LOS ANGELES (AP) — Although the Los Angeles Rams are running awfully low on healthy wide receivers, coach Sean McVay said they didn’t acquire one at the trade deadline in part because they’re optimistic about Davante Adams returning “sooner than later.”
With Puka Nacua and Jordan Whittington joining Adams on the sideline with significant injuries this week, the receiver group on the Rams’ 53-man roster is down to a recent seventh-round pick, two veterans who have been cast aside and retrieved by Los Angeles this year, and a rookie who has yet to catch a pass.
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It’s not exactly the ideal scenario for McVay, Matthew Stafford and the Rams to keep a three-game winning streak going.
But after examining the trade market this week and finding it much too rich for their taste, the Rams (5-4) will try to stay afloat somehow until their injured receivers can get back in uniform — not before December, however.
“We’ve had a lot of unique things in terms of managing the (roster) and the practice squad,” McVay said Wednesday. “This is as much as I can remember with the roster mechanics, just because it’s different than previous years, when you’ve had a high volume (of injuries) in certain positions. We’ve just had a lot of different things across the board at a number of spots.”
No spot is currently in worse shape than wide receiver, but the Rams decided not to swing a deal for a replacement at Tuesday’s trade deadline.
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“It takes two, and you’ve got to be able to see what you’re willing to give (for) what’s out there,” McVay said.
The Rams’ decision was affected by their optimism about Adams, who has been on injured reserve since he strained his hamstring on the penultimate snap of a loss to Arizona last month, missing all three victories in the current streak.
McVay says the Rams are optimistic Adams will miss only two more games before returning against Kansas City on Dec. 3, calling it “a realistic timeline for us.”
The Rams visit Arizona on Sunday before their mini-bye week is followed by a visit from the Green Bay Packers on Thanksgiving Eve.
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Whittington went on injured reserve this week with his back injury, but the Rams aren’t putting Nacua on IR because they’re running low on the eight spots available for players who intend to return this season. The All-Pro wideout who injured his knee on the final offensive snap of last Sunday’s win at Washington will continue to occupy a roster spot until he’s able to play, hopefully next month.
Nacua has carried the Rams’ passing game this season, making 70 of their 120 catches by wide receivers. His 70 receptions are the most in NFL history by a player in his first seven games of a season — and when Nacua was injured for two games in September, Adams stepped up with a series of big plays.
The Rams’ current plight is even worse because of the lengthy absence of tight end Terrance Ferguson, their top pass-catcher at the position. He was just about to return from an ankle injury last week when he injured his hamstring in Friday’s practice, sidelining him again indefinitely.
The Rams remaining receivers are Konata Mumpfield, a modest contributor during his two seasons; Tutu Atwell, the undersized speedster who has struggled for six seasons to get playing time under McVay; Xavier Smith, a depth receiver and inconsistent kick returner for the previous two seasons; and CJ Daniels, the sixth-round rookie who has played six offensive snaps.
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Atwell signed with Miami as a free agent last spring, but the Rams reacquired him in August when no clear-cut No. 3 receiver emerged from the preseason. The Rams then cut Smith in October after he made yet another mistake as a punt returner, but they signed him off San Francisco’s practice squad on Tuesday.
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