Rams Preseason: How Many Held Out vs. Chargers?

The Rams were no strangers to keeping their prominent players on the sidelines in the preseason opener.

Ever since coach Sean McVay took over in Los Angeles, the Rams have sidelined their starters in preseason play quite regularly.

And this season, McVay has continued to follow his philosophy that other coaches around the league have now adopted. That of which includes no starters playing and even some second-string players to also sit out.

The Rams' total number of players who were held out of the first preseason game was 38 — the most in the NFL. 

Just to update this -- # of players held out from playing games this weekend:

Rams 38
Vikings 33
Seahawks 31
Giants 31
Packers 30
Browns 29
Broncos 26
49ers 25
Raiders 25
Saints 22
Ravens 22
Chargers 22
Texans 17
Dolphins 16
Bears 15
Bengals 13
Jets 12
Chiefs 11
Bucs 8
Jags 7 https://t.co/Ejx8CYMPkU

— Greg Auman (@gregauman) August 15, 2021

While it's not shocking that the Rams held out more players than any team to begin the preseason — the actual number in totality of 38 — is noteworthy.

Two weeks ago, McVay said the following when asked about his newly acquired quarterback Matthew Stafford and how he'd be managed this preseason:

“There is zero chance you will ever see Matthew Stafford take a snap in the preseason for the Rams as long as I’m the coach," McVay said. "That will never happen. He is not going to play. That’s why it’s important for us to try to get competitive ‘opps’ against some of these other teams in practice settings."

McVay was one of the first coaches to implement a game plan that included sitting the bulk of his starters in the preseason. And while his strategy has worked for him thus far, it appears he's willing to take things up another level, shown by the severely limited amount of players he used in Saturday night's matchup against the Chargers.

It's likely he'll continue to go with the same approach on Saturday, August 21 when the Las Vegas Raiders come into SoFi Stadium for the second preseason game. 

However, the Raiders will also join the Rams, beginning on Wednesday, August 18 for a joint practice. McVay has generally played his starters in those practice settings — including the joint practice with the Cowboys a week ago — and it's reasonable to believe he'll rely on that one again in order to get his starters prepared for Week 1 of the regular season. 

Continue Reading: Rams' Justin Lawler Makes The Most of His Opportunities

Nick Cothrel is the Publisher of Ram Digest. Follow Nick on Twitter @NickCothrel.