Rams add two more players to IR, star WR avoids placement

Offensive lineman Jonah Jackson and safety John Johnson are heading to IR, the team announced. Jackson joins O-linemen Steve Avila and Joe Noteboomon the injured list, with more injury trouble persisting on the team’s front beyond the IR crew.

That said, some good news has come out of this early-season bloodbath. Cooper Kupp is not currently viewed as an IR candidate, ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweets. Kupp is again battling an ankle injury. McVay had previously said Kupp was an IR candidate.

Jackson aggravated the shoulder injury that sidelined him for much of training camp and the preseason. The free-agent addition must now miss at least four games. Jackson must sit until at least Week 8, while Avila and Noteboom are out until at least Week 7. The Rams have their bye in Week 6. That suddenly looms as an important recovery period, despite it coming so early in the season.

The Rams gave Jackson a three-year, $51M deal days after re-signing Kevin Dotson (three years, $48M) to remain at right guard. A four-year Lions left guard starter, Jackson has bounced between LG and center early in his Rams tenure. But injuries have overshadowed the entire O-line’s work thus far. Dotson is playing through a sprained ankle.

Alaric Jackson‘s return from a two-game suspension will help a Rams team in crisis. That will give the team three of its five O-line starters available, with longtime RT Rob Havenstein returning in Week 2. But the team is battling injury issues at multiple spots. 

Johnson sustained a hairline scapula fracture and had loomed as an IR candidate. Re-signed to continue his second Rams stint in July, Johnson had started one game for a Rams team otherwise retooling at safety.

As the Rams’ O-line injury issues remind of their 2022 problems, Kupp’s most recent trouble is familiar as well. Kupp suffered a foot injury in October 2022 but then went down with a more significant ankle malady a month later. The All-Pro receiver underwent season-ending surgery to repair the issue, and while he returned in time for training camp in 2023, a hamstring issue delayed his debut last season.

Kupp has missed 13 games since his dominant 2021 season, stalling the crafty wideout in his early 30s. The Rams gave Kupp a big raise after his Super Bowl MVP showing — during an offseason in which the team paid Matthew Stafford and Aaron Donald — but have not seen much to justify it since.

Kupp, 31, does lead the NFL with 18 receptions through two games despite leaving the Rams’ Week 2 loss early. The team has Puka Nacua on IR as well, leaving Demarcus Robinson, Tutu Atwell and rookie Jordan Whittington as Stafford’s top targets.