The Los Angeles Rams will play the New Orleans Saints on Sunday as they come out of their bye week and enter the second half of the season. Following the Saints game, the Rams will enter a gauntlet over the next three weeks. The Rams will play the San Francisco 49ers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Seattle Seahawks in back-to-back-to-back weeks.
Over the past few weeks, the Rams have been managing injuries at key spots. They were without wide receiver Puka Nacua in the game against the Jacksonville Jaguars in London. Additionally, right tackle Rob Havenstein has been navigating an ankle injury for most of the season that has caused him to miss each of the last three games. Nacua was limited in practice on Wednesday, but a full participant on Thursday and Friday. Havenstein was a limited participant on Wednesday and Thursday. For the first time since early in the season, he was upgraded to a full participant on Friday. According to McVay, both Nacua and Havenstein will play against the Saints.
It is the NFL and no opponent should be taken lightly. Still, the Saints are 1-7 and that’s a game the Rams should be able to win even if they’re not at 100 percent. If the plan is for Havenstein to take over at right tackle when he is healthy, there shouldn’t be a rush to get him back in the lineup, especially with Warren McClendon playing as well as he has.
In the case that Havenstein takes over at right tackle again, it would need to be for the remainder of the season. It doesn’t make sense to rush Havenstein back and disrupt the chemistry of the offensive line only for him to re-injure his ankle. At that point, it’s better to just stick with McClendon. The Rams need Havenstein healthy through this difficult stretch.
When it comes to Nacua, the answer is slightly less clear and gets more complicated, especially with Tutu Atwell going on injured reserve. With that said, the Rams had one of their better offensive performances in their last game without Nacua. There’s no doubting the value that Nacua brings to the offense. At the same time, when it comes to the second half of the season, the Rams really need Nacua healthy for the division games and against the Buccaneers and Lions. This may be a game that the Rams could get by without Nacua and once again rely on the tight ends and running backs.
Again, it’s the NFL and no team should be overlooked and treated lightly. That still applies to a team as bad as the New Orleans Saints who sit at 1-7 and are making a change at quarterback. If Havenstein plays, it’ll give the offensive line a chance to build chemistry before the three-game gauntlet mentioned earlier. In Nacua’s case, the Rams can at least limit his role if they deem that necessary.
The worst thing that the Rams can do is play Nacua and Havenstein and have them re-aggravate their injuries in the same way that Atwell did. While it’s trending towards Havenstein and Nacua playing, hopefully they can both get out of the game healthy as the Rams look ahead to a crucial second half of the season.
