After a quiet start to the week for the Los Angeles Rams, they were busy tweaking their roster on Wednesday and Thursday. They lost a handful of starters – most notably Michael Brockers, Dante Fowler and Cory Littleton – but brought back two key pieces on the offensive line with Andrew Whitworth and Austin Blythe. They also declined Nickell Robey-Coleman’s option, making him a free agent.
On Wednesday, they added Leonard Floyd and A’Shawn Robinson to replace Fowler and Brockers, but the real fireworks came on Thursday just before 4 p.m. ET. That’s when they released Todd Gurley and Clay Matthews.
Cutting Gurley was a surprise, but as was the case with Matthews, the Rams needed cap space and saw that as a path to creating some.
That leaves the depth chart looking very different than it did last year, particularly on defense. There’s only one new starter on offense, but six new faces on defense are projected to be at the top of the stack at their respective positions.
Offense
| Position | Starter | Backup | Reserve | Reserve |
| QB | Jared Goff | John Wolford | ||
| RB | Darrell Henderson | Malcolm Brown | John Kelly | |
| WR | Brandin Cooks | Josh Reynolds | ||
| WR | Robert Woods | |||
| Slot WR | Cooper Kupp | Nsimba Webster | Greg Dortch | |
| TE | Tyler Higbee | Gerald Everett | Johnny Mundt | Kendall Blanton
Ethan Wolf |
| LT | Andrew Whitworth | Joe Noteboom | ||
| LG | Joe Noteboom | Austin Corbett | Jeremiah Kolone | |
| C | Brian Allen | Austin Blythe | Coleman Shelton | Nate Trewyn |
| RG | Austin Blythe | Jamil Demby | Chandler Brewer | |
| RT | Rob Havenstein | Bobby Evans |
Darrell Henderson is likely to take over for Gurley at running back, though Malcolm Brown is also under contract and could contribute at that spot, too. The Rams still have the draft, too, where they could add a complementary piece to the backfield.
The only position on the offensive line that’s settled is left tackle with Whitworth. Every other spot will likely be decided in training camp as a large group of youngsters will compete for starting jobs up front.
The wide receiving corps and tight end rooms remain unchanged, but a trade involving Brandin Cooks could still happen and would shake things up even more.
Defense
| Position | Starter | Backup | Reserve | Reserve |
| DT | Aaron Donald | Tanzel Smart | ||
| NT | Sebastian Joseph-Day | Greg Gaines | ||
| DE | A’Shawn Robinson | Marquise Copeland | ||
| ROLB | Ogbonnia Okoronkwo | Samson Ebukam | Natrez Patrick | Jachai Polite |
| ILB | Travin Howard | Kenny Young | ||
| ILB | Micah Kiser | Troy Reeder | ||
| LOLB | Leonard Floyd | Justin Lawler | Jeff Holland | |
| LCB | Jalen Ramsey | Darious Williams | ||
| RCB | Troy Hill | Adonis Alexander | ||
| NCB | David Long | |||
| FS | John Johnson III | Nick Scott | ||
| SS | Taylor Rapp | Jake Gervase |
On defense, there are a lot of new starters with Brandon Staley taking over as the defensive coordinator. He’s likely had a say in the Rams’ moves on that side of the ball, particularly with Floyd being a former player of his.
Floyd will replace Matthews as the strongside outside linebacker, while Ogbonnia Okoronkwo, Samson Ebukam, Natrez Patrick and Jachai Polite will compete on the other side. A rookie is expected to be added to this group, too.
David Long Jr. steps in for Robey-Coleman in the slot, most likely, while Micah Kiser and Travin Howard are projected to be the top linebackers at the moment. Kenny Young could also compete for a starting role, too.
A’Shawn Robinson can play nose tackle and defensive end, but we’re projecting him to replace Brockers at DE right now, with Sebastian Joseph-Day and Greg Gaines competing at the nose. Joseph-Day is also a candidate to play DE.
The Rams’ roster looks fairly different than it did this time last year, but that’s often the case after the first wave of free agency. There’s a chance players such as Marqui Christian, Dont’e Deayon, Bryce Hager, Blake Bortles and Morgan Fox will return as free agents, but they remain on the market for now.
