Team news: Los Angeles Rams

The Rams used a third-round pick on running back Blake Corum with the idea that they’d use him to share reps and carries with Kyren Williams. On Sunday night, that didn’t happen.

Williams had 21 touches (with 18 carries). Corum had none. That’s because Williams was on the field for 91 percent of the offensive snaps (71 total). And Corum was there for none.

So what happened?

“I think each game is going to be its own entity,” coach Sean McVay told reporters on Monday, the day after the 26-20 overtime loss to the Lions. “It was a very unique circumstance because when we got so many of our [offensive] linemen banged up, it limited some of the different — basically, we didn’t operate off anything that our game plan was."

Related players: Ronnie Rivers

Corum was supposed to be able to spell Williams this season because the Rams gave Williams such a big workload last season. Williams was one of the top fantasy backs as a result, but the plan seemed to be to give Williams less of a workload to help keep him healthy. McVay went on to say he also wants to get Rivers more carries, but in Week 1 there were circumstances that kept guys on the field they trusted. Despite the preseason hype around Corum, right now the Rams just trust Williams more, and it seems like Rivers more as well. That will likely change at some point as talent usually wins out, and Corum should at least become the team's RB2. For now, Corum owners can't trust him in lineups until we see a lot more in terms of fantasy production.

McVay clarifies, Puka Nacua will go to IR. He will miss four games minimum.

Related players: Tyler Johnson, Jordan Whittington, Tutu Atwell

The news seemed to get worse for Nacua very quickly, going from week to week, to an IR candidate to now being placed on IR. The rest of the post went on to say Nacua aggravated his previous injury in a “more significant” manner. Rodrigue has reported many times that Johnson and Whittington have backed up Nacua. Atwell will probably get more snaps as well, according to Rodrigue. Johnson had a nice game behind Cooper Kupp in Week 1, but Whittington has been talked about in the dynasty community as a sleeper.

Rams WR Puka Nacua aggravated his summer knee injury Sunday night vs. the Lions.

Related players: Cooper Kupp, Demarcus Robinson, Jordan Whittington, Tyler Johnson, Colby Parkinson

Nacua is still going through additional testing, according to Schefter. He is expected to be considered week to week, per sources. That likely means his Week 2 status is in doubt. The Rams are at Arizona in Week 2 in a later afternoon game, so owners will need a backup plan. Kupp took advantage with 14 catches and 110 yards and could do so again in Week 2 if Nacua is out of action. The Rams could look to Johnson (5-79-0), Robinson and Parkinson at TE to make up for the loss of Nacua, much like they did in Week 1. Whittington, who is a rookie, is another name to watch.

Rams WR Puka Nacua left Sunday’s game against the Lions with a knee injury.

Nacua initially left the game during the second quarter and was being checked out in the medical tent. He attempted to test out the knee and was even back in for a short moment but the Rams ultimately decided to keep Nacua out for the rest of the game after halftime. We’ll hopefully have an update after the game but hopefully the injury isn’t too serious.

Sean McVay says Puka Nacua is practicing fully.

“He’ll be ready to roll.”

Related Players: Cooper Kupp, Demarcus Robinson, Jordan Whittington

There's been a lot of hand-wringing about Nacua's knee injury, and it has dropped him well out of the first round on many occasions. He remains a a fringe WR1 option if he heads into Week 1 fully healthy.

Jordan Whittington may be utilized in a variety of ways by the Rams as the season progresses.

Whittington seems to be picking up a lot of steam over the recent days, drawing comparisons to Puka Nacua, with some suggesting a similar breakout season. While that remains to be seen, the author suggested Whittington could be used at running back, especially on sweeps and stretch plays. He'll be battling for WR3 snaps.

Tight end Tyler Higbee will miss at least the first four games of the Rams’ season.

Adam Schefter of ESPN reports that Higbee will remain on the team’s physically unable to perform list when they make their cuts to an initial 53-man roster.

Related players: Colby Parkinson

Higbee is recovering from the torn knee ligaments he suffered in the team’s playoff loss to the Lions in January, the story said. With Higbee out, Parkinson is a name to watch out for at the position, and has been getting some attention during the later rounds of drafts.

According to multiple reporters on the scene, Matthew Stafford is participating in Monday’s practice.

HC Sean McVay said he was not concerned about Stafford missing the Week 1 game against Detroit, but Stafford getting back on the field is nevertheless a good sign, the story went on to say. Stafford had to exit last week’s joint session with the Cowboys and then did not practice or play for the rest of the week — though he would not have been on the field for Saturday’s exhibition matchup with the Chargers anyway, the story added.

Rams WR Puka Nacua left Sunday's practice about an hour into team drills and was later seen with ice around his right knee.

Head coach Sean McVay said he was "unsure" about what happened to Nacua. Nacua did stay in uniform and his helmet on the sideline but did not return to practice. Hopefully this is minor and the Rams were just being cautious with their young star receiver. Nacua is our WR17.

During an appearance on NFL Network Monday, Cooper Kupp said that his good health and the chance to work out with quarterback Matthew Stafford has him feeling primed for a return to his desired form.

“I feel good. We got a lot of good work in this offseason,” Kupp said. “The best thing about this last year was just being able to feel healthy and have a full offseason of work, not just for myself in terms of working out and building my body back up but also having that time with Matthew, being able to get on the field and work through things together.

The key for Kupp has been his ability to get a normal offseason under his belt. Kupp ended the 2022 season on injured reserve and then started the 2023 season the same way, which has helped make it feel like it’s been even longer since he was the NFL’s offensive player of the year, the story said. The story added this offseason has been a lot smoother for Kupp. He returned from a hamstring injury to play 13 games last year and he’s been able to work without any health concerns since the Rams’ season ended against the Lions in the Wild Card round of the playoffs.