The Los Angeles Rams have one more regular season game left this season until they are officially in playoff mode. With one more match at SoFi Stadium against their division rivals, the Seattle Seahawks, fans will see the starters get rest and some secondary players get time.
However, one starter of note who will be inactive for his second week in a row is Rams offensive tackle Rob Havenstein, who was listed as “questionable” ahead of Week 17’s important match against the Arizona Cardinals, but did not see any time on the day of the game.
The Rams were the healthiest they had been going into their Week 16 game against the Jets — but a Havenstein shoulder injury ahead of the game that would play a huge part in the team clinching the playoffs frightened many fans for the offensive line’s performance.
An offensive line without Havenstein is good, but a line with Havenstein is even better. Havenstein is an absolute force when it comes to the act of protecting the primary ball-holders, and the Rams will need his presence going into the playoffs.
“[Havenstein]’s been awesome. He’s been that way. I think what’s been really cool too is he’s always been a leader in his own right,” said Rams head coach McVay about Havenstein earlier in the season, via Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic.
Havenstein has been with the Rams since 2015, one of the longest tenures of anyone on the team, and he has grown into his role as a leader.
“He has really come into his own and figured out how to lead [in a way that is] authentic to himself while also learning from some other great ones like [Andrew Whitworth] and [former Rams lineman] John Sullivan … He’s special and I really love working with Rob,” said McVay.
Luckily, the Rams have approximately two weeks until they are competing in their first round matchup of the playoffs, and McVay issued an update on Havenstein’s injury status ahead of their match against the Seahawks this weekend.
“Rob will be [sitting out this weekend], yeah. He’ll be a guy that because of his injury, that sorts itself out. The good thing is everything is tilting towards he’ll be ready to go for that playoff game,” said McVay.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/nfl/rams/ as Why The Rams Need To Get OL Havenstein Healthy Before The Playoffs.