Rams Have Tough Choices Ahead as Injured Reserve Decisions Become More Complicated

The Los Angeles Rams have caught a bad case of the injury bug as they enter Week 7. On Monday, head coach Sean McVay announced that the Rams would be placing nose tackle Poona Ford and wide receiver Davante Adams on injured reserve with injuries and that defensive lineman Kobie Turner would be missing time with an injury. 

As injuries begin to pile up, how the Rams manage their injured reserve list becomes increasingly important. NFL teams are limited to eight players per season that they can designate to return off of injured reserve during the season. That extends to 10 if a team makes the postseason. 

Rams Already Being Strategic With Injured Reserve Returns

The Rams are in an uncomfortable spot now, especially with the season only in Week 7. Myles Garrett has been on injured reserve since Week 1 and the Rams also placed tight end Terrance Ferguson on injured reserve after Week 3. The Rams also hope to get Davante Adams back at some point, as his injury has an expected recovery timeline of 6-10 weeks.

Due to Alaric Jackson’s suspension in Week 6 and the need for tackle depth, the Rams used one of their eight return designations on rookie Keagen Trost. Garrett will take another one as well as Ferguson. If the plan is to also use one on Adams later in the year, the Rams have already used or committed half of their return designations.

This appears to be something the Rams are already keeping in mind. It’s a reason why they didn’t immediately designate Justin Dedich and Trost to return from IR and instead waited until one was needed.

Why the Rams Kept Kobie Turner Off Injured Reserve

While the injuries to Adams, Ford, and Turner were significant for the Rams in Week 6, not all three players landed on injured reserve. Per the NFL’s transaction wire, the team only placed Adams and Ford on injured reserve, excluding Turner. 

Leaving Turner off of injured reserve can mean one of two things. It’s possible that the Rams have some optimism that he could return before the four-week window that he’d be required to miss if placed on injured reserve. Another possibility is that the Rams don’t believe Turner’s injury is long-term and want to preserve a return designation for later in the year if they need it. 

If the Rams opted to put Turner on injured reserve and bring him back, that would put them at five players designated to return with the planned returns of Garrett, Ferguson, and Adams in addition to one spot already being used on Trost. 

As it stands, the Rams currently have 10 players on injured reserve. Unless needed, it’s unlikely the Rams will use a return designation on depth players such as Dedich, Rivers, and Thomas. At that point, the Rams may simply sign a free agent instead of using a return designation spot.

Keeping Turner off injured reserve leaves the Rams with four return designations for the remainder of the season.That’s likely why the Rams didn’t place him on injured reserve, as they want to maintain flexibility moving forward. As much as the Rams hope they remain healthy, they have to anticipate other injuries popping up over the next 10 games. 

The last thing the Rams want is a situation where a key player is ready to return, but they don't have a designation available. That’s a big reason why they are being so selective now. With several key players already on injured reserve, every decision matters.

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