The Los Angeles Rams held a joint practice with the Chargers at the nearby Jack Hammett Sports Complex in Costa Mesa on Thursday, the first of two sessions between L.A.’s teams. Unlike in 2017, there were no scuffles or fights at practice, which was an emphasis of Sean McVay heading into this day of work.
The two sides first went through individual workouts separately before coming together for team drills. They began with 7-on-7 red zone sessions, which the Chargers showed well in, and then split up for 11-on-11 reps.
Here are notes and takeaways from practice, which was shown live on NFL Network.
Notes
- Mike Thomas had a good day of practice, filling in for Brandin Cooks after his hamstring tightened up. He made a nice leaping catch along the sideline in front of a defender on an out route, coming down with the contested grab.
- McVay didn’t seem concerned about Cooks’ hamstring, saying it just “got a little bit tight” so the Rams pulled him off the field as a precautionary measure. According to Vincent Bonsignore of The Athletic, Dakota Allen and Ogbonnia Okoronkwo were also held out of practice.
- Cory Littleton got beat by running back Justin Jackson on two consecutive plays, one of which went for a touchdown.
- It was only one rep, but Melvin Ingram made Andrew Whitworth look silly. He beat the veteran left tackle with an outside fake before cutting to the inside, barely getting touched by Whitworth on his way by.
- Todd Gurley was a full participant, working with the first-team offense. Cooper Kupp’s workload was lighter, which McVay says was intentional. He wanted to get a feel for the speed and intensity of practice before throwing Kupp out there.
Takeaways
Second-team O-line remains a fluid situation
Good luck trying to figure out who will be the backups on the offensive line this season. Joseph Noteboom was the fill-in for Andrew Whitworth earlier in the week when the veteran got the day off, but his normal starting spot is left guard. On Thursday, the Rams trotted out their second-team offensive line, which consisted of this group.
Later in practice, undrafted rookie Chandler Brewer took over at left tackle, which moved David Edwards inside to left guard. Jamil Demby also stepped in for Aaron Neary at center on those reps.
It’s somewhat surprising to see Edwards, not Bobby Evans working at left tackle with the second-team offense. Edwards exclusively played right tackle at Wisconsin, while Evans played left tackle in 2018.
Tight ends stood out against the Chargers
It was a solid showing for the Rams’ tight ends against the Chargers. Tyler Higbee broke free early in practice for a huge gain as Jared Goff hit him in stride with a perfect pass. In red zone drills, Gerald Everett hauled in a touchdown grab in the back of the end zone.
Again, it was a great throw by Goff to drop it over the second-level defenders and into Everett’s hands.
Both Everett and Higbee haver performed well in training camp, which makes it tough to sort out who will be the primary starter at tight end. Both are capable of playing significant reps, but Everett offers more upside as a receiver.
Having two starting-caliber tight ends is never a bad thing, and that’s exactly what Los Angeles has.
Sebastian Joseph-Day remains the front-runner at NT
Once again, it was Joseph-Day getting first-team reps at nose tackle, not Greg Gaines. He lined up between Aaron Donald and Michael Brockers, along with Dante Fowler Jr. and Clay Matthews playing OLB.
Joseph-Day has received rave reviews from reporters in attendance all week, as well as coaches. He’s the clear No. 1 guy at nose tackle right now, though there’s still time for the rookie Gaines to catch up. They both should see a lot of playing time in the preseason as the Rams sort this position out.
