Los Angeles Rams organized team activities No. 5 open thread

The Los Angeles Rams hit the halfway point in organized team activities (OTAs) today with OTA #5. There’s another session tomorrow before a break and then Monday through Thursday next week wraps things up ahead of the following week’s optional mandatory minicamp.

After that?

We wait for training camp.

Injuries/no-shows

Two notable updates here, one less worrisome than the other.

CB Aqib Talib was absent for personal reasons. He had already let the team know, so no issue there.

But WR Brandin Cooks was held out because of soreness in his groin. While it was more precautionary than anything, it’s worth keeping in the back of the mind as we get through the summer process. Nagging injuries can flare up either in repeated ways or turn into something worse. Let’s hope Cooks, who’s headed into a contract year, doesn’t have any issues from here on out.

Performance

Maybe the most interesting takeaway yesterday was that 2018 NFL Draft seventh-round rookie EDGE Justin Lawler was practicing with the first unit in the absence of OLB Morgan Fox who injured his ACL. HC Sean McVay also mentioned Matt Longacre and Samson Ebukam in his press availability after practice. While it’s still too early to make any proclamations about a depth chart as fluid as the OLB one is for the Rams, it’s certainly an interesting nugget.

Odds and Ends

The one thing I’d note here is the condensing of the practice schedule.

Last week was Monday-Tuesday-Thursday. This week, it’s Tuesday-Wednesday-Thursday with no break in between. And next week is Monday-Tuesday-Wednesday-Thursday.

Ramping up...