Rams News: Offensive Lineman Suffers Major Injury in Training Camp

A newly signed Rams offensive guard suffers major injury and could miss significant time.

Detroit Lions guard Jonah Jackson warms up before the Denver Broncos game at Ford Field in Detroit on Saturday, Dec. 16, 2023. / Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK

The injury bug has hit the Los Angeles Rams — and it hit one of the worst player positions possible.

Newly signed Rams offensive guard Jonah Jackson suffered a bruised scapula in practice on Tuesday and is expected to miss around six weeks. NFL Network's Mike Garafolo shared the news via Twitter/X.

#Rams OL Jonah Jackson suffered a bruised scapula, source says. Expected to miss around six weeks. In all, not bad news for the big free-agent pickup.

— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) July 31, 2024

The six-week mark is around the start of the regular season when the Rams will take open Jackson's former team and the team L.A. lost to in the Wild Card round, the Detroit Lions.

Although Jackson was not only to play in any of the three preseason games, he was set to be a vital part of the team and the culture L.A. has built throughout the years with head coach Sean McVay. The timetable fits perfectly for Jackson and the Rams. However, it is still a huge bummer for the team that is looking to dominate the trenches, help the backfield upright, and, more importantly, keep quarterback Matthew Stafford healthy.

Rams offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur told the media, including the Associated Press, that the next man must set up in the meantime.

"Next man up, right, that's what this game is," LaFleur said. "There's gonna be guys going down for sometimes a day, sometimes an extended period of time."

With Jackson now sidelined for the coming weeks, the team will lean on either Joesph Notemboom or  Zachary Thomas as we approach preseason games.

Jackson signed a three-year contract with $34 million in guaranteed money., In the first four seasons of his NFL career, he started in 57 games with the Lions, who drafted him in the third round out of Ohio State in 2020.

Clearly, the Rams wanted a much more physical and beefier offensive line to compete with the San Francisco 49ers, Dallas Cowboys, Philadelphia Eagles, and Lions. It was not only a want but a need. Jackson would bring a new dimension to the Rams, but they'll need to wait on that just a little while longer.

The Jackson signing was just one of the many moves L.A. made to retool its offensive line. L.A. also re-signed one of their best offensive linemen last year, Kevin Doston, to a three-year deal and moved Steve Avila to his original position of center, which was his primary position in his time at TCU.

The Rams will need to live without Jackson's protection for quite some time now.

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