Jonah Jackson Injured! Timetable For Return, Rams Offensive Line Depth Chart, Rookie Sleepers Stars

the Rams big offseason acquisition has gone down with an injury when will he be back and what will the Rams do with him out that's coming up next on lock on [Music] Rams you are locked on Rams your daily Los Angeles Rams podcast part of the locked on podcast Network your team every day what is up Ramy and welcome to another episode of lockdown Rams your daily podcast covering your Los Angeles Rams free and available wherever get your podcast locked on Rams part of locked on podcast Network your team every day we're also available over on YouTube so if you haven't yet do us a huge favor join the party and subscribe to lockon Rams YouTube channel hit that subscribe button hit that notification Bell hit that like button and let us know how concerned are you about the injuries early on at Rams training camp my name is Doug McCain friends call me dmac you can follow me on exit Instagram at dmac corla I've been covering LA Sports for over a decade Dodgers Nation 47 Sports bleach report now the Rams four locked on and as always I'm joined by the Rams preh half and postgame show host for the Rams flagship radio station ESPN 710 La he's entering his ninth season covering your Los Angeles Rams the people's champ Mr Travis Rogers you can follow him on X at Travis Rogers and on today's show we're breaking down the injuries at Rams Camp How concerned could should we be also pukan n how he can avoid a sophomore slump all that more but first this episode of locked on Rams is brought to you by Game Time download the game time app create an account and use code locked on for $20 off your first purchase terms apply all right Travis so not not all the sunshine and Rainbows in this first segment so we're gonna start off with something positive I did get a chance to go see the new Wolverine Deadpool movie I don't if you know this the Rams get a shout out they're driving in the car Deadpool and Wolverine and Deadpool looks over to Wolverine and says friend friends don't let friends leave the house looking like they fight crying for the Los Angeles Rams pretty cool stuff to hear our Rams shouted out in the movie well it you know I I do think there's something to it it's small and it's it's that little incremental stuff along the way but that would be an easy joke to let go by the way or use a different team or find some other joke to make but the Rams I think in the Shawn McVey era in the recent Super Bowl in the Sofi era have become part of the Zeitgeist they they just have like you know Steelers Patriots Cowboys these are teams that are always in the mix and now the Rams are a part of that is pretty cool that's one thing with the NFL you get like dude who's in costume the whole game right you don't see in the NBA really not even that much in college football but like dude who literally like the Predator mask guy my my favorite guy is and I don't know if he's still around if he if he is not rip to him but barrelman in Denver was my all favorite guy he was this older guy with like a big white prospector beard who was naked inside of a giant Barrel that he wore over his shoulders that guy was the man I know I remember seeing that like was that like that metal thing I is that kind of cold you know where it shouldn't be cold like you know it's already cold there but yeah absolutely but now we got to get into the news and it's not good about the Rams big offseason acquisition according to Mike Garo of the NFL Network Jonah Jackson suffered a bruised scapula in practice on Tuesday and the new report says he's expected to miss around 6 weeks now according to the Athletics Jordan rodrig the team is optimistic that Jackson won't miss significant regular season time and she said that Jonah Jackson has a shoulder injury a sore said but so far there's optimism he won't miss significant regular season time Jackson was not present at today's walkthrough sham MCV to address reporters and standard pressor tomorrow so big takeaway there is not significant regular season time missing meaning he will miss some regular season time so we won't see him against his former team against the Detroit Lions presumably I mean we know the Rams aren going to be playing their starters a ton in preseason anyway but this definitely is a pretty big blow yeah I I think it depends on kind of how you where your head is to begin on things like this that if if you're being you know optimistic and you're looking at this as the glass half full it is he wasn't going to play in the preseason anyway he wasn't going to step foot onto a field until they went to Detroit for Sunday Night Football in week one so he's really not missing much he's a veteran so he knows how to play NFL football he doesn't necessarily have to be out there a ton during the preseason uh to be ready to go you read the reports you hear the reporting that he's not expected to miss a ton of regular season time okay cool you know guys this is somebody who started 12 games last year who has missed some time with some injuries here or there that's kind of been uh the Bugaboo for him in his NFL career that's the positive he'll come back he'll be ready to go the Rams offensive line looks good that's the glass half full the opposite is is so frequently we'll see something that happens in training camp that just lingers and never really gets back to where it's supposed to be that he never really finds his Groove with the new team the way that you would like him to that this is something that he comes back in week three four five whatever it may be and he's good but maybe not quite what you thought it would be that it never really clicks the way that you were anticipating and the whole season is kind of derailed or at least the offensive line portion of the season is derailed because of something that happened in training camp and you never get the best version of one of your best free agents that you signed uh during during the off season so I guess it depends on how quickly he comes back how effective he is but this could really swing uh two wildly different ways this could be something by week three or four that we never even mention again or this could be something that we're still talking about in week 12 13 14 that the Rams o line never really got together because of what happened to Jackson in Camp yeah and that really comes on the heels of aler Jackson tweaking his ankle practice and the first thing that popped into my mind is please let this not be a repeat of 2022 let's hope that that is not the case in this situation and just looking back at our first episode on Jonah Jackson and the fact that we were happy that they focused on solidifying that offensive line especially in the interior well the big if was if he could stay healthy this is someone who has dealt injuries throughout his career and he didn't wait long to have one with the Rams and the Rams they signed to a threeyear $51 million contract 34 million guaranteed he made him the sixth highest paid guard in the NFL they also went out and resigned Kevin doson to 60 million dollar per season so look I mean this was the focus for this Rams organization so to suffer this early on I definitely think it throws a wrench into the early part of training camp now as far as what they're going to do there's a reason why you gave Joe noboom $6 million this year not to start was so he could provide some depth but he's already plugged in at left tackle for Aller Jackson so really they're GNA have to find some other options whether it be a Zachary Thomas whether it be a Bo limmer which we'll talk about here in a minute so the good thing is there is some depth pieces in place but the best thing for this team obviously is Jonah Jackson just to get healthy as soon as possible yeah look this is the NFL you're going to need your backups you're going to need you know the rosters are tight and this is not college football in the NFL Everybody Plays right there there are no guys that just stand around and don't do anything everybody plays in the n everybody gets on the field everybody contributes where it gets dicey is that you start dipping into depth before you've even started the season that that's where that you know you kind of start to feel a little certain way about this because you're right if it were just AJ Jackson or just Jonah Jackson you're like okay this is life in the NFL but when it's both of them all of a sudden and your depth piece for both of those positions is the same guy in Joe Noom all right well that means now all of a sudden we're into somebody else and now you're asking very different questions about do you move Steve Avala back to guard do you put limmer back in in in Center like you now all of a sudden we're filling holes with holes and creating new holes and this is where it gets really really uh complicated and it really starts to stress your depth um you know this is something that everybody's going to have to deal with but there is a point of no return there is a Breaking Point you brought it up the season after the Super Bowl this thing started happening day one against the bills opening night of the NFL season and it just snowballed from there and they could never get on top of it until maybe the last five weeks of the season part of it was Baker Mayfield coming back but part of it was they finally had the same Five Guys in the same five spots for about a month they went two and three that's not good but it's not Dreadful the way that they had been earlier in the season so this is this is a thing you know his return AJ Jackson's return these are things to look at and how effective they are early in the season because once you start pressing on that depth now you're down to virtually nothing behind the depth pieces it's a big deal absolutely and also building that chemistry and continuity early on is something that takes a hit as well but we're going to continue to break down what this injury means for the Rams in a rookie backup that might have his opportunity and he could take full advantage that's coming up next un locked on Rams all right let's talk about the game time after I think I think a lot of people if I was watching my uh the Dodgers last night down it's San Diego I think a lot of San diegans use that game time app to go fill up Dodger or Petco park with Dodger fans not a great night but the point is it's summer it's baseball season and game time is an authorized ticket Marketplace of Major League Baseball which makes getting your tickets faster and easier and this is awesome prices on the game time app actually go down the closer you get to first pitch so if you want to take in a few ball games before the end of the summer if you want to get in a few regular season games before the playoff start if you want to about playoff tickets the game time app is a great way to buy your major league baseball tickets last minute tickets Flash Deals views from your seat everything that you could possibly 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those everyday listeners out there watching and listening to every single episode we can't tell you how much we appreciate you and you can join at every listeners Club too just watch listen every episode and you won't miss a thing about your Los Angeles Rams all right Travis here we're going to pick up where we left up on this topic and you brought up Steve aala the idea could Steve AA move back to guard and my take on that is there's just been so much time invested in getting back to that Center position learning at this level it's not something that I would entertain you look at the backup options now Zachary Thomas and no Joe Noom they're getting first team reps in practice so Steve Avala we know he's capable as a guard we also know that the potential for him to be an all pros at Center yeah I'll use our our other team that you and I talk a lot about Doug I don't know if the plan was ever to have guys like uh River Ryan and and reesy and these guys start a bunch of important games but sometimes you just have to do what you have to do right that you don't have a lot of optionality I I get it that they wanted to move him to Center that really from the second the season ended last year they made the announcement Steve uh Ava is goingon to be our our Center for next season I think that's where they want him and and I agree with you I think that's where he'll probably spend the vast majority if not all the season we know that he played every single snap last year at left guard he's a durable guy but at some point just the needs of the team and the versatility of the rest of your offensive line comes into play he can swing back and forth so if you can get some production at center from someone else and get another really high level performer at guard like aala we know he can do there maybe that's a fix I agree with you it would be my last resort it would be the very last thing that I do but once you have two guys down and one guy is the backup for both spots the way that not boom is you're going to have to plug some holes you only got so many fingers to stick into the dam right and and right now there's a lot of holes in that Dam especially on the left side that's for sure I mean I don't think no boom would be my first choice at guard but I mean he's the next man up that they really have invested in so he's going to get the opportunities depending on how quickly aler Jackson can get back but look what I'm thinking too is you got joint practices next week you're going to need some bodies just to be able to execute and go out there and just continue this and I think for me this is a situation where Bo limmer gets an opportunity because Bo limmer is someone who they're really high on for the NFL draft he's someone that definitely slid a lot of people thought he was going to go higher and he has that positional versatility that they covet as well if you look at his college career made 41 starts he had 28 at Right Guard 12 at Center one at left guard so he's also told reporters that back at NFL draft combine that he can sell you himself playing at the three interior positions and he sees himself as a guard so I do want to see what Bo Limer can do he was one of the strongest at the Senior Bowl he actually did a really nice job blocking Braden Fisk was one of his highlights so I think Bo limmer could get his opportunity here he's gonna get an opportunity for sure and look let's go back to the positivity let's go back to the glass being half full what this does while it's a drag that Jackson is down while it's a drag that the other Jackson is down as well it does create opportunities it creates opportuni for younger players who may not have gotten an opportunity to to shine and join practices maybe in a preseason game to to really kind of say all right well maybe we got something here maybe we can put him out there and you know the Wally pip is the great example of this you know take a day off Luke Garrett goes in there he doesn't come out for the next 600 years and he never leaves the field opportunities are there it's whether or not guys could take advantage of them um I you know who knows maybe they got a guy right there that you can put right in there and Matthew staff is comfortable with him kyen Williams and Blake corm are comfortable running behind him he fits like you're talking about that continuity with the offensive line you get a few weeks a few preseason games to kind of work with everybody along the way and the next thing you know it's not that Jonah Jackson's going to lose his job that's not what we're talking about but you have a real depth piece along the way that allows you to feel very comfortable maybe sliding some other people into some different spots I'm telling you look I'm not going to take a Victory lap here and say I was probably the first person on the plan to say that pukan theu is going to be a star not going to here do that you were by the way I'm giving that to Bo limmer I I don't think he's going to do it year one but I'm telling I'm giving him that juice I'm telling you if you look at 39 reps on the bench press 36 and half inch verticals tied second amongst offensive lineman he's strong mean can squat 700 plus pounds had a 9.8 relative Athletic score I don't know how they picked him up so late in the draft but I'm telling you this guy has got the goods and I think that yeah maybe he's not going to be a starter this season but I'm very interested to see what sha McVey has to say about Bo limur once he gets plugged in well I like you mentioned with those stats about his his performance in the weight room and everything else the Rams have a very clear identity on that offensive line this year that maybe has not necessarily been the way that they've gone about it in previous years last year was kind of the transitional period where it started they are a physical group of people we've talked about how physical uh Avet is we know about Kevin doson right Rob havenstein is just a mountain of a dude over on on the right side and if Jackson and Jackson the law firm and and left side of your offensive line of Jackson and Jackson could be those nasty guys great you're going to be able to put your hands on people and move them around wh or limmer I should say is one of those guys that maybe can do the same thing they have a very specific type of offensive line that they want to put together and he seems to fit the bill pretty well absolutely and that really was the entire approach for this newly revamped offensive line and the style of plays they want to go at guys and attack guys instead of going side to side in a wide zone right they wanted to go at guys and get some real road graders so that's what really was all about to just change the kind of body types and the big physical offensive linan that they went after but yeah hopefully in a perfect world Jonah Jackson can somehow someway be ready for the opener against the Lions but it does seem like they're gonna yeah the opener would be ideal but what my my my hope is the opener my my my just my more realistic is let's have him be fully functional fully healthy somewhere in September and then play the rest of the season and hope that he stays healthy my fear is is that they Tred to get him back sooner than maybe is perfect and then it's just something that lingers all season long and you don't get to realize the full potential of what you have in that player he's a really good player this was you know arguably their number one free agent uh acquisition that they went out and did and acquired so now of a sudden the very last thing you want is him less than less than the best version of himself so I'd rather be a little more patient a little more deliberate and getting him back and and try to fill some holes for as long as you can so he can be at his best because the very last thing I think Doug that you and I or any Rams Fans any of the every dayers would like to do is we're talking sometime in November it's like man Jackson has just never looked right that's the scary part take your time get him back make him at his best I agree it's the number one priority once he gets back he stays back and there's nothing from that injury remaining and also let's not forget his top priority is to protect number nine and that's really what this season is completely predicated on so you absolutely have to keep him back he can take my scapula I don't need it let me know it's probably not as good as his but yeah hopefully a speedy recovery for Jonah Jackson but coming up next we got some Camp nuggets we're going to get into on locked on Rams I love sports I love them right I mean if you're listening to this podcast if you're listening to lock on Rams you love sports too we all love them so much we never want them to stop but this is kind of the low point of the Season or at least that's what you think because as the playoffs are winding down and everything else we get 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Network your team every day so we got some Camp nuggets we're going to get into and we're going to talk about the tight end really quick here because it looks like this is going to be a different year for the tight end usage with the addition of kobby Parkinson Davis Allen has continued to get reps at the tight end position it looks like he could have a larger role in the offense this season with Tyler higgy out so I think for me the big thing is the blocking and how the addition of Kobe Parkinson someone who's really really hung his hand on his ability to block and it's kind of an untapped potential as a receiver could get that opportunity and I think this could help Cooper cup avoid injury and stay fresh because let's be honest Cooper Cup's a dog out there when it comes to being a great blocking receiver and the more that the can take care of that the less it's on him that could make him back to where he was hopefully at least close to that this season well I I think you know kind of the first thing that we were talking about comes together with the last thing that we're talking about right if you have a an offensive line that is not firing on all five cylinders right and you need to to have some help somewhere else where all where's the first place that that help is going to come from it's going to come from the tight end position the next place it comes from is from your running backs if you have to leave help in to make sure that Matthew Stafford stays upright then the opportunities for the tight ends to be Playmakers gets reduced so if the offensive line is as healthy as it can be now of a sudden Parkinson and Allen and some guys that I know were very excited about getting to see as Weapons uh get gets Uncorked a little bit so getting that offensive line healthy or finding some capable guys to fill in there uh is a big part of making sure that your tight ends are able to play uh more of a of a role in your offense I I'm Parkinson I I think you and I are a little bit different on this I'm I'm a little bit more interested to see what Davis Allen has as a playmaker as opposed to Parkinson Parkinson is been in the league he he has not really impacted and I understand situations different in Seattle than it is in Los Angeles but I think that if you are a real offensive weapon they find ways to use you I think we saw that a little bit with Davis Allen towards the end of the season so I'd like to see him get some real good looks and some opportunities and Matthew Stafford clearly trust him a little bit we started to see him used more in the offense toward the end of the season got in the end zone uh so I I I am I'm excited to see those guys get going a little bit but I think the health of the offensive line May prevent that from happening in the short term yeah I think both of them are definitely going to be used as Red Zone targets and you look at the catch radius of Davis Allen and he just feels like he's someone that's a vacuum there with his ability to catch the ball Parkinson though he definitely has made some impressive plays at training camp by all reports you're seeing some highlights from Kobe Parkinson I think that's something that really opened the eyes of rams of the Rams of the Rams coaches and as far as their front office is they saw him as an underutilized tight end there was an untapped potential that because he was buried in the depth chart in Seattle as far as the role they had for him they knew what he was capable of so I definitely think that's kind of where his breakouts going to be is as a pass catcher as someone that can catch you you know five to seven to eight touchdowns in the Red Zone hopefully and I do think you're going to see more 12 Personnel this season I mean we know it's always going to be 11 personnel with sha McVey but I think that 12 Personnel is going to get an uptick in usage this season and I think one of the reasons why is you have a different type of tight end you have young you have youth you have blocking tight ends and look we know Tyler Higg is fantastic has really been a stal for this organization but I definitely think they've been kind of ready to switch things up for the last couple of seasons and we might see kind of what we saw in 2018 with Gerald Everett and Ty Higg where they combin for 57 catches so we're just going to see more 12 Personnel just more opportunities for tight ends in general yeah you know it's the one part of the Shawn McVey offense that I don't think we've gotten the full look at what it is like we've seen what it looks like with an elite running back Todd Gurley you know Todd Gurley was the best running back in football for a couple of years or if he wasn't he was really close to it we've seen what it looks like with an elite quarterback Matthew Stafford Elite wide receivers Cooper cup pukan neua you know I'll throw Robert Woods in there as well they had a lot of weapons at wide receiver we've seen all of it except for tight end right and I think you nailed it I think that combination of Higg and Everett at least for a season was kind of interesting in what they could do because Gerald ever caught a lot of passes Tyler higgy caught a lot you put those two things together and that's a real weapon maybe it's kind of a ham and egg situation with these two guys but I think you know as somebody who's watched every Rams game since they came back to Los Angeles who's been covering this team since they came back to Los Angeles that's the one position where it felt like they haven't got it fully unlocked they've come close few times with Higg and ever like you mentioned but we really haven't seen it get unlocked I think that's why you and I and a lot of Rams Fans were interested in in Bowers during the the draft season that they could get their hands on a playmaker like that but you know this is the group they have and I'm excited to see it absolutely don't sleep on Parkers I mean 67251 4774 I just think that he hasn't come close to realizing his potential also it's kind of one of those things too where the Rams go out there and sign one of the youngest free agents on the market he's only 25 for for $22.5 million I'm like they must see something in him that says okay we got to go get this guy and he's going to be a big part of this offense but hey let's see let's see what the Rams do I'm excited about Parkinson in this tight end group and I think Davis Allen showed us a lot last season his limited opportunities but that's going to do it for this episode of Locked on Rams my name is Doug McCain you can follow me on X and Instagram at dmac corla and until next time whose house it's locked on Rams house