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As if the Los Angeles Rams weren’t already heartbroken over their loss to the Seattle Seahawks on Thursday Night Football, they’ve now suffered a loss to their defensive line as edge Clay Matthews suffered a broken jaw and will need surgery, per Greg Beacham:
Whoa, Rams LB Clay Matthews broke his jaw late in the game. He needs surgery and he's going to be out for "an extended period of time," at least a month, Sean McVay says.
— Greg Beacham (@gregbeacham) October 4, 2019
This news is particularly unfortunate as Matthews has been a solid addition to a lackluster defensive line. Matthews has 19 tackles, six sacks, seven tackles-for-loss, and seven quarterback hits through five games in 2019.
With the injury being a serious one, Matthews is bound to miss a large amount of time, though it was unspecified as the staff claimed he’d be “out for an extended period of time”. Those types of statements generally lead to long absences.
Second-year edge Ogbonnia Okoronkwo is the most logical replacement as he’ll potentially reach his first active status on gameday this season, though Samson Ebukam will be next in-line for the most reps, with Ogbo coming off the bench.
The defensive line takes a big hit with Matthews set to miss time, with the potential for a star to be born as Ogbo Okoronkwo should finally get a shot to suit up.
UPDATE:
Matthews will be out 4-6 weeks:
Rams’ HC Sean McVay said LB Clay Matthews suffered a broken jaw last night vs. Seattle and will be out 4-6 weeks.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) October 4, 2019