The Los Angeles Rams didn’t have a hard time scoring points without Davante Adams for most of their Week 16 game against the Seattle Seahawks and that’s something that Sean McVay will probably have to repeat at least two more times according to a report by ESPN on Wednesday. According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, the Rams will be careful with Adams and likely keep him on the sideline for L.A.‘s final two games of the regular season in the hopes that he will be able to return for the playoffs.
The Rams very well could shut down Davante Adams (hamstring) for the final two regular-season games. Coach Sean McVay already declared Adams doubtful for Monday night vs. Atlanta, and a team source told me that it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Adams miss Week 18 vs. Arizona, another game the Rams can win without their star receiver. The goal is to ensure Adams is 100 percent for the first week of the playoffs. Technically, he’s week-to-week with an injury that hampered him weeks before he aggravated it vs. Detroit on Dec. 14.
Keep in mind that the Rams are shutting down Adams with a huge playoff race yet to be decided in the NFC: L.A. could win the NFC West and even the number one seed if they win their final two games. It could be the difference between having a bye week, hosting a playoff game, or going on the road to either the three seed or the four seed. Instead of getting the bye week, a loss could mean going on the road to face the Philadelphia Eagles.
The difference in outcomes based on Rams wins or losses could have massive playoff implications.
The 33-year-old receiver has now missed games with injury at the end of each of the last two seasons, dating back to 2024 with the New York Jets. As with any football player, the risk of missing important games due to injury increases with every year that he’s in the NFL. Adams was able to deal with his hamstring injury this season for only so long until it took him out of L.A.‘s Week 15 win over the Detroit Lions and held him out of Thursday’s loss to the Seahawks.
The Rams were running up and down the field for the first three quarters and overtime of that game, but it is also abundantly obvious that Matthew Stafford only has one viable, reliable receiving weapon aside from Puka Nacua and that’s Adams.
L.A.’s tight ends and young receivers are not match for Adams’s value inside the 10-yard line and red zone.
Without Adams, the Rams would next face the Atlanta Falcons on Monday Night Football, which McVay himself all but assured would be sans Adams, a team highly motivated to get a win for Raheem Morris against his former team. The Arizona Cardinals should not be as competitive, but if the Rams know that a win would guarantee their chance to win the NFC West, how much more likely is it that McVay would try to get as many starters available for that game as possible?
The Rams took some risk by signing the second-oldest starting receiver on this side of Keenan Allen. That gamble has paid off near the end of a scoring drive, but has proved why its a risk near the end of a playoff season.
