Turf Show Times
Braden Fiske has been a key player on the defensive line for the Rams since the very start of his career in 2024, but many fans were shocked to see him only play 13 snaps against the Titans on Sunday. The reason for Fiske’s limited opportunities this week is simple though, as Sean McVay explained to the media on Monday that he had tweaked his oblique in warmups and suffered a late-week injury.
The Rams will monitor Fiske’s injury this week but that sounds like they can’t quite guarantee that the pass rusher and run stuffer with a key fumble recovery in Week 1 will be ready to go against the Eagles in Week 3.
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Fiske, a second round pick who the Rams traded up for to acquire last year, finished third in Defensive Rookie of the Year voting to teammate Jared Verse after recording 8.5 sacks and 10 TFL in 2024.
He didn’t have a sack in Week 1, but made this phenomenal athletic play to recover a fumble:
Without Fiske for most of the contest in Week 2, the Rams still sacked Cam Ward five times and had a total of eight QB hits: 2 each by Byron Young, Kobie Turner, Josaiah Stewart, and Verse. Young will be in the running for NFC Defensive Player of the Week, to be certain.
But obviously getting to Jalen Hurts through the top-ranked Eagles offensive line is a much different ballgame than getting to Ward or C.J. Stroud. Fiske is one of the toughest and most stout defensive ends in the NFL right now, so having him on those tush push defensive plays could be key for Chris Shula’s defense.
The situation with his oblique does not sound too serious but at the same time this situation didn’t even exist until an hour before the game. There’s no telling where it would go from here.
On another note, McVay says Ahkello Witherspoon will not need surgery on his broken clavicle, but nonetheless will miss at least three months.
