Clay Matthews has been out since he broke his jaw against the Seahawks in Week 5. He was leading the team with six sacks in his first five games, nearly doubling his total from last season with the Packers.
His loss was a significant one for the Rams, but the defense will be getting him back very soon. The plan all along has been for Matthews to return after the Week 9 bye, and he remains on track to do just that.
During his press conference on Monday, Sean McVay was asked whether Matthews will suit up against the Steelers on Sunday afternoon.
“That’s the anticipation, yes,” McVay said.
His participation level will be worth watching throughout the week, as it’s possible the Rams will ease him back into action when the team practices for the first time on Wednesday.
“I think, really, it’s just kind of getting him back into normal routine, seeing how he’s feeling,” McVay said. “Everything’s checked out in a positive manner up to this point, so I think it’s just kind of progressing back to, ‘How comfortable do you feel putting a helmet on?’ Some of the collisions that naturally would occur and just kind of trusting that you’re nice and secure in that absence of some of that stuff that kind of kept it in place and helped it heal over the last couple weeks.”
Samson Ebukam replaced Matthews in the starting lineup while the veteran was out, but second-year pass rusher Ogbonnia Okoronkwo also helped fill in as a rotational player at outside linebacker. Okoronkwo has played well in limited snaps, but he hasn’t done enough to unseat Matthews as a starter, nor has Ebukam.
Expect Matthews to take back his usual role opposite Dante Fowler Jr. on Sunday against the Steelers, giving the Rams a deep rotation of pass rushers on the edge.
