When the Los Angeles Rams inked inside linebacker Troy Reeder for another season, the reception thrown by Rams fans was not exactly warm and positive. Some view Reeder as one of the key reasons for the Rams' 1-4 start to the 2024 NFL season. Others see Reeder as an impediment to the opportunities of young linebackers like Omar Speights. Still others simply put plenty of vitriol on someone they do not appreciate on social media, for no other reason than to troll the guy.
But Rams Super Bowl LVI legend Eric Weddle is having none of it. He stepped into the discussion on social media to run interference for his former teammate, ILB Troy Reeder. And he was not the only NFL player to shut down the trash-talking about Reeder.
Baltimore Ravens veteran linebacker Kyle Van Noy stepped into the social media exchange to endorse the Rams veteran. This was not simply NFL players defending one of their own. This was two savvy NFL veterans with years of pro football experience and expertise giving an unlimited endorsement for the Rams' latest free agency signing:
Whoa. The narrative changed quickly on social media as soon as Eric Weddle and Kyle Van Noy waded into the discussion. Have fans gotten it wrong? Is Troy Reeder better at what he does than Rams fans are willing to give credit for? We saw signs of that questionable rhetoric with former Defensive Coordinator Raheem Morris, who was often the scapegoat by irate fans after a humbling loss.
I'm not convinced that much of that vitriol was warranted either.
Do we get locked into an opinion about a player too quickly and permanently? Perhaps. But it's not as though fans have a say in the personnel transactions over a team. And fans rely upon the optics created during the football game, optics which the NFL team is solely responsible for. After all, fans cheer and boo based on what they see, not on what statement they want to make at the game.
Still . . .
When terms like 'baller' and 'pros pro' are tossed around, it's time for fans to hit the pause button. What might Rams fans be blind to that NFL veterans see clearly? Here are some facts that do not often get considered when levying insults at Troy Reeder.
(3) - The Rams were running DC Chris Shula's new defense
Perhaps the most obvious and most overlooked aspect of the tenure of veteran ILB Troy Reeder is the fact that he opened as a starter of a brand-new defensive scheme in 2024. While almost everyone knows that Reeder was the defensive play caller before the Rams Week 6 BYE, a span that resulted in the team falling to a 1-4 record, many do not easily recall that he was on the football field in Week 7, leading the defense to a 15 point game against the Las Vegas Raiders that the team won by a score of 20-15.
The Raiders scored just five field goals on the day.
Reeder was stuck between a rock and a hard place. Every NFL defense that changes defensive coordinators has a period of acclimating to how that defense intends to stop opposing offenses. The problem is more frequently attributable to unfamiliarity than a gross lack of talent. That's a hard distinction to make from the stands or by viewing the broadcast.
NFL players can discern the difference. And it's that ability to recognize what the defense wants to do, and a holistic view of what individual players must do to ensure success, that gives veteran NFL players a leg up on knowing the true quality of a player.
Unfamiliarity is not limited to players. The Rams defense was a series of experimental, rapidly changing configurations that were meant to assess the compatibility of players to specific down, distance, and scheme scenarios. With each snap of the football, the database for players increased, allowing the Rams to hone in on who should be on the football field and who comprised the most effective units.
Of course, it helps to have all players on the 53-man roster healthy. That was not the case for the team as the 2024 NFL season opened.
(2) - The Rams defense opened 2024 unsettled
When the Los Angeles Rams opened the season, their roster was not 100 percent healthy. CB Derion Kendrick was out for the season, CB Darious Williams suffered a hamstring injury, and veteran CB Tre'Davious White was not close to being ready to start for the Rams' secondary after two consecutive serious season-ending injuries.
As it were, the team's eventual starting secondary did not even begin to take the football until a month had passed. Veteran cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon did not return to the team until the season had started. The Rams claimed cornerback Emmanuel Forbes after he had played six games for the Washington Commanders and was released.
The team also had to adapt to a trade of starting inside linebacker Ernest Jones IV just days before the season started. Historically, the Rams had started Ernest Jones with Christian Rozeboom. While that was not how the team played their rotation in 2025, it dictated the need to have Ernest Jones in for the lion's share of defensive snaps with the starters throughout training camp and scrimmages. And that placed Reeder at a disadvantage long before the season started.
On top of all of this is the fact that the Rams do not play projected starters in preseason games. While wise from an injury perspective, it's not exactly going to get rookies seeing action for their first NFL games the best preparation in terms of facing NFL-level opponents, game speed, or the feel of action in front of NFL fans.
Even players who normally contribute on a solid rotational basis struggled to get defensive repetitions. DT Larrell Murchison, a solid contributor from 2023, was unable to stay healthy in 2024 and remained on IR all season long. Rookie OLB Brennan Jackson, a strong physical edge rusher, struggled to crack the Rams tight rotation at edge in 2024. He did manage to get playing time on special teams, which led to cameo appearances on defense late in the season. WIth the exodus of veteran Michael Hoecht, I expect Jackson will have a larger role in the defense in 2025.
None of these factors were solely responsible for a struggling Rams defense that opened 2024, just as the presence of Troy Reeder was not solely responsible. But there was another reason why fans did not like what they saw from Troy Reeder, and that was simply out of his control.
(1) - Troy Reeder too similar to Christian Rozeboom
The Los Angeles Rams opened the 2024 NFL season by starting 6-foot-2, 237-pound Christian Rozeboom alongside 6-foot-3, 236 -pound Troy Reeder. In six games, Reeder has 46 tackles, one tackle for a loss, broke up one pass, allowed 73.7 percent of passes thrown to his receiver to find their mark, and had misses 6 tackles for an alarming missed tackle rate of 11.5 percent.
Through his first six games, Rozeboom had 48 tackles, 0 tackles for a loss, 0 pass deflections, and had a similar struggle with missed tackles. But when Reeder fell to injury, the more physical and run-stuffing linebacker Omar Speights stepped in, and Rozeboom was able to improve his performance because he was able to revert to the style of play that he did best.
For the record, Omar Speights stands 6-foot-1 and weighs 228 pounds. Former starting linebacker Ernest Jones stands 6-foot-2 and weighs 233 pounds. Jones loves to stuff the run, seldom misses tackles, and racks up plenty of tackles for a loss. That is very similar to Omar Speights and how he plays the game.
Troy Reeder fill the taller, lankier, jack of all trades role at the linebacker position, the guy who is better equipped for pass coverage and playing off the line of scrimmage from five to seven yards. While Speights and Jones break off the snap with a first step to the offense, Reeder and Rozeboom take a step back to ensure that they are in position to defense the pass and to read the play.
It was that similarity that lead to an inability to stop Chicago Bears running back D'Andre Swift from getting a touchdown that ultimately helped the Bears to victory. Both Reeder and Rozeboom were just not effective run-stuffing linebackers, which I pointedly addressed in an article:
"The Rams allowed Detroit Lions RB David Montgomery to put up 91 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries, Arizona Cardinals James Conner to put up 122 yards and a touchdown on 21 carries, 49ers RB Jordan Mason to put up 77 yards on 19 carries, and Bears RB DAndre Swift to put up 93 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries."Ramblin Fan Bret Stuter
But the Rams defense would have improved had Christian Rozeboom fallen to injury, forcing the Rams to start Omar Speights alongside Troy Reeder for the final two-thirds of the season. The challenge was not just Reeder, but the fact that neither Reeder nor Rozeboom were particularly effective at stopping the run. Pro Football Focus graded Troy Reeder 57.9 overall, and 61.7 on run defense. They graded Christian Rozeboom 59.0 overall, and 58.4 on run defense. But the defense turned around when Omar Speights, with his 66.8 overall and 78.3 run defense grades, stepped in as a starter.
Regardless of whether the Rams placed Reeder or Rozeboom on IR, Speights and his stronger run-stuffing presence would help the defense to become far stingier.
I'm not sure that I am 100 percent in favor of the Rams re-signing Troy Reeder, but I do feel much better about the move now. Reeder's return covers the need for a linebacker to start alongside Speights in 2025. And his return ensures that the team is not backed into a need to reach for a linebacker in the draft.
If Eric Weddle endorses a player, that's enough for me. You may or may not change your opinion just yet, and that's okay. But both Eric Weddle and Kyle Van Noy made it a point to correct the record about Troy Reeder. Perhaps his return is more positive for the Rams in 2025 than we are willing to admit.
