Rams' Mounting Offensive Line Injuries Starting to Cause Concern

Valentina Martinez | Aug 2, 2024

Jul 29, 2024; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Rams offensive tackle Rob Havenstein (79) participates in drills during training camp at Loyola Marymount University. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports / Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

The Los Angeles Rams are preparing for their joint practice with the Chargers on Sunday, but most of their offensive line has been sidelined by injuries.

Rams head coach Sean McVay is known for not playing his starters throughout the preseason thus joint practices with other teams are a crucial measure of how the team is progressing on all sides of the football.

Jonah Jackson, Rob Havenstein, and Alaric Jackson are all dealing with various injuries. The most concerning setback is Jonah's shoulder injury, specifically a bruised scapula. Jonah left practice on Tuesday with a trainer holding his left arm. By Wednesday, he returned to camp in a sling. The former Detroit Lion was out of a sling on Thursday but had to use his right arm to hold up his injured one.

McVay shared Jonah had his best practice just before suffering the shoulder injury.

“I know he wants to be out here more than anybody, and he played great the other day,” McVay told Gary Klein of The Los Angeles Times. “He’s got a body of work — there’s a reason why we felt so strongly about being able to add him here, and this is another little temporary setback.”

The former Pro Bowler was the main target for the Rams in the offseason. At the start of free agency, Los Angeles made their move and the offensive lineman signed a three-year, $51 million contract.

Fellow offensive lineman, Havenstein, suffered a foot injury which McVay later shared "It sounded like he got stepped on," via the team's transcript. Fortunately, Havenstein is likely to recover sooner than later.

Alaric suffered an ankle injury but McVay is positive he will be back relatively soon. Alaric was a restricted free agent which the Rams acquired for $4.9 million.

"I thought he's had a really good camp when he's been out here," McVay said. "We'll be a lot better when he does come out here, but we don't want to rush it, either. We're hopeful that he'll be ready to go for the Chargers practice, but like I said, we don't want to rush it. It's kind of one of those weird deals, but fortunately, it's not going to be anything we expect to be long-term."

Los Angeles spent millions to restructure their offensive line in order to enforce their duo-blocking scheme which allowed running back Kyren Williams to have a phenomenal season. But if a majority of the offensive line is hurt, the millions the Rams spent won't pay off.

“We’ll be better when those guys are back, whenever that timetable is,” McVay said of the starters, “but in the meantime we owe it to ourselves and the other guys to be able to pour into them.”