The Los Angeles Rams currently have nine players on injured reserve, seven of whom could return at some point this season. Among them are Steve Avila, Jonah Jackson, John Johnson, Puka Nacua and Joe Noteboom.
All five have been starters at some point this season and when they return, they’ll all have a chance to be inserted back into the starting lineup.
Because of injured reserve rules, players are required to miss at least four games after being placed on IR. For some players, though, their absences will last longer than just those four games.
Sean McVay hasn’t said exactly when each player will return but on the “Coach McVay Show” Monday, he laid out the order in which they’ll likely be activated.
He said Noteboom is likely to be first, then Avila, Nacua and Johnson, and then Jackson as the last player to come back.
“Joe could be earlier than those guys,” he said of Noteboom, Avila and Nacua. “Joe’s got a big workout that’s scheduled this week. We’ll see what that looks like in terms of his availability for the Raiders and then possibly for the Vikings. Really, then it’s Steve and Puka. J.J.’s in that group. And then Jonah would be after that.”
Here’s when each player is first eligible to be activated from IR.
- OL Steve Avila (knee): Week 7
- WR Puka Nacua (knee): Week 7
- OL Joe Noteboom (ankle): Week 7
- OL Jonah Jackson (shoulder): Week 8
- S John Johnson III (shoulder): Week 8
The Rams also have Conor McDermott and KT Leveston on IR, who are both eligible to be activated at any time after missing the first four games of the season. Darious Williams has already been activated, as was Larrell Murchison, but Murchison had to be placed back on IR after breaking his foot in his first practice.
Reinforcements are undoubtedly on the way for the Rams, it’s just a matter of how soon each player will be ready.
