Rams’ Mason Brodine Done for Season with Fractured Ankle

After Friday night’s preseason-opening loss to the New Orleans Saints, St. Louis Rams head coach Jeff Fisher announced that tight end/defensive lineman Mason Brodine is out for the season with a fractured ankle. Brodine suffered the injury in the first half of Friday’s game after being run into while blocking on the kickoff return unit.

It’s an unfortunate development for Brodine, arguably the greatest physical specimen on the roster at 6-foot-7 and 284 pounds. He’s spent the past two seasons as a defensive lineman on the practice squad, adding strength to his frame and waiting for a spot to end up on the roster. After the Rams added several new defensive lineman to their collection this offseason, Brodine began transitioning to the tight end position. He’d had some nice moments during training camp and looked surprisingly solid as a receiver. With the action Brodine had been getting on special teams thus far, it looked like he had a decent shot to finally crack the 53-man roster.

Presumably, he’ll be waived/injured to create a space on the 90-man roster for another player, but it would make sense for the Rams to bring him back once he clears and place him on injured reserve. He can continue to learn the tight end position and try to battle for a spot again next season. With his injury, the battle for a possible fourth tight end position is down to undrafted free agent Alex Bayer and second-year player Justice Cunningham, who also suffered a minor injury during Friday night’s game.