Getty Antoine Brooks Jr. following the Rams' playoff win over the Buccaneers on January 23, 2022.
With the conclusion of the NFL Draft comes some roster changes to clear space for the incoming new players — including the ones heading to the Los Angeles Rams.
And on Wednesday, May 4, plus four days after the final day of the draft, the Super Bowl 56 champions from general manager Les Snead on down announced some transactions to help clear the way for the newcomers.
The Rams have announced a waive/no recall on two players: Defensive back Antoine Brooks Jr. and running back Javian Hawkins.
LA Rams Transactions:
• Waived, No Recall DB Antoine Brooks Jr.
• Waived, No Recall RB Javian Hawkins
Brooks With the Rams
The 5-foot-11, 220-pound Brooks came over to the Rams via the Pittsburgh Steelers — the latter team drafted him in the sixth round of the 2020 draft.
Brooks ended up signing with the Rams during the ’21 season. He found his way onto the field through special teams. He ended up playing in 168 total snaps on the kickoff return, kickoff, punt return, punt coverage and six snaps on the field goal block team according to Pro Football Focus.
Brooks went on to deliver three total tackles, two coming against the Green Bay Packers in the 36-28 loss on November 28.
Brooks, who is naturally a safety, put together two games that saw him see the field on 23 snaps — the Packers game and the Week 9 loss at home to the Tennessee Titans won by the visitors 28-16.
Hawkins Never Got Carries
The 22-year-old Hawkins was originally added to the Rams’ practice squad on September 20, 2021.
The Louisville Cardinals running back first entered the league via the Atlanta Falcons as an undrafted free agent on May 3, 2021 as one of 20 college free agents who signed UDFA deals. He went on to carry the ball a combined 10 times for 48 yards in two preseason games.
The Falcons, however, released him on the day they added former first rounder and Ex-UCLA quarterback Josh Rosen on August 24.
Two days later, Hawkins got added to the Titans’ roster as one of three signings. Hawkins produced 10 carries for 49 yards in the Titans’ last preseason game of the 2021 August period.
But five days later, he was waived.
Once he signed with the Rams on September 21, he reunited with fellow Cardinals standout and the Rams’ top pick of the 2021 draft (No. 57 overall) Tutu Atwell. Hawkins, though, was never elevated to the active roster despite the myriad of injuries that occurred in the backfield. The Rams mostly operated with Sony Michel, Darrell Henderson, Jake Funk and, in the playoffs, Cam Akers.
After winning the Vince Lombardi Trophy, Hawkins signed a reserves/future contract with the Rams. But now, he’ll be searching for his fourth NFL team since his arrival to the league.
Rams Announce Other New Arrivals
On the day the Rams waived the safety/special teamer and running back, the team announced 20 new additions to the 2022 roster with rookie minicamp (May 13-15) on the horizon.
There will be 17 heading to the Rams’ Cal Lutheran site.
Among the players include west regional prospects: Guard Jack Snyder from San Jose State, wide receiver Lance McCutcheon of Montana State, safety Dan Isom of Washington State and outside linebacker Andrzej Hughes-Murray from Oregon State.
The complete list of UDFA additions are below:
Welcoming some new faces to LA! 🙌
We’ve agreed to terms with 17 undrafted free agents.
