The Rams added some needed muscle to their defense ahead of a big stage, signing veteran linebacker Eric Kendricks to the practice squad before their upcoming “Monday Night Football” meeting with the Bills.
Los Angeles enters the game at 2-2, while Buffalo comes in at 3-1. Both teams remain in the mix for a Super Bowl push, and the Rams are trying to steady a defense that has been hit by injuries.
Kendricks gives them a proven body in the middle of all that uncertainty. A second-round pick by the Vikings in 2015 out of UCLA, he’s also a California native, and this is a return to the LA area after he previously played for the Chargers in 2023.
Over 11 NFL seasons - eight with Minnesota and one each with Dallas, LA and San Francisco - Kendricks has piled up 1,180 combined tackles, including 732 solo, to go with 65 tackles for loss, 21.5 sacks, 60 pass breakups, 11 interceptions and eight forced fumbles.
His peak came in 2019, when he landed Pro Bowl and first-team All-Pro honors after posting 110 combined tackles, including 70 solo, four tackles for loss, two forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries, 0.5 sacks and 12 pass breakups in 15 games.
He’s started 143 games and has recorded 100-plus total tackles in nine straight seasons, which is the kind of steady veteran production the Rams can use right now.
Sean McVay’s defense still has some key pieces in place, including Kobie Turner, Byron Young, Nate Landman and Omar Speights, but the room is thin enough that every injury matters. The Rams can’t afford many more hits if they want to make the most of the championship window they still have.
Kendricks should fit in alongside that group while the Rams wait for Garrett to return. Garrett remains on injured reserve after knee surgery in late September, and there’s still no clear timetable for his comeback.
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From Los Angeles side, though, Smith also carried the kind of volatility that can change a game in one snap. The Rams saw the upside in his return ability, but they also lived through the inconsistency that made him a frustrating fit at times, including the kind of mistake that tends to stick with a player long after the rest of the tape is forgotten. [Read more 🡒]