The Los Angeles Rams will be without two key starters for tonight’s prime time matchup in Cleveland. The team confirmed that starting right guard Austin Blythe will miss this week’s game in addition to tight end Tyler Higbee, who was announced as out earlier in the week.
Blythe exited last week’s victory over the Saints with an ankle injury and is still recovering. It had seemed unlikely that Blythe would suit up this week, but his limited participation at Friday’s practice gave fans a fair amount of false hope.
With Blythe out, second-year lineman Jamil Demby will step in at right guard. Demby had a rough preseason, but played well filling in for Blythe last week and earned some praise from Sean McVay. The Rams have reason to be optimistic that Demby can hold down the fort for the time being with Blythe on the sidelines
Higbee suffered a chest injury last week and did not return from the locker room at halftime. He’ll be replaced by Gerald Everett, who is more than capable of stepping in as the full-time tight end. Tonight will be a big moment for the third-year tight end.
Aaron Donald had been listed as questionable heading into this game, but there was never any doubt that he would be active. Other inactives for the Rams include WR Nsimba Webster, OL Bobby Evans, DL Greg Gaines, LB Ogbonnia Okoronkwo, and CB David Long.
On the other side, the Cleveland Browns come into this game incredibly short-handed. They’ll be missing their entire starting secondary. Denzel Ward, Greedy Williams, Morgan Burnett, and Damarious Randall will all be sitting out with injuries tonight. They’ll also be without starting right tackle Chris Hubbard and key receiver Rashard Higgins. With Higgins out, former Ram KhaDarel Hodge will be active and may find some playing time.
The Browns will also be without tight end David Njoku, who was sent to the IR after last week’s victory over the Jets. The Browns are 1-1 and struggling to live up to their preseason expectations. The Rams shouldn’t have a problem taking care of business against a short-handed team in Cleveland.
