Obo Okoronkwo progressing: won't be handed a roster spot:
| October 11, 2018 03:03PM |
By: Cameron DaSilva
Obo Okoronkwo progressing, but won't be handed a roster spot: 'He's gotta earn it'
It’s no secret that the Los Angeles Rams have struggled to generate pressure from the outside linebacker position. They’ve tried multiple players on the edges alongside Samson Ebukam, from Dominique Easley to Matt Longacre to John Franklin-Myers.
No one – not even Ebukam – has had sustained success rushing the passer, leading to some real problems on the defensive front. Fortunately, the Rams could get a big boost next week with Ogbonnia Okoronkwo eligible to come off the PUP list. He’s recovering from a broken foot suffered this spring, which caused him to miss all of training camp and preseason action.
As a result, the Rams have seen very little of him, which could prevent them from activating the rookie when first eligible. Sean McVay commented on Okoronkwo’s status Thursday, saying he’s trending in the right direction.
“He’s a guy that we’re monitoring. He’s making good progress. We’re coming up on that date. I don’t know exactly what that is. My brain is mush right now,” McVay said.
“But it’s coming up to where you can decide whether you want to activate him and put him on the roster, obviously that affects some different things that we’d have to do. But as far as we know, he’s on track to be able to potentially get back and get working with us.”
Good news, right? Okoronkwo looked like a steal as a fifth-round pick, fitting nicely in Wade Phillips’ scheme at outside linebacker. Unfortunately, the foot injury was a huge setback and there’s no guarantee he’ll even contribute as a rookie.
Once these six weeks are up, the Rams have another six weeks to let him begin practicing. Once that occurs, they have three more weeks to decide whether to activate him and put him on the 53-man roster or keep him on IR for the rest of the season.
That may seem like an easy decision based on the Rams’ struggles outside, but McVay isn’t going to hand him a roster spot.
“He’s gotta earn it. We have a lot of confidence in what he put on tape – it’s the reason why we wanted to be able to get him here.
But haven’t seen him play a lot of football – really, any football for that matter. Looking forward to just seeing him compete, see how he fits in and if it’s something that we feel like helps our team,” he said.
“But yeah, anyone you invest a pick in and that’s on our football team, we want to try to develop them to the best of our ability and see them flourish and he’s no different than anybody else.”
It seems almost certain Okoronkwo will begin practicing at some point, it’s just a matter of whether the Rams activate him in that three-week window, or if they feel good about the players currently on the roster.
[theramswire.usatoday.com]
Obo Okoronkwo progressing, but won't be handed a roster spot: 'He's gotta earn it'
It’s no secret that the Los Angeles Rams have struggled to generate pressure from the outside linebacker position. They’ve tried multiple players on the edges alongside Samson Ebukam, from Dominique Easley to Matt Longacre to John Franklin-Myers.
No one – not even Ebukam – has had sustained success rushing the passer, leading to some real problems on the defensive front. Fortunately, the Rams could get a big boost next week with Ogbonnia Okoronkwo eligible to come off the PUP list. He’s recovering from a broken foot suffered this spring, which caused him to miss all of training camp and preseason action.
As a result, the Rams have seen very little of him, which could prevent them from activating the rookie when first eligible. Sean McVay commented on Okoronkwo’s status Thursday, saying he’s trending in the right direction.
“He’s a guy that we’re monitoring. He’s making good progress. We’re coming up on that date. I don’t know exactly what that is. My brain is mush right now,” McVay said.
“But it’s coming up to where you can decide whether you want to activate him and put him on the roster, obviously that affects some different things that we’d have to do. But as far as we know, he’s on track to be able to potentially get back and get working with us.”
Good news, right? Okoronkwo looked like a steal as a fifth-round pick, fitting nicely in Wade Phillips’ scheme at outside linebacker. Unfortunately, the foot injury was a huge setback and there’s no guarantee he’ll even contribute as a rookie.
Once these six weeks are up, the Rams have another six weeks to let him begin practicing. Once that occurs, they have three more weeks to decide whether to activate him and put him on the 53-man roster or keep him on IR for the rest of the season.
That may seem like an easy decision based on the Rams’ struggles outside, but McVay isn’t going to hand him a roster spot.
“He’s gotta earn it. We have a lot of confidence in what he put on tape – it’s the reason why we wanted to be able to get him here.
But haven’t seen him play a lot of football – really, any football for that matter. Looking forward to just seeing him compete, see how he fits in and if it’s something that we feel like helps our team,” he said.
“But yeah, anyone you invest a pick in and that’s on our football team, we want to try to develop them to the best of our ability and see them flourish and he’s no different than anybody else.”
It seems almost certain Okoronkwo will begin practicing at some point, it’s just a matter of whether the Rams activate him in that three-week window, or if they feel good about the players currently on the roster.
[theramswire.usatoday.com]
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