Los Angeles Rams Training Camp: Derion Kendrick’s ACL Tear Latest But Not Only Blow to Secondary

Today Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay confirmed what Adam Schefter had reported earlier in the day; Derion Kendrick tore his ACL. He offered the update that the injury would require surgical repair as well as praised him for the work he’s put in this season and condolences.

“I’m really proud of the way that he’s worked. He’s continued to really mature in a lot of different ways. And if there’s one thing you know about this guy, he can handle setbacks. He’ll have a lot of support from his teammates and coaches. And he’ll attack the rehab. He’ll probably get that surgery here in a couple weeks. But, you know, that’s tough for him. And, you know, bummed out about that.

Darious Williams “Felt it in His Hamstring”

That isn’t the only bad news for the secondary. On the final play of the Rams training camp Day 2, a deep pass down the left sideline intended for Cooper Kupp , the newly re-acquired cornerback, Darious Williams, who was in coverage against Kupp, looked to be in pain. McVay later confirmed Williams was in discomfort, but couldn’t confirm nor deny the severity of the possible injury but he did confirm that Williams “felt it in his hamstring.”

Williams is heading into his seventh season in the league and turned 31 years old earlier this year. Williams has not missed a game due to injury since 2021 when he missed three weeks due to an ankle injury.

LAFB will update Williams’s status as information comes to light.

The Near Future for the Los Angeles Rams Secondary

Williams was one of four big additions the Rams made to their secondary this offseason to add veterans in the backfield. In light of Kendricks’s injury and Williams’s possible injury, McVay was asked if they would consider adding another corner to the group.

“There’s a possibility of that, Gary [Klein]. You know, we have some depth right now.
But being two days in and then having kind of a deload day. And then we’ll turn it back
up on Saturday. So, we’ll look at those things.”

There is of course the prospect of being at least one man down, but McVay explained why it can have a broader deleterious effect on the group at large.

“The thing you want to make sure you don’t do is when you get short on that depth, other guys have to pick up the slack. And then it can kind of have an accumulation of some workloads that you want to be mindful of. So, we’ll definitely take that into consideration.”

Other Injury Considerations For the Los Angeles Rams

Free agent Tre’Davious White came into his contract with the Rams having come off back-to-back season-ending injuries. Most recently he suffered a torn Achilles at the beginning of October of 2023. He is considered a full go at camp, but is on pitch count. Sean McVay also mentioned that Tre Tomlinson had missed the “latter part of the spring”

Ahkello Witherspoon was floated as a possible free agent to target in the event of the need. McVay was open to the idea. “I loved working with Akello last year. So, it’s definitely something that you wouldn’t eliminate.”

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