Rams have important decision to make with John Johnson III and Troy Reeder
It’s been no secret that the Los Angeles Rams have dealt with their fair share of injuries throughout the 2024 NFL season. Going back to the summer, the Rams dealt with injuries to the offensive line. As the season got started, those injuries crept into other positions in the secondary and wide receiver.
Due to all of the long-term injuries, the Rams were forced to place players such as Puka Nacua, Jonah Jackson, Steve Avila, Darious Williams and many others on injured reserve. While teams now have the flexibility to place teams on short-term IR and designate them to return, teams still can only activate a certain number of players.
During the season, teams can designate a maximum of eight players to return from injured reserve. However, teams are given an extra two return spots in the postseason. As it stands, the Rams have activated seven. Those players are:
- WR Puka Nacua
- OL Jonah Jackson
- OL Steve Avila
- CB Darious Williams
- DT Larrell Murchison
- OL KT Leveston
- OL Joe Noteboom
Tight end Tyler Higbee does not count because he was placed on the PUP list prior to the season.
However with five weeks left to play and players such as Troy Reeder and John Johnson III still on injured reserve, the Rams still have the option to bring one of those players back if they choose to. With that said, once the Rams bring back one of those players back, they would not be able to designate a player to return until the postseason if they were to make it there.
While the Rams would almost certainly prefer to designate John Johnson III to return, the choice between him and Reeder isn’t that simple. As head coach Sean McVay noted,
“Both of those guys could be physically ready and both of those guys would represent our team getting better. The unique thing is if you were to have an injury at one of those positions, it maybe makes it a little bit easier or gives you some clarity…Those are ongoing conversations but as of right now, we’re still working through that…It’s a tough situation. They both could be available, but we only have one of those guys that we could actually bring back.”
It’s smart for the Rams to wait on both of these players as there isn’t an immediate need for either. The Rams are deep at the safety position with players like Quentin Lake, Kam Curl, Jaylen McCollough, and Kam Kinchens. Lake and Curl have been an important players on the defense. Meanwhile, Kinchens and McCollough have each carved out roles as well.
That same depth does not exist at linebacker. Behind Christian Rozeboom and Omar Speights, the Rams only have Jacob Hummel. Reeder may not be a great option, but he is an experienced player that knows the defense if he is needed.
By keeping both players available, the Rams at the very least keep their options open and can remain flexible. An argument could be made that they shouldn’t have designated Larrell Murchison to return earlier in the season. However, Murchison has provided the defense an experienced run-stopping defensive lineman over the past two years.
With all of that being said, it should not be expected for either player to be activated anytime soon. The Rams will keep both players available in case they suffer an injury at either position. While they would certainly like to add someone like Johnson III to the current version of the defense, given the circumstances, it currently doesn’t make the most sense.
