The Los Angeles Rams report to training camp next week with practices beginning on Saturday, July 27. The return of football is so close you can taste it, but for some players, their starts to training camp might be limited a bit.
The Rams are healthy at this point in the offseason, as are most teams, but there are a few players heading into camp with minor injury questions, which could delay their full participation in practice.
RB Todd Gurley
Gurley isn’t dealing with a major injury. It’s not as if he’s coming off a torn ACL or an ankle issue. Instead, he’s just trying to get his knee feeling good for camp and the upcoming season. It’s likely a matter of pain tolerance and management as he gears up to practice for the first time since last season after staying off the field all spring. The goal for the Rams is keeping him fresh for the length of the season, which starts with training camp.
WR Cooper Kupp
Kupp, meanwhile, is actually recovering from a torn ACL. He’s making good progress and will participate in camp but it remains to be seen how much and how early. He did individual drills in OTAs and minicamp and even got in some team sessions at half-speed, but the Rams are going to bring him along slowly and carefully. He’ll definitely be out there, but it’ll probably be in a limited capacity – at least early in the process.
OLB Samson Ebukam
Ebukam underwent minor knee surgery this offseason and is still on the comeback trail from that procedure. He said back in May that he feels “great, but I can’t really try to push it and try to get back on the field because it’s a knee.” The Rams haven’t said anything about Ebukam’s status for camp so it’s definitely something to monitor. He wore a red non-contact jersey in OTAs.
Notables
- Morgan Fox tore his ACL last May and was wearing a brace at minicamp, but he should be fully healthy for camp.
- Tyler Higbee wore a red non-contact jersey during spring practices, though the Rams never specified the reason for it.
- Joseph Noteboom was also in a red jersey this spring as a precaution, which was not clarified by Sean McVay.
- Kevin Peterson is coming off a torn ACL suffered in August but was on the field for OTAs and minicamp.
- Malcolm Brown was placed on IR late in the 2018 season with a shoulder injury. He said in March that he’s fully healthy, however.
- Dominique Hatfield finished 2018 on IR with an ankle injury. The Rams haven’t updated his status but there’s little reason to expect him to be limited.
