Random Ramsdom: Projecting who may play in preseason and who might not

The Rams Week 1 game against the Seahawks is approaching at rapid speeds now! We still need to get through the cocoon that is the preseason, so that we can finally see the beautiful butterfly that is the NFL regular season. It is expected that the Los Angeles Rams will take a different approach to preseason and will play some players who will be counted on when LA takes on the Seattle Seahawks to open the season.

Matthew Stafford, Cooper Kupp and Aaron Donald are not expected to play preseason, but everyone else? Your guess is as good as mine. Please let us know some players you expect to play this preseason or let us know some surprise players who may not see a snap until the games really count!

As always, thanks for checking out our links and please comment on anything you’d like below!

Predicting who will rest and who will play for the Rams in the preseason (ramswire)

Not likely to play much

WR Van Jefferson

WR Tutu Atwell

RB Cam Akers

LB Ernest Jones

CB Cobie Durant

S Jordan Fuller

WR Ben Skowronek

CB Ahkello Witherspoon

S John Johnson III

While these players vary in NFL experience, they’re all expected to be meaningful contributors this season. Thus, McVay is unlikely to keep them on the field for a significant amount of the preseason.

Witherspoon and Johnson have played enough football that they don’t need a lot of preseason preparation, except for maybe learning the Rams defense a bit more before the season begins.

Durant is entering his first season as a full-time starter so he could use some additional reps ahead of Week 1. Jefferson is on the fringe of being in the first tier of guys who will definitely sit out, and given his knee situation, it’s possible the Rams will keep him out of action altogether.

Atwell, Akers, Jones, Fuller and Skowronek have all played meaningful snaps or have gained enough experience to where they don’t need a lot of preseason reps. Considering the Rams rested Atwell last preseason, he could get the rest treatment again.

2024 NFL Mock Draft: Rams Use First-Round Pick on QB (fannation/ramsdigest)

“So while Stafford and the Rams will be together for a third season in 2023, the future of their relationship beyond this season is far from certain. (Although unless the quarterback himself retires, it would likely take some sort of restructure for the Rams to trade Stafford, because the financials make it almost impossible to release him anytime soon.)

Given the uncertain future of Stafford, 24/7 Sports recently projected that the Rams will select Tennessee quarterback Joe Milton with the No. 10 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.

“In terms of overall arm strength, Joe Milton is in a category all by his lonesome,” 24/7 Sports wrote. “He does not have the reps and experience most of the top-end prospects will have at the position, but Milton drew substantial buzz from NFL types. Remember the intrigue behind Florida’s Anthony Richardson and Kentucky’s Will Levis last cycle? Milton has a similar trajectory. He gets so much torque through a strong lower and upper body that there’s noticeable juice — and distance — on his throws.”

4 L.A. Rams players on training camp roster bubble (ramblinfan)

1. Tanner Ingle, S

At safety, the Rams recently signed John Johnson to come in and more than likely start next to Jordan Fuller. Behind those two, right now, Los Angeles has Quentin Lake and Russ Yeast. From there, though it’s pretty wide open.

The Rams have a couple of undrafted free agents competing for what will probably be the final safety spot on the roster. One of them is Tanner Ingle out of North Carolina State, while the other is Quindell Johnson out of Memphis.

In his final collegiate season, Ingle gave up an impressive 76.5 quarterback rating while notching a pair of interceptions and pass breakups.

Ingle has been said to have had a greater impact on the Rams defense than fellow undrafted rookie Johnson, therefore Ingle might squeeze onto the roster as the fifth and final safety in this group. There is still plenty of time, though, and these guys will ultimately make their biggest impressions during the preseason.

Betting: How do you value Rams this season? (sports.yahoo.com)

“The Rams find themselves right in the middle of a division with two very strong playoff teams from last year and the projected worst team in football. As bad as things got for LA last season, they were still able to win five games and I’m confident that that’s probably going to be enough to finish ahead of the Cardinals again, who go into the season with Colt McCoy at quarterback. The Rams will stay out of the basement, but don’t think they have the depth to compete with Seattle or San Francisco who could both be 10 win teams.

From a roster perspective, the Rams are running it back after not having much money in free agency or a first round pick. I don’t see how they keep Matt Stafford healthy this year. They have a bottom three pass blocking offensive line. They get Cooper Kupp back, which is going to be a massive boost. So I do think the offense will be better.

With the Seahawks and 49ers entrenched at the top of the division and Arizona at the very bottom, anything between 5 or 9 wins slides the Rams into third place. That’s a pretty big window for -130 odds. Bet the Rams for third place in the NFC West.”