Alden Gonzalez
ESPN Staff Writer [
www.espn.com]
Best play from Rams camp: Sure-handed rookie Cooper Kupp ran a deep "in" route, went up to grab the football, and Trumaine Johnson basically just ripped it out of his hands. This is an important year for Johnson, who is playing under the franchise tag again and realizes he'll probably be elsewhere next year. He wants to prove he's worthy of being paid like the top cornerbacks.
Overheard from Rams camp: Sean McVay attended Super Bowl XXXIV, when Kurt Warner's Rams narrowly defeated Jeff Fisher's Titans. He lived in Atlanta at the time, and his grandfather, the former 49ers exec, got McVay tickets for his 14th birthday. 17 years later, he replaced Fisher as the Rams' head coach. "I think you appreciate just what a small world this business is,"McVay said.
Rams injury report: WR Tavon Austin and OLB Samson Ebukam both missed practice because of hamstring injuries that aren't considered serious. OLB Robert Quinn had an excused absence. DE Dominique Easley (knee) and RB Lance Dunbar (knee) also didn't practice.
With Dominique Easley out for the year, and Aaron Donald holding out, it'll be Ethan Westbrooks, Louis Trinca-Pasat and rookie Tanzel Smart who will get a longer look with the first team. "It's tough," Michael Brockers, the only starting Rams defensive lineman at practice, said of losing Easley. "We work so hard; we push each other every day. You're missing a guy like that who drives you, drives that competitiveness in you and brings it out of you, and you hate to lose that."
Rams coach Sean McVay smiled when asked if he's hopeful of seeing Aaron Donald any time soon. "I'm hopeful to see Aaron Donald at any time," he said. Still no word on when he will show up, however. He was also asked at which point Donald's absence becomes a problem. Here's what he said ...
OLB Robert Quinn is excused from practice today. It was scheduled before training camp. Rams will be in pads again, with three members of their starting front seven -- Quinn, Dominique Easley and Aaron Donald -- not on the field.
Rams will monitor final cuts for defensive line help (as they will with running backs, with Lance Dunbar's status uncertain). For now, though, they will try to fill his void from within. Ethan Westbrooks, Tanzel Smart, Louis Trinca-Pasat are options to fill in. With Aaron Donald still holding out, those three will get a lot of snaps. It's times like these that the Rams miss having someone like Eugene Sims.
