The Rams' Thursday Injury Report added a surprise name as Tutu Atwell missed practice for personal reasons. Atwell joins Rob Havenstein as the non-participants as the Rams' right tackle continues to prepare for the playoffs.
The reasons for Atwell's absence remain unclear as of writing, calling into question his availability for Sunday. Atwell did practice on Wednesday.
Rob Havenstein's situation remains the same as it has been for the past week. The Rams are playing it easy with him due to not only his injury but the way he picked it up.
Sean McVay spoke about how the injury occurred last Sunday stating "That shoulder is such a finicky thing and it's such an important part of being able to control those blocks. It was such a freak thing that happened in practice. We don't have any padded practices left unless we're fortunate enough to earn the opportunity to get in [to the playoffs] so it was one of those just awkward collisions. It didn't look like much, but when you look at the scan there was something there that said there was a strain, and you want to be smart with that. He's going to do everything in his power to be ready to roll and he was certainly missed last night."
Jordan Whittington was another light participant in practice. He's still working through an ankle injury. He is expected to play but his participation against the Seahawks may be curtailed, depending on the Atwell situation and if it will impact his availability in the playoffs. The Rams have activated Whittington in the past and sparsely used him due to injury concerns.
However, if Whittington is healthy enough, there is a desire to get him in the game. OC Mike LaFleur spoke about Whittington, indicating he wants to get him reps. “He's a tough dude. He throws his body out there. He’s just getting more and more comfortable playing in this league. He's smart. He picks it up. He's in a great room, as I've always said with [Wide Receiver Eric] ‘Yarbs’ and then being able to look up to Cooper. He’s made it the right stuff. His role likely increase as he just gets more and more acclimated to this unit and in NFL football in general.”
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/nfl/rams/ as BREAKING: Rams Release Thursday Injury Report For Week 18.