Rams injury updates: Van Jefferson placed on IR, activate Jacob Harris from practice squad

Maybe Lance McCutcheon wasn’t such a surprising pick for the final 53-man roster after all. The Los Angeles Rams will never every wide receiver they can get and need to have Odell Beckham Jr.’s rehab under daily monitoring to see if he can re-sign any time soon.

That’s because the Rams officially placed Van Jefferson on injured reserve on Saturday, strangely waiting after almost three weeks to put the receiver on the list. By waiting until now, Jefferson will have to miss at least the next month before being eligible to be activated again. Sean McVay noted once that Jefferson has had no setbacks in his recovery process and yet he has gone from “day to day” to being placed on IR.

In corresponding moves, L.A. signed defensive back Grant Haley to the 53-man roster and activated Jacob Harris from the practice squad in time for Sunday’s game against the Arizona Cardinals.

The Rams also signed Keir Thomas to the practice squad, meaning he’s back in L.A. after being waived earlier this week to support a flurry of roster moves.

Going against the Cardinals on Sunday, the Rams will feature Cooper Kupp, Allen Robinson, and Ben Skowronek at receiver again. Placing Jefferson on IR does nothing to change what we’ve seen in 2022 because Jefferson hasn’t played in 2022. By most accounts, the receiver position should remain the same with Tutu Atwell and Brandon Powell serving as the fourth and fifth options, though neither has made many appearances so far.

A better question might be whether we get to see Lance McCutcheon run any routes this season or when Jefferson is out. Jacob Harris is likely called up for special teams duty, as was the case last week. But if there’s any injury at all to L.A.’s receiving corps that needs a big target, Harris could be called upon since McCutcheon is probably going to be inactive again.