Phase III of offseason program, organized team activities begin for 2019 Los Angeles Rams

Welcome to Phase III of the offseason program for the 2019 Los Angeles Rams:

Phase Three consists of the next four weeks of the program. Teams may conduct a total of 10 days of organized team practice activity, or “OTAs”. No live contact is permitted, but 7-on-7, 9-on-7, and 11-on-11 drills are permitted.

Article 22 of the Collective Bargaining Agreement stipulates that clubs may hold one mandatory minicamp for veteran players. This minicamp...must occur during Phase Three of the offseason program.

A reminder of the schedule:

Phase III: May 20-June 16
OTAs: May 20-21, May 23, May 28-30, June 3-6
Optional mandatory minicamp: June 11-13

Ten OTAs and three minicamp days. That’s all the Rams have between today and training camp when it breaks in late July. Throw in training camp and a few weeks of three-day practice sessions and you’re looking at about 40 practices between today and Week 1 of the regular season.

So there’s a premium on using this time to make sure you get guys ready especially the younger more inexperienced players and ESPECIALLY the younger more inexperienced players that look to be in line for playing time.

Of course, the asterisk that looms here is injury. Already, we’ve seen the first victim claimed as former San Francisco 49ers and now Washington Injury Havers LB Reuben Foster was carted off earlier today. So light a candle, spill a drop of blood. Get your juju goin.

The offseason is in its final phase. Then we vacate. Then...we begin.