Rams Injury Updates: Jaylen Watson, Aaron Donald, Terrance Ferguson

The Los Angeles Rams have been hit by the injury bug early in the season, although it appears some reinofrcements are on the way.

Starting cornerback Jaylen Watson suffered a dislocated shoulder early in the Week 3 loss to the Denver Broncos to forced him to miss Week 4. According to Rams head coach Sean McVay though, Watson has a chance to return in Week 5 against the Buffalo Bills on Monday Night Football, via Stu Jackson of TheRams.com:

“The goal and the optimism would be that he will be able to do those things,” McVay said. “And if he feels good throughout the week in practice, the expectation is he’ll be ready to roll against the Bills.”

The Rams obviously have a tough matchup against Josh Allen and the Bills, so getting Watson back for that would be huge. It appears Aaron Donald also has a chance to return after missing Week 4 with a back issue:

McVay also said the “hope” is defensive end Aaron Donald returns for Week 5 against the Bills after missing last week’s game against the Eagles with back soreness.

“I don’t want to pigeonhole, but yeah, that’s the direction that it looks like it’s trending in,” McVay said.

Another injured player for the Rams is tight end Terrance Ferguson, although he will be out a little longer after being placed on injured reserve. McVay explained why the team decided to go in that direction with their young pass catcher:

As for why tight end Terrance Ferguson (ankle) was placed on Injured Reserve last Friday, McVay said “just the severity of” Ferguson’s medial ankle sprain.

McVay also said they made the decision as they got more information about that injury and what the real timeline looked like based on the athlete Ferguson is and his play style. It also allowed them to open up a roster spot.

McVay said they don’t want to rush Ferguson back, but made clear he expects Ferguson to return before the end of the season.

As is usually the case, the Rams will not rush Ferguson back to ensure he is healthy for the stretch run of the regular season and postseason.

Sean McVay praises Kyren Williams

After the Rams’ Week 4 comeback win over the Philadelphia Eagles, McVay shared high praise for running back Kyren Williams.

“If you say you wouldn’t want that guy in your foxhole, then you’re in the wrong foxhole,” McVay said postgame of Williams. “I feel really good about being with him, continuing to just watch him be a leader that energizes situations he’s around and people that he’s around, and he does that for me. I love everything the guy is about. I love the human being way more. But what a competitor he is, too. He was outstanding, and we needed every single play that he made, and he sure made a bunch of them.”