Starting left guard Steve Avila exited Sunday night’s game with a knee injury and was unable to return, raising even more questions about the state of the Los Angeles Rams’ offensive line. It’s unclear exactly when the injury occurred but he was ruled out just after halftime.
On Monday, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network shared an update on Avila and the outlook certainly could’ve been worse. Avila is believed to have suffered an MCL sprain in his knee, but he will have an MRI and further testing today to determine the severity.
It’s the same injury Jordan Love suffered in the Packers’ opener and that’s expected to sideline him for at least a few weeks. There are different grades of MCL sprains, though, so we’ll have to wait to see how serious Avila’s is.
#Rams starting guard Steve Avila, who left last night's game with a knee injury, is believed to have suffered an MCL sprain, sources say. He'll have an MRI and further testing today to determine the full extent.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) September 9, 2024
At the very least, Avila will likely miss a couple of games, but if it’s a Grade 3 sprain, he could be out as long as six weeks. If it’s on the longer end, it’ll be a significant blow to the Rams’ offensive line, which will already be without Alaric Jackson for another week while he serves his suspension.
When Avila went down, the Rams moved Jonah Jackson from center to left guard and inserted rookie Beaux Limmer at center. That’ll likely be the approach taken by Sean McVay while Avila is out.
