The Los Angeles Rams are down to the part of the offseason where every decision feels heavier than it should. After finishing their final preseason game Thursday, the team now has to trim the roster to 53 players, and that means good camp stories are about to turn into hard cuts.
One of the biggest twists came before the preseason finale, when the Rams surprisingly traded running back Jarquez Hunter. That move can be read a few different ways, including the idea that it opens a path for Connors. Even so, the Rams may still be able to bring Connors back on the practice squad.
Connors has gotten some preseason buzz, but that can be a dangerous trap this time of year. He has played well, but the Rams may believe there’s a better chance of sneaking him through waivers than some observers think.
Another player who has pushed his way into the conversation is Wesley Bailey. He has made his presence felt in the two games where he logged extended snaps, including a strong showing against the New Orleans Saints, when he finished with 10 pressures, a sack and a forced fumble. Against the Chargers on Thursday, he was on the field for just two snaps.
Bailey’s case looks strong, but the Rams came into the preseason likely planning to keep only four edge rushers. If Bailey gets a spot, another position will have to give.
The Hunter trade also brought wide receiver Tutu Atwell into the picture, which makes that room even more interesting. If the Rams plan to lean on 12 and 13 personnel, carrying seven wideouts doesn’t make much sense.
Atwell finished last season behind Xavier Smith and Konata Mumpfield in the pecking order, and both are still on the roster. That means the addition of Atwell may not change the math as much as it first appears. The Rams could still end up putting him on the practice squad, which would sound strange on the surface, but it would fit if Hunter was headed out anyway.
Tim Keenan III is another player whose status could come down to a painful roster judgment. Draft picks are tough to move on from, but the Rams may have to do it here.
Keenan played better in the finale against the Chargers, yet he struggled for much of the first two preseason games. Because he was a later pick, the Rams may be able to cut him and bring him back on the practice squad.
The secondary brings its own problem. Tanner Ingle has been a steady special teams player and has spent the last few years with the team on the practice squad, but there may simply not be room for him on the 53-man roster.
Cam Lampkin faces a similar uncertainty at cornerback. He turned in an impressive training camp and played well throughout the preseason, but this is a deep roster and the spots are scarce. If the Rams let him go, another team could easily claim him, and that’s a risk they may have to accept.
In Other News...
Rams Let One Kicker Slip Away And Fans Still Feel It
The Rams had a chance in 2022 to keep Cameron Dicker in the building after adding the rookie to their training camp roster, but they moved on because of concerns about his lack of experience as a holder. It looked like a routine camp decision at the time, the kind teams make when sorting through specialists, but it has taken on a different tone as Dicker settled in with the Chargers and quickly developed into one of the league's most accurate kickers.
Los Angeles, meanwhile, has spent the years since cycling through multiple options without finding the same kind of stability. That contrast has made Dicker an easy touchstone for fans who still wonder what might have been if the Rams had been willing to be a little more patient, and it is the sort of missed opportunity that tends to linger when the kicking game keeps drawing attention for all the wrong reasons. [Read more 🡒]
Rams Suddenly Have A Stetson Bennett Question They Can't Ignore
The Rams have spent enough time juggling roster decisions this season that even a backup quarterback spot can turn into a conversation point. Stetson Bennett remains part of the picture, but he still has not been officially named the No. 2 behind the starter, which has only fueled the kind of speculation that tends to follow teams trying to sort out the edges of the roster. Add in the recent trade involving Jarquez Hunter and Tutu Atwell, and it is easy to see why every move is being read as part of a larger plan.
Still, the chatter around Bennett has outpaced the actual reporting so far. There have been trade proposals floating around, but no reputable insider has confirmed that the Rams are actively shopping him, and the team has also shown it is willing to factor injuries into trade negotiations when the right deal comes along. For now, Bennett sits in that awkward middle ground where he is clearly relevant to the depth chart, but not yet locked into the role that would quiet the outside noise. [Read more 🡒]
Rams Have One Big Obstacle In Their NFC West Chase
Seattle sits atop the NFC West pecking order heading into the 2026 preseason, with the Rams right behind them as the divisions closest challenger. That alone says plenty about where Los Angeles stands after a year in which the race figures to be shaped as much by roster stability as by star power, especially with San Francisco dealing with injury concerns and an aging core, and Arizona still trying to patch together its front and welcome a fresh wave of rookies.
For the Rams, the biggest reason to keep looking over their shoulder is at quarterback, where Matthew Stafford remains central to everything they want to do and the future behind him is still unsettled. In a division this tight, that kind of uncertainty matters, because the gap between first and second could come down to which contender feels most secure under center once the games start to count. [Read more 🡒]