Getty Darrell Henderson of the Los Angeles Rams tries to break loose from a tackle against the Seattle Seahawks during a December 2020 game.
Another scare crept over the Los Angeles Rams practice facility on Monday, August 23, involving their running back group: Darrell Henderson leaving practice early.
Henderson, who is projected to be the lead running back in the absence of Cam Akers, sustained a thumb injury at the team’s Thousand Oaks site near the Cal Lutheran campus.
Darrell Henderson hurt his thumb, per McVay (who is literally just off the field) and he doesn’t have a sense of how bad it is/next steps yet. Henderson did not return to practice.
It is not determined how Henderson injured his thumb. The Rams held a non-full padded practice session from what Rams Twitter videos showed.
Stepping into game week ‼️ @Jr_Reed1
.@jakefunk34 lookin’ just like 🕺
However, there was some good news that surfaced at 5:35 p.m. PT. via Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network.
#Rams RB Darrell Henderson, who left practice early with a thumb injury, did not suffer a major injury, source said. Just a slight sprain.
Rams beat reporter Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic also confirmed the thumb sprain, reporting there was no ligament damage.
A source was able to confirm that RB Darrell Henderson sprained his thumb and there is no ligament damage. According to the source, Henderson is day to day; he left today’s practice partway through and did not return.
Will Henderson Be Ready for Season Opener?
Obviously, news like this strikes fear into the heart of Ram fans. Especially after witnessing the following happen to their RB group already:
- Akers losing his entire 2021 season with a torn Achilles he suffered during a workout before training camp.
- Raymond Calais sustaining a foot fracture that will require surgery. Calais was one of three Rams waived on Monday per the team’s transaction page.
- The Rams currently down to three active and healthy backs for their final preseason game on Saturday at Denver: Xavier Jones, Jake Funk (who had two ACL surgeries during his college career) and undrafted rookie Otis Anderson Jr. who saw more snaps against the Raiders on Saturday.
Good news though, Henderson is considered day-to-day.
Miami based MD Jesse Morse, who specializes in sports, family and regenerative medicine, tweeted out what he believed is the diagnosis of Henderson’s thumb.
All signs do indicate that the Rams will have Henderson ready for the September 12 season opener on Sunday Night Football against the visiting Chicago Bears.
Online reactions of relief began to plaster on Twitter, which includes this one-word post from ESPN Senior Fantasy Football Analyst Matthew Berry.
Plus Pro Football Focus analyst Jack Cavanagh giving the Robert Downey Jr. touch.
McVay Addresses RB Room and the Injuries
Head coach Sean McVay was one of two Ram representatives who addressed the media following the Monday practice session. McVay, at the time, wasn’t sure of the extent of Henderson’s thumb injury. He did address the Calais injury/release.
“You feel terrible for him,” McVay said to the L.A. media. “He was doing a really nice job and you know it’s a bummer that that really occurred. I was really pleased with the progress that he had made and he had put so much work with coach (Thomas Brown).”
McVay, though, remains confident in the remaining members of the RB room.
“We feel good about the group that we have right now,” McVay said. “We’re going to continue to evaluate it. But thought both Jake and Xavier showed some really good things and we know the confidence we have in Darrell.”
As it is, McVay saw positives from the Rams’ improved running attack from the Raiders’ game, which went from averaging three yards per carry in the 13-6 loss to the L.A. Chargers to improving to 4.8 yards a carry against the Raiders.
“I thought they both (Jones and Funk) did a nice job making plays with the ball in their hands. I thought Jake had some good, tough runs early on where he kind of created on his own,” McVay said. “And then I thought Xavier made some good plays in the passing game. I thought as he got some more touches, you could feel he got into the rhythm of the game, and it’s positive from both those guys.”