THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. — Running back Sony Michel, standing in front of media as a Ram for about 36 hours, said Thursday that the best way he could describe how being traded from the New England Patriots on Wednesday morning felt was to use football terminology: “Sudden change.” That’s exactly what it sounds like — a situation when, following a turnover or takeaway, either the offense or the defense sprints right back on the field for a new series.
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“It’s like something suddenly happens, and you’ve just gotta get ready to quickly execute,” Michel said. “Not much time can be wasted — just kind of have to get up, get ready to go and get adjusted and acclimated.”
Michel learned of his trade to Los Angeles about 4:15 a.m. PT on Wednesday, multiple sources told The Athletic at the time, although the terms were agreed to the night before. Michel described his sense of the trade as a complete surprise — a really, really sudden change.
In exchange for Michel, the Rams initially collaborated on a creative bundling of two current picks (a 2022 fifth-rounder and sixth-rounder) into a future inherited fourth-round compensatory pick the Rams will get back this spring because they lost safety John Johnson in free agency. But the league intervened, because of a quiet rule change that prohibits teams from exchanging conditional compensatory picks (meaning the picks can’t be traded before they’re awarded). Ultimately, two sources with knowledge of the terms told The Athletic on Wednesday, the terms were revised to reflect a 2022 sixth-round pick and a 2023 fourth-round pick sent to the Patriots (the Rams may believe they’ll get at least one of those picks back via the compensatory system after Michel plays out the final year of his rookie deal and enters free agency in 2022).
Michel did not practice Thursday, obviously, not only because he had just landed in California hours earlier, but also because the Rams were simulating the structure of a non-tackle real game, and he hasn’t even gotten his playbook yet. Michel stood on the sideline with running backs coach Thomas Brown (whom McVay said was a huge voice of insight for the trade, as Michel’s former position coach at Georgia), learning the calls and cadences of the offense and getting a feel for the rhythm of a Rams practice.
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Another revision on the way? How the Rams change their plan at running back as Michel works into the fold. Darrell Henderson (who is recovering from a sprained thumb but appears to be able to fully practice) was supposed to be the lead back in 2021, after the Rams lost Cam Akers to an Achilles tear before training camp. But with Henderson, availability has been the No. 1 question as he’s dealt with repeated and varied injuries throughout his career — and he also has not consistently been featured as a 15-plus-carry back. Henderson, though, is really talented in both the run and the pass. So a best-case scenario for the Rams may be to lean toward a complementary approach between the shifty, elusive Henderson, and the one-cut-downhill runner Michel, whom general manager Les Snead described as a player who “runs from north to south with force.” Their skill sets, in that regard, do complement each other — but the Rams will have to figure out a “magic number” that will not only keep Henderson healthy, but that will also allow both backs to get into an effective rhythm.
Between wanting to maximize Henderson’s availability and flat out needing more depth on the roster (reserve back Raymond Calais also suffered a foot injury and was waived; he can revert to IR), bringing in a new back seemed inevitable for the Rams. By making a trade, they could go after an available back whom they wanted instead of risking the waiver wire, where they have a low position, after cuts.
“It was an opportunity to acquire a really good player who has had a lot of success,” McVay said after Thursday’s scrimmage. “He offers a physical presence to our room. Really, we feel good about the running back situation but some of the volatility of what Darrell has gone through even throughout the course of camp, wanted to make sure we got somebody else who has played in big-time games, who brings a physical presence to that room. … Darrell is still going to have a really big role, doesn’t really change the outlook for him, and then we’ll see how quickly we can get Sony up to speed.”
Injuries to monitor
McVay said defensive lineman A’Shawn Robinson, who was expected to be an impact player this year, will have to have a “small” procedure on his knee and will be out for a couple of weeks. Behind Robinson the Rams do have intriguing emerging depth, including Eric Banks, Michael Hoecht, Marquise Copeland and Bobby Brown IV as well as more veteran depth player Greg Gaines.
On Tuesday, McVay noted that outside linebacker Obo Okoronkwo was dealing with a shoulder stinger (he did not practice). He added Thursday that though he’s not ready to escalate his diagnosis of Okoronkwo, “there potentially could be” some long-term concern about the injury and Okoronkwo’s status, and the situation is still being worked through by medical staff.
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On the converse, second-year outside linebacker Terrell Lewis was able to practice fully for a second consecutive practice after missing much of camp with recurring knee issues. Lewis looked better Thursday than he has in a while, attaining consistent pressure (including a chase down of quarterback Matthew Stafford), and put together some nice plays against the run.
Veteran outside linebacker Leonard Floyd was also able to practice fully Thursday (he rested Tuesday as the Rams continue to exercise caution with a slight ankle tweak suffered last week). Outside linebacker Justin Hollins is continuing to hold his spot on the opposite side, and Justin Lawler and rookie seventh-round pick Chris Garrett have gotten more opportunities with Okoronkwo out.
Finally, rookie cornerback Robert Rochell is out of the club and red non-contact jersey he has worn since getting wrist surgery the second week of training camp, and his workload is increasing. Safety Nick Scott (knee) was able to go through a full workout on the sideline with an athletic trainer and is trending toward a return in the near future, McVay alluded.
Scrimmage observations
• The Rams’ game-like scrimmage structure was about 2 1/2 hours long and included a realistic halftime break in the large tent on the side of the fields, where offense split to one side and defense to the other and coaches went over adjustments. It was a non-tackling practice (although players wore full pads), and series were scripted in the sense that there were planned first-team offensive reps against both the first-team defense and second-team defense and vice versa. Defensive tackle Aaron Donald broke down the “halftime” huddle.
• Early on, the first-team defense got some work against the second-team offense. During the drive, inside linebacker Kenny Young recorded a nice pass breakup to force a long third down, and on the next play, safety Jordan Fuller executed a little wrist-flick punch-out on a long downfield pass by John Wolford to end the series. Young later nearly intercepted a Stafford pass to tight end Tyler Higbee, stretching high in the air and just an inch short of the perfectly thrown pass.
• The Rams also worked in kicking and punting periods. Their special-teams room has gotten smaller after they waived long snapper Steven Wirtel as the corresponding move to adding Michel, and because veteran punter Johnny Hekker is still on the reserve/COVID-19 list. Kicker Matt Gay missed two of his nine kicks on the skinny field goal posts and finished the day nailing all three kicks from short, midrange and long distance. Corey Bojorquez took all the punts, and Tutu Atwell got the first reps at punt returner. Tight end Jacob Harris had a learning moment when he just missed downing a punt with a bounce angle traveling toward the end zone inside the 2-yard line, but he was very close to doing so on the play.
• Young’s solid day was complemented by fellow inside linebacker Troy Reeder, who broke up a pass across the middle. Reeder has gotten his hands on notably more of those types of plays, as opposed to 2020, and he and Young both have emerged this summer with a ton of confidence and look completely different from how they did when opening training camp last year. The two seem to have the starting positions locked in, with Young receiving more snaps in a single-backer package, and interestingly, rookie Ernest Jones has also repped in recently on the first team in combination with either of the two players. Largely on the second team, the Rams got a long look at Micah Kiser, Travin Howard and Christian Rozeboom in various combinations.
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• The red zone periods when the first team went against the first team were competitive, as usual. Notable sequences included a Stafford pass to Higbee for a touchdown, in which the play design forced a mismatch that put Darious Williams in coverage (McVay praised Stafford and Higbee for the throw and catch afterward), and a three-play sequence that began with a bad snap, which forced a negative play as Stafford fell on the ball. Stafford handed off to Henderson on the next play, and then on the third-down passing play that followed, hit Van Jefferson in the corner of the end zone for a touchdown.
Tuesday, the defense forced four stops in a row in the red zone to end the practice.
• The throw that drew the most celebration from the sidelines Thursday was a deep pass downfield from Stafford to Cooper Kupp, who had created a massive amount of space in the latter part of his route against the Rams’ second-team defense.
• According to the Rams’ roster, Michel will wear jersey No. 14.
• The Rams will travel to Denver on Friday, ahead of their Saturday preseason finale. McVay said he will at least activate Wolford this game, but expects Bryce Perkins to play the entire game as he did last week. The roster has to be trimmed to 53 players by 4 p.m. the following Tuesday, although historically the Rams have made those moves a bit sooner than that.
(Photo of Sony Michel: Brian Fluharty / USA Today)
