5 problems the LA Rams are already dealing with in training camp

We have been talking about the 2024 LA Rams Training Camp quite a bit of late. Rightfully so, because the team has at a minimum refurbished the roster. And at the maximum, the team has reconstructed the defense to the specifications of new Defensive Coordinator Chris Shula, finally patched the holes on special teams for ST Coordinator Chase Blackburn, and certainly moved the offensive infrastructure much more closely to the comfort of OC Mike LaFleur.

On paper, this is a team that has a deep and balanced offense, a spirited and feisty defense, and some of the best special team specialists in the NFL. What could go wrong, right? Well, I hate to be the messenger, but things do go wrong in any NFL season. Oftentimes the team that is most successful wins by managing to avoid injuries, and dealing quickly with the issues that arise throughout the season.

Even as recently as 2023, this team availed itself to veteran reinforcements. The team signed veteran DB Ahkello Witherspoon and John Johnson III, RB Royce Freeman, WR Demarcus Robinson, and even traded with the Pittsburgh Steelers to acquire IOL Kevin Dotson. Only Witherspoon and Freeman are no longer with the team one year later.

Adversity does not obliterate this team. Rather, it forges and galvanizes the Rams roster with infusions of players who are grateful for the opportunity to compete for a winner, who are happy to show up every day and put forth their full effort, and who love to play football once more.

Players get injured. Not all 90 players earn a spot on the 53-man Rams roster. For true competition to exist, there are winners and losers. We will feature out nominees for Rams Training Camp Week 1 Winners and Losers soon enough. In the meantime, let's turn to the problems that the Rams are already facing in training camp.

And keep in mind throughout the article that the team is masterful and converting adversity into positive opportunities.

(5) - Rams Training Camp forced to manage multiple player workloads

Perhaps the toughest part of any training camp is experiencing the limits and fragility of the human body once again. As long as we are focused on the addition of players, we can limit that focus to their potential, in-game performances, and the thrilling upside of a full season's on-field production. We needn't concern ourselves with workload management. Nagging injuries. And slow-stepping rehabilitation of formerly injured players.

But now that training camp is underway, we can no longer push that reality to the back of our minds. The coaching staff and the trainers must work within the limits of injured and rehabbing players carefully to avoid reinjuring soft tissues. And that takes some of the wind out of optimistic sails:

While the Rams have managed the workload of ILB Ernest Jones IV, DB John Johnson III, DB Tre'Davious White, and perhaps even more, keep in mind that the Rams are following clinical practices to sustain health and durability for players. The risk of soft tissue (re)injury increases exponentially as fatigue becomes more of a factor.

So best practices are both simple and conclusive: Avoid fatigue to minimize the risks of injury to players. While it may disappoint to see key players moving around but not in uniforms and not competing in drills, there is a science to it all. And being smart now enhances the chances of a full 17+game season out of players.

(4) - Why isn't DT Kobie Turner suiting up for Rams Training Camp yet?

The LA Rams got plenty of work out of NT turned DT Kobie Turner in OTAs and minicamp to know that he is ready for the 2024 NFL season. And his outstanding rookie season, one in which he tied Aaron Donald's rookie quarterback sack total, has buoyed plenty of optimism in his second season as one of the primary weapons on the Rams defensive front in 2024.

And yes, he was, is, and will remain The People's Champion, a fan favorite who always seems to have as much fun on the football field as fans seem to have watching him play. He is always smiling, always chattering, and always enjoying his experience on this team.

But he has not been practicing with his teammates. So, what gives? It seems that The Conductor suffered a groin strain, and the team is simply being smart about what they are asking him to do until the injury heals. Much like a hamstring injury, groin strains are soft tissue injuries that can be aggravated and even re-injured if proper protocols are not followed.

As of right now, the Rams are straddling the fence of necessity and precaution as to their approach for Kobie Turner. But keep in mind that this team, while deep on the defensive front, is asking a great deal of Turner in just his second NFL season.

Turner is one-half of the dynamic rookie duo from 2023. Paired with Byron Young, the two led all rookies in the quest to hunt quarterbacks. Combining for 17.0 quarterback sacks last year, some projections put them as high as combining for 25.0+ quarterback sacks in 2024. But neither rookie 'sells out' to make a sack, as both cover the range of responsibilities for their respective positions quite well.

The team is merely saving peak Kobie Turner for the 2024 NFL season.

(3) - Veteran DB Darious WIlliams is week to week with injury

The front office invested quite a bit to ensure that DC Chris Shula had a competitive secondary. One of the key actions to ensure that would take place was signing former Rams defensive back Darious Willams. Williams is not only one of the best cover cornerbacks in the NFL, but he is well-known and trusted by both DC Shula and DB Coach Aubrey Pleasant.

So when he came up limping on the second day of training camp after covering a deep sideline pass, concerns were automatic and justified. How can this secondary put up the caliber of pass defense needed if Williams is injured.

Thankfully, initial reports about his injury are promising. While hamstring injuries can be nightmarish to recover from, the Rams have enough time before the start of the season to anticipate Williams will return in time to suit up to face the Detroit Lions In Week 1.

In the meantime, the loss of Williams opens up a cluster of reps in the team's secondary that can be distributed to a number of young defensive backs who not only need the work, but need the opportunity to make a positive impression on the coaches. Coach Aubrey Pleasant certainly runs a meritocracy in his secondary. He is uninterested in where or when you came to this team. He is only interested in where players are going.

As the team finishes Week 1 of training camp, as many as five young cornerbacks hope to jockey for position and rise on the team's depth chart. But even if they fail to do so, we know that the front office will continue to pursue contributors. The team found several veterans who made significant contributions late in training camp in 2023. That avenue remains open in 2024 if needed.

(2) - DB Derion Kendrick is lost for the season

While he may not have been expected to win a starting role in the secondary for 2024, LA Rams veteran defensive back Derion Kendrick was poised to earn significant playing time this season, if only in a rotational role. But when he suffered a torn ACL injury, his season ended before it ever began.

Some have commented as though losing Kendrick is not a loss for this team. And if you are simply measuring opportunities for young defensive backs to get reps, to speed their experience scavenger hunt throughout training camp, and to force uncomfortable conversations and instant assessments as to who might be up to the challenge of stepping up in his wake, you could be right.

But that is pessimism in it's purest form. Players grow, learn, gain experience, and develop. Kendrick may has frustrated some fans with untimely penalties and less than elite coverage skills. But he was selected with the 203rd overall selection in Round 6 of the 2022 NFL Draft from the University of Georgia. He allowed less than two-thirds of passes thrown his way to find their mark. He even put up one interception. But we tend to focus on those back-breaking penalties and the three touchdowns that he allowed.

Kendrick was not going to start for the Rams in 2024.

That is why the team is affording a chance of redemption to young former Detroit Lions cornerback Jerry Jacobs. Like Kendrick, Jacobs has slipped at times. But how can you fault a guy for playing hurt, while not delivering optimal results when he continues to play banged up? If Kendrick, Jacobs, or any player is sub-par due to minor injuries, it's up to the coaching staff to muster alternatives to play for them.

I am saddened that Derion Kenrick will not compete in 2024. But I am optimistic that DB Jerry Jacobs will exceed expectations.

(1) - TE Tyler Higbee's return remains undetermined

It is never a good thing when a season ends with an injury to one of the team's dependable go-to guy starters. So when the veteran tight end suffered a devastating ACL injury in the NFL Playoffs, the team immediately understood that the impact was not limited to 2023. Typically, ACL injuries require from six to nine months to heal. However, for competitive athletes, the time to return to an active NFL roster can take longer.

In theory, Higbee should be due to return to the active Rams roster in October 2024, at the earliest. For now, he has been assigned to the Injured Reserve/Physically Unable to Perform roster. (IR/PUP).

No official updates have been made as to Tyler Higbee's status, which is merely an indication that no new information is available or that his current status has not changed. While that is expected, this has been both a bane and a boon for the team.

The bane is that one of the key contributors to this offense, and the only starting tight end on the Rams roster, is not available. There are few options to view this situation and fail to recognize the loss of either his production or potential. The Rams love continuity and experience, and the absence of Higbee means the absence of both.

But there is a boon to all of this. Two to be exact. In searching for a suitable segue on offense to fill in the gap in Higbee's absence. But both Davis Allen and Colby Parkinson are putting on a clinic, and are in a dead heat so far. Not on the low end of the scale, mind you. Rather, they are both raising eyebrows in a feat of one upmanship.

Perhaps the bane is not simply the absence of Higbee. Perhaps the true curse is on Higbee, when he is ready to return to the active roster.