Rams claim LB Justin Hollins from Broncos to fill final roster spot

The Los Angeles Rams have claimed linebacker Justin Hollins from the Denver Broncos to fill their final spot on the final 53-man roster. The 24-year-old was a fifth round pick out of Oregon last year and played in 15 games as a rookie, making 21 tackles and one sack in 267 snaps on defense and 130 snaps on special teams.

The move reunited Hollins with Rams defensive coordinator Brandon Staley, who coached outside linebackers for the Broncos last season.

Denver attempted to move Hollins from outside linebacker to inside this past August but eventually couldn’t find a spot for him on the final roster, as he was waived on Saturday. The Broncos ended up keeping nine linebackers in total, including former Rams linebacker Mark Barron. The Broncos clearly did not find Hollins to be a great fit, as they kept journeymen like Barron, Austin Calitro and Jeremiah Attaochu but gave up on Hollins only one year after making him a fifth rounder.

Los Angeles has plenty of room at linebacker to give it a shot though after losing Travin Howard for the season and seeing rookie Terrell Lewis miss time with a knee injury.

The Rams only had 52 players on the roster after Saturday’s final cuts, so they won’t have to make a corresponding move to making Hollins fit on the team. Whether he’s a better fit with the Rams than he was with the Broncos remains to be seen.