The Rams kicked off two days of joint practices with the Raiders on Wednesday, getting in a good afternoon of work in Thousand Oaks. The two teams will be back on the field Thursday for another practice, one which Aaron Donald will be present for after getting a rest day Wednesday.
Overall, it was a productive day for the Rams, particularly when it comes to Matthew Stafford, Tutu Atwell and Tre Tomlinson. Joe Noteboom has a minor injury at the moment, so he was held out of team drills, and Cam Akers was pulled early after getting into a fight with Maxx Crosby.
Here are six takeaways from the first practice between Los Angeles and Las Vegas.
1
Tutu Atwell had a great day
Matthew Stafford mentioned after practice that Atwell had himself a solid practice, making a handful of plays at wideout this afternoon. The Rams shared a clips of three receptions by Atwell and two of them he used his speed to beat the defender down the sideline, while the third was a quick route toward the sideline that he turned into a chunk gain by staying inbounds.
Tutu. Too Fast.💨 pic.twitter.com/V0rSd10WfL
— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) August 16, 2023
2
Tre Tomlinson held his own vs. Davante Adams
This was a good opportunity for the Rams to test their defensive backs against some different receivers and Tomlinson drew one of the toughest matchups around: Davante Adams. He held his own during team drills, making a couple of nice plays – including a pass breakup in the end zone.
The rook makin' a play against the vet.👀 pic.twitter.com/BARZFkr8ck
— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) August 16, 2023
Tomlinson also pushed Adams out of bounds before he could complete a catch along the sideline, though the All-Pro receiver did catch a deep pass down the sideline against Tomlinson.
Tre Tomlinson getting tested at outside CB in 11 v 11 today but doing solid job overall. Pushed Davante Adams out of bounds before Adams could complete catch. Adams hauled in deep pass down left sideline later on, but Tomlinson bounced back with PBU on Adams in corner of endzone
— Stu Jackson (@StuJRams) August 16, 2023
3
Maxx Crosby was in the backfield a bunch
Crosby is undoubtedly one of the best pass rushers in the game today and he reminded the Rams of that on Wednesday. Stafford said Crosby was in the backfield a few times and whenever he got near the quarterback, he would yell “sack” in his face.
Crosby also made this rep against Rob Havenstein in one-on-ones look easy, though it’s not often a tackle has to work in that much space during a game.
The #Raiders D-line is obliterating the #Rams O-line in 1-on-1s
Butler, Rochell, and Plant all bulldozing and dominating their reps right before Crosby here #RaiderNation pic.twitter.com/uR1Fcr99XY
— Logan Reever (@loganreever) August 16, 2023
4
Matthew Stafford picked apart Raiders secondary
It was apparently a very good day by Stafford against the Raiders defense, throwing the ball all over the field and picking apart the secondary. Stetson Bennett didn’t have his best and was intercepted on a deflected pass but by all accounts, Stafford had a great performance against Las Vegas on Wednesday.
While the #Raiders have been in the head of Stetson Bennett so far, same can’t be said for Matt Stafford.
He’s been picking the Vegas DBs apart. All essentially on the outside. #raiderNation
— Logan Reever (@loganreever) August 16, 2023
5
Only one fight that briefly disrupted practice
Cam Akers and Maxx Crosby got into a fight about 90 minutes into practice, which disrupted things, but only for a short period. Both teams aided in breaking up the skirmish and both players were booted from practice afterwards; Akers went to the locker room and Crosby remained on the sidelines.
While Sean McVay doesn’t want to see fights in practice, he said it wasn’t overly concerning because the team still got in a good day of work.
First fight. Cam Akers lowered his head into Maxx Crosby who didn’t like that and swings were thrown.
— Levi Damien (@LeviDamien) August 16, 2023
6
Joe Noteboom “dealing with a little something” right now
Noteboom’s chances of being the Rams’ starting left tackle (or right guard) took a hit. According to McVay, Noteboom is dealing with an undisclosed injury, which caused him to be held out of team drills against the Raiders. He won’t practice the rest of the week but hopefully he can return for practices with the Broncos next week.
