The Rams’ Week 7 injury situation is already ugly, and Wednesday brought two more names to watch.
Cornerback Trent McDuffie sat out practice with a groin injury and is day-to-day, while linebacker Nate Landman has been added to the concussion protocol. Sean McVay said both players will be handled cautiously as the week moves on.
“Trent will be a DNP with his groin. We'll take it a day at a time, like what I told you guys, and evaluate his status as we go,” said head coach Sean McVay. “Then on Monday, found out Landman landed in the concussion protocol so he'll be a DNP.”
McDuffie was already a late addition to the report last week, and even though McVay said he felt good about him heading into Sunday, McDuffie wound up inactive. That makes him a real name to track as the week unfolds.
Landman’s situation is different. He’s been showing up on the injury report for the last few weeks, but the concussion protocol is a new wrinkle.
To come back, he’ll have to move through the league’s staged return process, starting with restricted activity before advancing to an aerobic program supervised by the club’s medical staff. From there, he’ll need to clear sport-specific work, then non-contact drills, and finally full practice and contact without any symptoms.
The Rams did get a couple of healthier updates. Cornerback Josh Wallace and tight end Colby Parkinson were both listed on the report but practiced as full participants.
There was also another roster move tied to the injuries. After leaving Kobie Turner off the injured reserve transactions on Tuesday, the Rams placed him on injured reserve Wednesday, meaning he’ll miss at least four weeks. To fill the spots, the team signed EDGE Darryl Peterson III to the active roster and added Jalen Hunt to the practice squad.
That leaves Los Angeles with four players on the injury report to open the week, and four players on injured reserve over the last few days. It’s been that kind of stretch for the Rams.
“Everybody sees these and they're on their fantasy team or whatever and they're like, 'I have to trade a guy in and out now.' We're like, 'Well, that guy has worked his ass off for the last eight months to get this opportunity and it's unfortunate he doesn't get to do what he loves to do,’” said quarterback Matthew Stafford.
“I feel more for our guys than I do for anybody else.I know the work that they put into it to be out here doing what they love, so that hurts me for them. But at the same time, I think I just feel even more responsibility to try to be as good as I can be to help us continue to win.”
On the other side, the Raiders had one non-participant in defensive lineman Tonka Hemingway, who remains in the concussion protocol. Tight end Brock Bowers, offensive tackle Kolton Miller, and linebacker Quay Walker were all limited.
The Rams are already heading into the matchup short-handed, and McDuffie or Landman joining the unavailable list would only make things tougher as they try to get back in the win column.
In Other News...
Rams May Be Headed For A Tough Matthew Stafford Decision
Matthew Stafford has done everything the Rams could ask of him through the first six games of the 2026 season, piling up 1,794 passing yards and sitting atop the league in that category. Even so, Los Angeles has only managed two wins, and the gap between Staffords production and the teams record has become hard to ignore as injuries continue to stack up around him.
Ty Simpson is among the younger players the Rams are weighing for more snaps as they try to navigate the stretch ahead. For a team that still has Stafford performing at a high level, the question is no longer whether he can carry an offense, but how long Los Angeles can keep asking him to do it while also trying to build a clearer path through the rest of the season. [Read more 🡒]
Rams Suddenly Have An Offensive Question They May Not Avoid Much Longer
The Rams keep running into the same kind of roster math that makes the rest of the NFC West worth watching. Their offense already took a hit with Davante Adams gone, and with tight end Terrance Ferguson unlikely to be back soon, the group is still waiting for more stability than it currently has. That is why the possibility of adding another receiver has started to feel less like a luxury and more like a question the team may have to answer sooner rather than later.
Across the division, the landscape is hardly getting simpler. The 49ers were pushed hard by the Commanders before escaping with a 23-17 win, a reminder that even veteran teams can leave chances on the table, while Seattle is dealing with its own uncertainty around Sam Darnold and the state of the offense. If Zach Charbonnet is back in Week 7, the Seahawks can lean more on the ground game, but for the Rams the bigger issue is whether their own passing attack can hold up long enough without another move to shore it up. [Read more 🡒]
Rams Suddenly Face A Huge WR Decision After Latest Injury Blow
The Rams receiver room took another hit when Davante Adams was projected to miss six to 10 weeks with a hamstring injury, adding more pressure to an offense already dealing with multiple injuries to key players. With Matthew Stafford and the passing game now facing a thinner margin for error, the team has been pushed into a tougher roster conversation than it expected this early in the stretch run.
Alex Kay floated the idea of Los Angeles looking at free-agent Tyreek Hill as a way to soften the blow, but the timing may not be on the Rams side. Hills agent has said he is close to signing with another NFL team, and there has been no official report of a deal with Los Angeles, leaving the Rams to weigh whether they need to act quickly or look elsewhere for help. [Read more 🡒]