Rams add Italian o-line prospect with practice squad exemption

Coming from the college ranks, Rams offensive line coach Kevin Carberry is probably used to molding huge people into NFL prospects. Carberry, who spent the last few years at Stanford, even saw a couple of his players get drafted this year, while a third signed a UDFA deal with the Ravens.

At the pro level, there isn’t any molding left to be done on veterans like Andrew Whitworth (I’m sure he’s always working to get better though), but Carberry will have plenty of projects to work on.

One who joined the team this week is Max Pircher, a 6’7, 300 lb right tackle out of Italy, though he has spent the last year playing in Germany. As noted by Cameron DaSilva on Rams Wire, the Rams plan to bring Pircher into camp and then will be able to place him as an extra player on the practice squad thanks to a new exemption by the league.

There were four players in total who got the exemption for taking part in the 2021 International Player Pathway Program: Pircher to the Rams, LB Aaron Donker (Germany) to the Seahawks, OL Alfredo Gutierrez (Mexico) to the 49ers, and TE Bernhard Seikovits (Austria) to the Cardinals.

According to the league’s release, Pircher has been training alongside NFL players and draft hopefuls at IMG Academy in Florida.