Los Angeles Rams Place 3 Starters On Injured Reserve

The Los Angeles Rams fought valiantly on Sunday Night but ultimately fell to the Detroit Lions in overtime. Unfortunately, they lost more than just the game as they were decimated by injuries.

Most notably, during the game, Puka Nacua, Steve Avila, and Joe Noteboom were all sidelined and did not return.

Now for the news that everyone was dreading. All three players have been placed on Injured Reserve, meaning they will miss a minimum of 4 games.

Los Angeles Rams Place 3 Starters On Injured Reserve

Obviously, losing Puka Nacua is a tough loss as he is one of the budding stars in the NFL and is instrumental in the passing game. However, the Rams have a wealth of skill position players, and Cooper Kupp showed the world last week that he is still one of the best WRs in the game, so they should be ok in this regard over the next 4 weeks.

The real blow comes on the offensive line. Noteboom was already the backup swing tackle who was filling in for the suspended Alaric Jackson. Jackson will still have to sit one more game, so he will not be back in the lineup until Week 3 against the San Francisco 49ers.

Related: Los Angeles Rams Sign Experienced Playmaking Cornerback

When Noteboom went down, 3rd-string tackle, AJ Acuri stepped in. He did what he could, but overall it was not a good performance. PFF gave him a 25.9 overall grade and a putrid 1.9 pass-blocking grade.

The Rams did sign Ty Nsekhe and Geron Christian , who have both played tackle and could potentially be in line to start this Sunday. Both Christian and Nsekhe have 25 starts to their name, so there is some experience there.

Rob Havenstein missed Week 1 and is trending to hopefully play on the right side against Arizona, but if he is unable to go again, we will most likely see Warren McClendon Jr. back in that spot. McClendon Jr. was a little better but still received a paltry 33.8 grade from PFF .

The Los Angeles Rams also added Dylan McMahon off of the Eagles practice squad to potentially play inside. With Avila on IR, Jonah Jackson is back at the left guard position, which leaves the Center position open, and the right guard in question due to Kevin Dotson dealing with a lateral ankle sprain, so his status for Sunday is up in the air. If McMahon does have to play for Dotson, Rookie Beaux Limmer would get his first career NFL start.

The Rams offensive line was supposed to be the top unit of this team after the spending they did in free agency. Unfortunately, it will be at least another 4 weeks before we potentially see all 5 starters play together.

Will they be able to have some success with a patchwork offensive line? We will see it in action this Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals .

More must-reads:

• Los Angeles Rams Sign Experienced Playmaking Cornerback
• Think Aaron Donald Will Make A Comeback? Not If You Ask His Wife.
• McVay Gives Injury Update on Puka Nacua and More, 2 Expected To Hit IR