Los Angeles Rams tight end Tyler Higbee has been ruled out for Sunday night’s game in Cleveland, the team announced on Friday.
The decision does not come as a surprise. Higbee suffered a chest injury after a hard landing during the first half of the team’s victory against the Saints on Sunday. He played out the rest of the half before coughing up blood at halftime and was sent to the hospital rather than being sent back on the field.
Higbee was listed as questionable for most of the week before ultimately being ruled out of Week 3. It doesn’t appear that Higbee will be out for a long period of time, but as of now there’s no timetable for his return.
Expect to see a heavy dose of third-year tight end Gerald Everett under the bright lights of prime time on Sunday. Everett has been splitting snaps with Higbee for most of his career, and has been cutting into the gap in snaps as time has gone on.
The Rams have introduced two tight end sets, also known as “12 personnel,” into their offense this season. Without Higbee, we’ll likely see the team’s primary “11 personnel,” consisting of three receivers, one tight end and one running back, for the majority of Sunday’s game. It’s unlikely that McVay has any plans to run 12 personnel with Johnny Mundt instead of Higbee.
Everett is going to get a chance to prove he can be the team’s TE1.
