Team news: Los Angeles Rams

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.

The Rams drafted running back Blake Corum with the idea that he’ll be an immediate contributor as the backup to Kyren Williams. Early in training camp, they’re liking what they’re seeing.

Rams running backs coach Ron Gould says Corum is getting a lot of reps with the starters in camp because he deserves them.

“This is something that is earned,” Gould told theRams.com. “And I think he’s done a fabulous job of coming in, learning the system, and when we’re asking him to go in, he’s ready to go. He’s been a pro’s pro. He’s a young man that is very passionate about the game. He cares, he studies it, he rewrites his notes, he’s asking a lot of a lot of great questions. So these are the things that I’ve seen. And then he’s got in in practice, and he’s executed at a very high level.”

This could be one of the bigger stories to follow this offseason and right into the season - how much time will Corum take away from Williams. But as our own John Paulsen points out, Williams owners may not have too much to worry about. Williams was the RB2 on a per-game basis while handling 21.7 of the team’s 28.0 backfield touches in his 12 games played. Even if his touches fall to the 18.0-19.0 range–or 64% to 68% of the team’s backfield touches–he’s still looking at 16.5-17.5 (half-PPR) fantasy points per game. That would have been good enough to remain the RB2 behind Christian McCaffrey.

The Rams and quarterback Matthew Stafford have come to an agreement on a reworked contract, avoiding a holdout to begin training camp.

We reported Monday that although things were quiet on both sides about a potential deal, Stafford was expected to show up to camp today. The story said head coach Sean McVay announced the agreement at his Tuesday press conference. McVay was scheduled to speak hours before his presser actually began, but he was part of the meeting between the Rams’ brass and Stafford’s representation, finalizing the new deal.

Looks like Puka Nakua, Cooper Kupp and a bunch of other Rams players reported to camp last night, but QB1 (Matthew Stafford) wasn't one of them...

All eyes on No. 9 today.

Today is the actual day Ram players are required to show up for camp, so Stafford could still arrive today. Stafford, of course, would like a contract extension and both sides have been silent. Another beat writer, Jourdan Rodrigue, pointed out that Stafford did take part in camps all spring, so there is little reason to believe he won't show up for the start of training camp.

Bucs have said they’ll use Chris Godwin in the slot, after shifting him outside last year with an eye on avoiding injuries. It’s the role Cooper Kupp had with the Rams when Coen was there.

Related Players: Mike Evans, Trey Palmer, Jalen McMillan

Godwin had been around the 70% slot range over the previous three seasons before logging only 37% of his snaps from inside last year. If he returns to that role in 2024, we might not see a ton from rookie Jalen McMillan to begin the season. Through four years at Washington, McMillan lined up in the slot nearly two-thirds of the time, including a 92% rate in '22.

Godwin's explosive games have lessened recently, but he still makes an intriguing low-end WR3 in fantasy.