Rams will still play Okoronkwo, young pass rushers with Matthews back
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theramswire.usatoday.com]
Cameron DaSilva
Clay Matthews will be back on the field for the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday afternoon in Pittsburgh, but don’t expect him to dominate the snaps at outside linebacker like he did before breaking his jaw in Week 5. The Rams are still going to give their young pass rushers opportunities after stepping up in a big way while Matthews was out.
Ogbonnia Okoronkwo, in particular, played well while Matthews was sidelined, recording 1.5 sacks, a tackle for loss and three quarterback hits. Wade Phillips was asked this week how Matthews’ return will impact the playing time for younger players such as Okoronkwo, and he responded by saying this:
“Clay will play. He’s not going to play every play like he did before, so I think that’s part of it,” he said. “We’ll still rotate people and the other guys have come in and played well. We want to give them some playing time too. He’s certainly a really good player at his position, so we’re glad to have him back.”
Matthews wasn’t technically playing “every play” before his injury as Phillips said, but he was playing a lot. He played at least 55% of the snaps in each of his first five games with the Rams, averaging about 65% in those starts.
That number should decrease with Okoronkwo mixing into the rotation, as well as Samson Ebukam. The more pass rushers the Rams have, the better. And they certainly have plenty right now with Matthews healthy.
