The Rams had one more setback to reckon with Monday before they could move on from their loss to the San Francisco 49ers and prepare to open the playoffs against the Arizona Cardinals.
Safety Jordan Fuller was declared out for the rest of the season – how ever long that is – with a right ankle injury that might require surgery.
“That’s a big loss for us,” Coach Sean McVay said of Fuller, who led the Rams with 113 tackles and served as defensive signal-caller and a team captain.
McVay said Fuller’s safety position would be filled by a combination of Nick Scott and Terrell Burgess, both of whom played well in the Rams’ 27-24 overtime loss on Sunday.
After Fuller got hurt in the fourth quarter, cornerback Jalen Ramsey filled in with the in-helmet transmitter to relay defensive coordinator Raheem Morris’ calls to teammates.
McVay said inside linebackers Troy Reeder and Travin Howard are other candidates to be the defensive signal-caller when the Rams (12-5) face the Cardinals (11-6) in the wild-card round next Monday night at SoFi Stadium.
When Fuller was on the COVID-19 reserve list for the Rams’ victory over the Seattle Seahawks in December, rookie inside linebacker Ernest Jones took the signal-caller role. Jones is on injured reserve with an ankle sprain. McVay indicated he could return if the Rams advance in the playoffs.
Fuller isn’t the only injury concern in the secondary as it gets ready to face Arizona quarterback Kyler Murray, whose play was pivotal in the Cardinals’ win and loss in two regular-season meetings with the Rams.
McVay said safety Tayor Rapp was in the NFL’s concussion protocol, and cornerback Darious Williams was having a shoulder injury evaluated.
Dont’e Deayon and David Long are next on the defensive back depth chart. There’s a “possibility,” McVay said, that rookie Robert Rochell (chest) could come off IR and help.
Another injury revealed by McVay on Monday didn’t sound likely to affect the Cardinals game but might have changed the 49ers game.
Quarterback Matthew Stafford injured a toe on a third-down sack, and his limited mobility was one reason the Rams went with three Sony Michel running plays to try to ice the game with a 24-17 lead and 1:50 left in the fourth quarter. The plays netted 5 yards, and the Rams punted. The 49ers matched 88 yards to send the game to OT.
“It wasn’t like he was going to come out of the game,” McVay said of Stafford, “but there’s just certain things that maybe you would potentially call in those scenarios that you’re not as comfortable with the ability to execute at the level you want.”
McVay said Stafford “felt good” Monday.
Fuller, not so much.
Fuller has been vital in the Rams’ success in moving on from safety John Johnson after he left in free agency. In talking about his importance, McVay noted Fuller’s game-changing interception against the Baltimore Ravens in Week 17, and what being voted a captain in his second NFL season says about teammates’ respect for him.
“I think he’s taken steps in the right direction to be a really good player for a long time to come,” McVay said.
Starting next season.
‘I WAS PISSED’
McVay said he was taking a “half-glass-full approach” Monday to thinking about how the Rams’ regular season ended, looking at their 12-5 record and the third NFC West title in his five seasons.
His mood had been darker Sunday when he talked with reporters for only 2½ minutes, upset at having to back into the division title and slipping from the No. 2 seed to No. 4 in the NFC playoffs after blowing a 17-3 halftime lead to the 49ers.
“Hey, I’m always going to be real, at least. I was pissed,” McVay said. “I think I’m getting grumpier in my old age of 35.”
The loss ended an NFL-record streak for McVay, whose Rams had been 45-0 in games they led at the half.
2022 OPPONENTS SET
With the 2021 regular season in the books, the Rams know their opponents in 2022.
At home, they’ll face Arizona, San Francisco, Seattle, Atlanta, Carolina, Dallas, Las Vegas, Denver and Buffalo.
Away, they’ll face Arizona, San Francisco, Seattle, New Orleans, Tampa Bay, Green Bay, Kansas City and the Chargers.
That’s nine games at home, eight on the road, if you count the Chargers game at SoFi Stadium as an away game.
The NFL schedule rotation has the Rams playing the NFC South and AFC West. Winning the NFC West draws games against the division-winning Cowboys, Packers and Bills.
Twelve of the Rams’ 17 opponents in 2022 finished above .500 this season.
NOTES
The Rams were favored over the Cardinals by four points as the week began. The point spread was the same for the teams’ October game at SoFi Stadium, which Arizona won, 37-20. The Cardinals were favored by three in the December game in Glendale, Ariz., which the Rams won, 30-23. … Cam Akers gained only 3 yards on five carries and 10 on three pass receptions, but McVay said the running back’s return from a preseason Achilles’ tendon injury was a step toward bigger things. “I think you’re going to see him feel a little bit more comfortable next week,” McVay said. … Rams offensive coordinator Kevin O’Connell is reported to be among NFL assistants the Denver Broncos asked to interview to replace fired head coach Vic Fangio. McVay declined to identify staff members for whom he has received such requests.
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