St. Louis Rams Promote Brandon Washington to Active Roster

The St. Louis Rams filled the final vacancy on their 53-man roster Wednesday, promoting offensive lineman Brandon Washington from the practice squad to the active roster.

Washington, a 26-year-old product of the University of Miami, has spent the last three seasons in the Rams’ system. He was on the practice squad for his entire rookie season in 2012, then split time between the active roster and practice squad in 2013. He made his NFL debut in the season finale last year, seeing time from scrimmage at left guard.

Washington might have started this season on the active roster had it not been for an injury that caused him to miss much of training camp. Despite his lack of height, the 6-foot-2, 318-pounder is rather versatile and can play tackle as well as his natural position of guard, making him an intriguing option as a backup.

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Depending on the health status of the three currently injured Rams linemen—center Scott Wells, guard Rodger Saffold, and center Tim Barnes—Washington could suit up as a backup this Sunday in San Francisco. The Rams usually carry three extra offensive linemen on the 46-man gameday roster, so if one of the three aforementioned players has to sit out, Washington would be the next man up.

Though it’s always a tough road for practice squad players to end up being meaningful contributors in the NFL, it’s not completely out of the realm of possibilities that Washington could turn himself into a starting guard at some point. With Greg Robinson now likely to be the left tackle for years to come and current starter Davin Joseph unlikely to be in the Rams’ long-term plans, that will soon open up a starting guard spot that could be filled by a young player. With the Rams having kept Washington around as long as they have, it’s possible that they believe that he has a chance to end up being that player.

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