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Yesterday, the Los Angeles Rams held their second day of minicamp which would prove to be their last when Head Coach Sean McVay decided to close up shop a day early:
Rams announce they have cancelled their final minicamp practice on Thursday. They are done until training camp.
— Alden Gonzalez (@Alden_Gonzalez) June 15, 2017
Nothing official from Rams, but McVay's decision to cancel last workout ostensibly a reward for good work through offseason.
— Gary Klein (@LATimesklein) June 15, 2017
It’s not an uncommon practice. Numerous teams have done this in years past, and even this year the Rams were joined by the Houston Texans who shut down camp early too. If coaches feel they’ve gotten what they needed out of camp, a decision often comes to close down motivated also by various studies that have shown that the final day of camp often hosts the most significant injuries.
So with the Rams’ first minicamp in more than a half decade, here are the big takeaways as the team will lay low for a month and half before breaking training camp in late July.
Healthy...Again
One of the most painful aspects of the Rams’ 2016 4-12 season was that they did it while being perhaps the healthiest team in the NFL. Put another way, they were fortunate to go 4-12. Had they incurred more injuries, either in quantity or severity, they would have played less talented players and, ostensibly, been even worse.
They’re nearly certain to not enjoy the same fortune on the injury front in 2017. This is a punishing sport physically. The Injured Reserve list exists for a reason. Here’s hoping we use it infrequently especially once we compose our 53-man roster.
That being said, the Rams exist camp in good shape. The only big injury of note is WR Tavon Austin who is still recovering from wrist surgery but should be good for training camp. That the Rams can enter camp with the entirety of their 90-man roster at full health is a boon that can’t be ignored.
Donald In The Building
DT Aaron Donald, perhaps the best player in the NFL in 2017, was a no-show during OTAs. Not so for minicamp.
Despite a lingering contract issue, Donald was working out with the team attacking innocent bystanding buildings:
VIDEO: Aaron Donald training @CVRamsClub pic.twitter.com/PhcDBaYshv
— Joe Curley (@vcsjoecurley) June 14, 2017
What did that building ever do to you, Aaron?
Goff Growing
Jared Goff gained 10 pounds, something he suggested there are benefits to:
Everywhere. I’ll give you an example. My freshman year to my sophomore year, I put on quite a few pounds. I kind of felt it in the pocket, the ability to kind of make one guy miss is a big deal. The ability to not get tackled by just a hand, by just a guy grabbing your jersey is a big deal. I think that’s where it will help the most.
Fine. Have your 10 pounds.
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand that was it. Because, you see, it was minicamp. No pads. NO PADS.
On to training camp. The Rams announced they’ll break camp in late July. Rookies will need to report on Wednesday, July 26; veterans will show up two days later. Training camp practices will kick off the next day, Saturday, July 29.