St. Louis Rams: Who Gets Left Off the Gameday Roster Against Seattle Seahawks?
After having the luxury of dressing as many players as they so desired for their four preseason games, the St. Louis Rams will have to confront one of the regular season’s weekly challenges for the first time on Sunday, when they open up against the Seattle Seahawks. They’ll have to assemble a 46-man gameday roster and sit down seven players, and while that’s made easier due to a multitude of injuries, it will still be a game of strategy in order to decide which players can most reasonably be removed without weakening the lineup.
There always seems to be a surprise or two among the inactives when the Rams kick off the regular season, but here’s an early guess at who the unfortunate seven may be on Sunday against Seattle:
QB Sean Mannion- Mannion’s a logical choice to sit, as he’s the third quarterback on the Rams’ depth chart, and the odds of both Nick Foles and Case Keenum being injured in the same game are extremely slim. Even if that were to happen, the Rams have arguably the most capable emergency quarterback in the league in punter Johnny Hekker, so there’s really no scenario in which it makes sense to dress Mannion. Other than in cases where the Rams have had a quarterback dealing with an injury, the team has always included the third-string quarterback on the inactive list.
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RB Tre Mason– Mason didn’t practice on Wednesday as he continues to recover from a hamstring injury. While the Rams would surely love to have him back to bolster the running game, it seems extremely unlikely that he’ll suit up Sunday seeing as he’s been sidelined since August 29. Benny Cunningham looks to be the Rams’ top option in the backfield against Seattle, with Isaiah Pead positioned to be his backup.
RB Todd Gurley- The news has now emerged that Gurley will miss at least three weeks of the regular season as he continues to make his way back from the torn ACL that prematurely ended his final season at Georgia. The Rams are taking it as slow as possible with the 10th overall pick in this year’s draft, and he’s the only player that’s officially ruled out for Sunday’s game.
LB Daren Bates– Bates hasn’t participated in any football activities since suffering an MCL sprain in the Rams’ preseason opener on August 14, so he’ll almost surely miss Sunday’s game. The special teams captain’s absence will give rookies Bryce Hager and Cameron Lynch the opportunity to shine as special teamers in their respective NFL debuts.
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OL Andrew Donnal- Donnal has been sidelined for the past several weeks as he recovers from surgery to clean up an infection in his hand. Even if he were healthy, though, the rookie fourth-rounder would be a likely candidate to serve as an inactive, since he’s still gaining strength and getting acclimated in anticipation of a future role as a swingman along the Rams’ line.
OG Cody Wichmann- After missing most of training camp with a leg injury, Wichmann was surprisingly included on the Rams’ 53-man roster to start the season. Despite his recent return to health, the rookie sixth-rounder is unlikely to be a member of the gameday roster, as he does not have the same level of versatility or experience as Garrett Reynolds and Demetrius Rhaney, who figure to be the team’s top two backup linemen as the Rams begin the season.
DL Ethan Westbrooks– This last spot is a toss-up between Westbrooks and rookie swing tackle Darrell Williams; I’m figuring that Williams will be active on Sunday since guards Rodger Saffold and Jamon Brown are both making their way back from injury and could re-aggravate their ailments at any point. The Rams learned last season against the Kansas City Chiefs that having three active linemen in reserve is a good idea, as Saffold, left tackle Jake Long, and center Scott Wells were all knocked during the game with injuries.
For the most part, the Rams have only dressed three defensive tackles during Jeff Fisher‘s tenure, though one of the few teams against which they’ve frequently used four has been Seattle, due to their ground-and-pound offense. With Nick Fairley serving as a backup and ends William Hayes and Eugene Sims occasionally rushing from the interior on passing downs, though, the Rams should be well-covered enough at DT that they can afford to play without Westbrooks. It’s also possible, however, that Fairley could be the inactive on Sunday, as he’s dealt with a collarbone injury in recent weeks and may not be back to full health by Sunday.