Random Ramsdom: New Rams DT Larrell Murchison was wanted by multiple teams

New Rams DT Larrell Murchison was a popular player on the waiver wire (ramswire)

“The Los Angeles Rams were in search of defensive line help after losing Aaron Donald, A’Shawn Robinson and now Marquise Copeland to injuries recently, and they found it on the waiver wire. They claimed Larrell Murchison off waivers from the Titans and he was a popular player after becoming available.

According to Field Yates of ESPN, the Lions and Seahawks also put in waiver claims for Murchison. However, because the Rams were fourth in the waiver order, they had priority over both teams and were awarded Murchison off waivers.

Murchison is in his third NFL season and has played five games this year, only making two tackles. He started five games for the Titans last year and had eight total tackles.”

Baker Mayfield set to start for Rams vs. Packers on Monday night (nfl.com)

“Mayfield is set to make his first start for Los Angeles in Week 15, as head coach Sean McVay told reporters Tuesday that John Wolford will “probably” not play against Green Bay due to a neck injury.

With the 2022 season essentially over for the Rams, wide receiver Cooper Kupp (ankle) likely will not return to the field in 2022, McVay added. Defensive tackle Aaron Donald (ankle) remains week to week, per McVay, though it would be understandable if the Rams play it safe with the future Hall of Famer for the remainder of the year.

Mayfield joined Los Angeles early last week and had roughly 48 hours to digest enough of McVay’s playbook to be able to play. Wolford got the start, but played just one drive before Mayfield took over. Mayfield’s appearance in the same week in which the Rams claimed him was essentially unprecedented, yet he managed to learn enough of Los Angeles’ offense in two days to lead the Rams to a stunning comeback win. He threw a 23-yard touchdown pass to Van Jefferson with 10 seconds left in regulation to lift Los Angeles to a 17-16 win.”

Packers WR Romeo Doubs is expected to play vs Los Angeles Rams (acmepackingcompany)

“Green Bay Packers rookie receiver Romeo Doubs should make his return to the field on Monday Night Football against the Los Angeles Rams this week. According to The Athletic’s Matt Schneidman, Doubs is “fully expected” to play on Monday.

Doubs was on the field for the Packers’ workout on Tuesday, which is the first time we’ve seen Green Bay’s team on the field since their game against the Chicago Bears two weeks ago. Due to the Monday Night Football game, the Packers practiced on their typical day off. As quarterback Aaron Rodgers explained it on The Pat McAfee Show on Tuesday, the team is treating Tuesday like a Monday due to their game being played a day later in the week.

In theory, that means that Green Bay’s Thursday practice will act as their Wednesday practice, which is the first day on which they need to release their injury report to the league. There was no injury report today, but the beat reporters taking attendance noted that left tackle David Bakhtiari, who had an emergency appendectomy two weeks ago, was the only Packer who was not practicing on Tuesday. This means that both Doubs (ankle) and safety Darnell Savage (foot) were there for the walkthrough workout.”

Sean McVay shuts down idea of Cooper Kupp playing again this season (ramswire)

“Yeah, you won’t see Cooper this year,” McVay said. “Aaron (Donald), there’s a still a possibility, but Cooper I would be hard pressed to see any scenario that he would play again this year.”

Back in Week 10 versus the Arizona Cardinals, Kupp suffered an ankle injury that would force him to exit the game. The reigning Super Bowl MVP would be diagnosed with a high-ankle sprain and he underwent surgery, giving him a 6-8 week timetable to return.

With the Rams not in playoff contention, there’s no reason for them to bring Kupp back and risk him reinjuring his ankle, especially since he’s already had two ankle injuries this season. After leading the NFL in receptions (145), receiving yards (1,947), and receiving touchdowns (16) in 2021, Kupp will conclude this season with 75 receptions, 812 yards, and six touchdowns.

Besides Kupp, Allen Robinson is also out for the rest of the season at the wide receiver position. So with Kupp and Robinson officially out for the rest of the year, guys like Van Jefferson, Tutu Atwell, Ben Skowronek, and Brandon Powell will continue to see expanded roles.”

Watch: Spanish radio call of Baker Mayfield’s game-winning drive is must-see (ramswire)

“Even if you’ve watched Baker Mayfield’s game-winning drive 10 times already, you’ll want to make it 11 because this new video of the drive is the best one yet.

The Rams released a video of Troy Santiago’s call for the team’s Spanish radio station, showing the wild ride of emotions he went through during the final possession – like so many other Rams fans did on Thursday night.

Santiago went nuts when Mayfield connected with Van Jefferson for the game-winner with 9 seconds left – and his reaction to Ben Skowronek’s 32-yard catch a few plays earlier was equally good.”

Baker Mayfield on Ben Skowronek’s clutch catch: ‘That’s a guy I’m gonna trust’ (ramswire)

“With Baker Mayfield under center, Skowronek caught a career-high seven passes for 89 yards – one more catch and 23 more yards than he’s had in any other game. The biggest play of the night came when Skowronek made a leaping grab over a Raiders defender for a gain of 32 yards on the Rams’ game-winning drive, giving them a fighting chance late in the fourth quarter.

Mayfield spoke to Peter King about the whirlwind that was his first 48 hours with the Rams, and he pointed to Skowronek’s catch as a defining play – and also one that gives him confidence throwing No. 18’s way.

“Those are the moments in a two-minute drill, somebody’s gotta make a play,” Mayfield said. “Catching it right on top of the DB’s head, with the safety bearing down on him? That’s a guy I’m gonna trust, a lot.”

NFL Power Rankings, Week 15: Brock Purdy-led 49ers vault to No. 2; surging Lions crack top 10! (nfl.com)

“The top 10 is getting weird again.

It’s been a chaotic campaign in the upper reaches of the NFL Power Rankings, where only a few teams have managed to maintain top-10 residence for the duration of the season. A year that began with the likes of the Rams, Bucs, Packers and Broncos in the Power Rankings’ version of first class has shifted in surprising ways and made way for erstwhile have-nots like the Jets, Giants, Dolphins — and now even the Lions.

And so, while I continue to have faith (to varying degrees) in the Stacked Six — Eagles, 49ers, Bengals, Bills, Chiefs, Cowboys — the back end of the top 10 has turned into a revolving door of mystery and intrigue.

Who will be the next team to crash this wine-and-cheese party? Stay tuned.”

NFL Week 15 picks: Bills destroy Dolphins, Titans upset Chargers, Jets and Giants both lose (cbssports)

“If I learned one thing about Week 14, it’s that Tom Brady has every other team in the NFL right where he wants them.

Sure, his team just got plastered by the 49ers 35-7, but that could actually be good news for Brady. The game on Sunday marked just the fourth time in his career that he’s lost a game by 27 points or more and the previous three times it happened, Brady went on to WIN THE SUPER BOWL. Brady is playing 4-D chess while we’re all playing Boggle.

I see what Brady’s doing and I’m not going to fall for it, so from now on, I won’t be picking the Buccaneers to lose another game. Actually, wait, I just looked at my Week 15 picks and I’m definitely not picking them to win on Sunday. I’m going to have to re-think this whole thing.

Anyway, let’s get to the Week 15 picks before I talk myself back into picking Brady this week.”