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The Los Angeles Rams find themselves near the middle of the NFL’s defensive rankings at 13th overall in average yards allowed per game.
Yet they find themselves in the middle of wondering if two pivotal members of their 2023 defense will be good to go for Sunday, October 29 against the Dallas Cowboys on the road.
Currently Limited for the Rams With Their Status Pending
Noted by Sean McVay at his Wednesday, October 25 press conference with the L.A. media, linebacker Ernest Jones and edge rusher Byron Young are currently being monitored for injuries.
In the case of Jones, he’s been dealing with a knee injury that limited him ahead of the Pittsburgh Steelers game. Jones still ended up playing but ended his home game snatching four tackles with one solo stop. But per Pro Football Focus, the 2021 third rounder and defensive captain was on the field for 47 snaps — the most among inside linebackers for the Rams.
Meanwhile, the rookie pass rusher Young was given 56 snaps against the Steelers. That was the second most on the team as three Rams — cornerbacks Decobie Durant, Ahkello Witherspoon and safety Jordan Fuller — were all given 58 snaps.
It’s not determined what Young’s injury is that will limit him in practice. He ended his outing with three solo stops and one tackle for a loss. He also added two quarterback hits on Kenny Pickett.
While both are being held to limited spots, McVay sent this message ahead of the Cowboys game on if both will be available.
“Don’t expect that to effect their game status,” McVay told reporters.
If both are fully healthy, it’ll become a huge boost for a team set to face one of the more prolific offenses in the NFL. Dallas is averaging 329.8 yards per game while scoring 25.7 points per game. In three of the Cowboys’ four wins, Dallas surpassed the 30-point mark.
McVay Addresses New Addition to Offense
Meanwhile, McVay also addressed a newcomer to the Rams coming to the offense — a new placekicker.
The team made the decision to release Brett Maher. In the process, the Rams when ahead and siphoned away Lucas Havrisik off the Cleveland Browns’ practice squad on Tuesday, October 24.
McVay not only addressed the arrival of Havrisik, but got asked if there was any apprehension with going with a kicker who is yet to kick in a regular season game.
“You’ve got to start somewhere, right,” McVay answered. “You look at all of these guys and you have to be able to give them some experience somewhere. So I don’t think that can make you gun shy. I think you want to be realistic about some of those spots.”
The other part of the plan for Havrisik, though, is an evaluation process with the former University of Arizona placekicker.
“I think we’ll evaluate how the week goes. We’ll see how Lucas does,” McVay said. “We got a couple of other guys you can potentially look at via the practice squad spots. And then we’ll make the best decision as it relates to how we approach Dallas.
Turns out a former Ram was instrumental in helping persuade the signing.
“Matt Gay’s feedback was something that weighed into it, as well, based on him being around him in Indianapolis,” McVay said. “All of those factors are things that go into it.”
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