Tutu Atwell

Van Jefferson had the second of two separate offseason knee procedures as training camp opened in late July. While he has stayed on track with his rehab — which initially projected a return right around this time — the Rams have maintained that he’s “day-to-day”, and internally have agreed that they will not rush him back in the hopes that he’s healthy and available for the season as a whole (even if that means missing the opener).

Related players: Ben Skowronek, Tutu Atwell

The story went on to say that since the start of his absence, the Rams have approached the position “by committee,” meaning a couple of different receivers took over Jefferson’s snap allotment in training camp and in joint practices against the Bengals in late August. That would be the most likely case if Jefferson misses games to start the season. As the story went on to say, Skowronek and Atwell have both emerged as options, but, both players’ rookie seasons were tough. Atwell missed the start of training camp while recovering from COVID-19 and then suffered a season-ending shoulder injury, while Skowronek, who initially contributed mostly on special teams, rotated into the offense late in the season and postseason because of injuries to other players — but also worked through consistency issues.