Five spot: Rams, Chargers to play remainder of season at SoFi Stadium

NFL will continue to monitor situation amid spike in COVID-19 cases

News and notes regarding the Los Angeles Rams as the team hits the road to face the Arizona Cardinals in a Week 13 contest.

1. With a stay-at-home order expected to go into effect for Los Angeles County on Sunday at 11:59 p.m., there was some uncertainty as to whether the Rams and Los Angeles Chargers can play the team’s final three games at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood.

However, the NFL brought some clarity to the issue on Sunday. 

According to the stay-at-home order, professional sports without live audiences are allowed to continue operations.

A spokesperson for the Rams said the team has the green light to host Thursday’s, nationally televised contest against the New England Patriots. However, the Rams have two home games remaining on their schedule, A Dec. 20, Sunday afternoon game against the New York Jets and Jan. 3 game against the Arizona Cardinals to finish the regular season.

“We know we’re focused on the Cardinals and don’t anticipate that to be an issue with next week’s game, if that's what you're alluding to as well,” Rams head coach Sean McVay told reporters this week, when asked if the stay-at-home order would impact games at SoFi Stadium.

The Rams practiced at SoFi Stadium on Thursday due to high winds at the team’s facility in Thousand Oaks. McVay said the arrangement went well, and the team could use the stadium again if weather remains an issue at the team’s headquarters.

According to a report by Yahoo Sports, the NFL has had communications with both teams in L.A. about safeguarding against a forced move to alternative playing sites in the coming weeks.

The Rams and Chargers are researching potential practice and stadium sites outside the state of California, according to the report.

Due to newly enforced COVID-19 restrictions by Santa Clara County, the San Francisco 49ers were forced to relocate their weekly practice operations and the remainder of their home games from Levi’s Stadium to State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.

However, NFL spokesperson Brian McCarthy said as of right now, the league plans for the Rams and the Chargers to play the remainder of their regular season home games at SoFi Stadium.

“We have been in communication with both clubs and are continuing with our plans in Los Angeles as scheduled,” McCarthy said in an email. “We have been in regular contact with city, county and state officials and continue to monitor the situation. If there are developments, we will work with the clubs but there’s nothing to report at this time.”

2. Left tackle Andrew Whitworth is on the mend. Out since a Week 9 against Seattle Seahawks when he suffered a MCL and PCL tear in his left knee, Whitworth told reporters this week he’s feeling well, and holding out hope for a potential return before the season ends.

While Joe Noteboom has played solid in Whitworth’s absence, Whitworth was having a Pro Bowl-type season before the injury and would be an improvement for the offensive line if he can make a healthy return in 2020.

“Obviously, any time you tear two ligaments, you’re on the timeline of God and healing and everything else,” Whitworth said. “I feel great. Things have gone wonderful. I would say most the people in the health profession I’ve told that I’m already walking and doing things like that, and they’re pretty shocked. So I feel good about it.

“So it’s going really good. I’ve put everything I could possibly put into it. All I can do now is stay on the path and keep plugging forward, and we’ll see. It’s kind of one of those things that you don’t really know until that timeline continues to progress, and you see ligament regrowth or whatever is going to happen. It’s different than having a sprain or anything like that. With the PCL and MCL torn, you’re kind of in the hands of healing.”

At 38 years old, Whitworth has two years left on his deal and has not ruled out a return to the field in 2021.

3. Kudos to the Rams and their players for donating $750,000 to 25 nonprofits in the Southern California community focused on social justice initiatives.

The effort was a culmination of hard conversations held between players on the team on how to respond to the tragic killings of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd at the hands of law enforcement, along with the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Wisconsin.

“It speaks volumes about the guys that we have in the Rams organization to be able to come together and do what we did,” Rams defensive tackle Sebastian Joseph-Day said. “What we hope to achieve is to obviously make impactful change in the L.A. community. And hopefully influence other teams and other pro sports to do the same.”

Added Whitworth: “It’s a tremendous opportunity for us to take a leadership role in that way. I think it meant a lot to our guys, and a lot to people in our organization, for us to make a stand of a significant portion for us to make a difference. It’s an ongoing process, and I don’t think this is anything but the beginning, in my opinion.”

4. They said it: “It’s just about results. It’s about going out, not really talking about it, we’ve done enough of that. It’s about going out this Sunday and applying those things, playing consistent, protecting the football and leading us to a victory against a really good division opponent.” – Rams offensive coordinator Kevin O’Connell on the criticism this week of quarterback Jared Goff.

5. Did you know: L.A.’s defense has forced the most three-and-outs in the NFL by opposing offenses through Week 12, totaling 32 three-and-out drives this season.