Rams' Sean McVay Weighs in On Surprising Decision to Not Play Emerging Rookie in Season Opener

Valentina Martinez | Sep 13, 2024

Los Angeles Rams running back Blake Corum (22) takes the field for warm up against Detroit Lions at Ford Field in Detroit on Sunday, September 8, 2024. / Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Los Angeles Rams lost an unprecedented number of starters in the Week 1 loss to the Detroit Lions. Since the Rams had to stray from the game plan, rookie running back Blake Corum didn't play any snaps on offense in the season opener.

The rookie was slated to be the No. 2 running back behind Kyren Williams this season, but Ronnie Rivers was the primary backup against Detroit. Rivers came in for seven plays in the season opener. Williams finished the game with 50 yards on 18 carries.

On Monday, Rams head coach Sean McVay explained why Corum didn't share reps with Williams in Week 1.

“I think each game is going to be its own entity,” McVay told reporters. “It was a very unique circumstance because when we got so many of our [offensive] linemen banged up, it limited some of the different — basically, we didn’t operate off anything that our game plan was. We had to truly just change in the middle of that game plan. When there are some things that are unforeseen, you’re going to go with guys that you trust and that you know. I think the way that some of the drives unfolded where there were long breaks in between. . . . I think that’s why you saw our running back and tight end rotation reflected as such."

"Colby Parkinson played 69 snaps. I believe Kyren played 71 when you look at it. I want to get Ronnie [Rivers] a little bit more involved. I want to be able to get Blake [Corum] involved as well. . . . [B]ased on how the game unfolded, it was very unique for a lot of different reasons, none of which probably suit what you guys are really looking for but that was not how we anticipated the rotation to go.”

Although McVay claims Corum wasn't able to get any reps on offense due to the various injuries to the offensive line, there was time before the starters left to plug Corum in.

However, it's evident that McVay trusted Rivers to back up Williams more so than the rookie in the nail-biting game. The Rams chose to run a pass-heavy offense in Week 1, indicating that pass protection was a priority for the team. Corum likely isn't as strong in that area as Williams and Rivers.

The Ram's game plan for Week 2 against the Arizona Cardinals will dictate whether Corum will see some action on offense.