Rams will likely need to release or designate 9 players on standby soon

The Los Angeles Rams have a kicking competition between three players, a backup quarterback competition between three players, and 22 undrafted rookie free agents.

That’s maybe where they can begin to sort out which nine players will need to be released or put on standby without ever getting a chance to look at them in 2020 training camp as the NFL and NFLPA reportedly agree to camp rosters of 80 players rather than the usual 90 to create a safer environment amid the coronavirus pandemic.

As of Wednesday, the Rams website lists 89 players on the roster.

Where will Sean McVay turn to as he prepares to comply for a training camp with 10 fewer players than usual? Los Angeles seems to be at a slight disadvantage this time around thanks to the three-person kicking competition between Austin MacGinnis, Lirim Hajrullahu, and Sam Sloman, rather than the usual one spot used on veteran Greg Zuerlein since 2012. They also have three unproven players fighting it out to backup Jared Goff as opposed to a veteran like Blake Bortles last season, however with camp multiple quarterbacks would be necessary anyhow.

Not that we are about to get a “normal” camp. And certainly not a normal preseason as that has been canceled, another reason teams will not need as many players this August.

It is also likely that because the Rams were so far up against the 2020 cap that nearly 25-percent of their roster is made up of rookie undrafted free agents. That does not even include the nine players who were drafted by McVay and Les Snead, meaning rookies are more like 33-percent of the roster.

Those rookies won’t be getting a preseason and some of them won’t even make it to day one of camp it seems.

On the bright side, it would seem that LA’s decision to stick with the offensive linemen they had last season rather than young players and new players may turn out to have been a fortunate decision, even if the unit was mostly disappointing a year ago.