career-high 49 percent snap share. After the game, I asked him where he’s grown the most.
“Blocking is a big thing, just learning from some of the guys like Higs (Tyler Higbee), from Colby (Parkinson), from D.A. (Davis Allen), those guys have taught me so much about understanding the game,” Ferguson said.
The tight end transition is as difficult as any for NFL rookies because it stresses them athletically, mentally and physically. Ferguson has the first piece and is gaining ground on the second. The third usually takes a player’s first true offseason training as an NFL player and not a scouting combine. So, expect an uptick and a more designed passing game role, but not for him to just become this team’s top tight end just yet.
The Rams usually take care of these things in the offseason, but has there been any indication that they plan on working out a deal with Quentin Lake when the time comes? — Master Broshi
I sense the Rams are going to let a lot of things play out this season because it’s currently hard to live too far beyond it. Given where Stafford was at this time last offseason, between the contract negotiation, trade rumors and his back injury, it’s been a pleasant surprise to see him excelling at this level. It places a greater emphasis on what the Rams are trying to accomplish this season, as well as raises more questions about how much longer he will play. That’s impossible to know right now. But it’s going to set the agenda for so much.
Lake is one of two safeties the Rams currently have in a contract year, along with Kam Curl. It stands to reason that they’ll bring one back and let one walk, to ensure having a veteran at a leadership position while also dipping into a draft-and-develop market that has worked well for them at this spot.
Lake is playing like a guy you can’t let leave the building, as I argued after his two-turnover performance against the Baltimore Ravens. He followed that up with another sack, forced fumble and two pass deflections against the Jaguars. He’s just ascending each week, from a force in the run defense to a playmaker on the ball to a guy forcing turnovers, as if he’s adding a layer of knowledge and confidence with each step he takes.
Players tend to sign for money in their first veteran contracts because so little is guaranteed in this game, and Lake is coming off a sixth-round-slotted rookie deal. But this is a great potential marriage because Lake is a captain, a perfect fit in the scheme and also someone who has spent the past 15 years in this city. The Rams let many defenders and especially safeties walk, but this deal makes plenty of sense for both sides.
What is the real status of Rob Havenstein? Is he close to returning or is Sean McVay exaggerating that? — EE
Here’s what McVay said when I asked about Havenstein on Friday:
“He wants to be out there more than anybody, and he’s such a great leader,” McVay said. “He’s got such a good vibe. He’s frustrated because he wants to be out there working with his teammates, but he’s been leading in the meantime.
“We are hopeful that this time off will serve him well. He’s played a lot of snaps in this league, and so that ankle has been bothering him a little bit. I think he’s such a warrior that he ended up fighting through, but our job is to protect him and put him in situations that are favorable for him and for the football team. We are hopeful that these last few weeks, in addition to having this week and the bye, allow him to be able to hit the ground running.”
Havenstein has been battling something with his ankle essentially all season. He played through it early on, but it was notable to see him on the wrong end of a pair of blocked field goals. The Rams tried giving him one or two rest days a week, but then they moved to Warren McClendon Jr. on a short week against the San Francisco 49ers, and they liked enough of what they saw to extend the break.
The bye week will equate to a month off for Havenstein. McClendon is bringing enough in pass protection to feel good about at the moment, but it would help to have Havenstein’s experience against certain rushers and his ability to work combination blocks with Kevin Dotson and the tight ends. So that’s the hope.
