Turf Show Times
How do Tre Tomlinson, Derion Kendrick, and Emmanuel Forbes fit into the mix for 2025?
Is 2025 the year that the Los Angeles Rams rebuild their cornerback room?
They’ve spent the last two offseasons accumulating talent along the defensive front. This left little draft capital for corner, and instead LA signed veteran band-aids to fix the problem short-term.
The first was a reunion with Darious Williams following his release from the Jacksonville Jaguars. Williams started most of the 2024 season for the Rams, though the team can save more than $3M in cap space by moving on.
Perhaps LA’s biggest misstep from free agency last year was bringing in Tre White who was fresh off of an Achilles and multiple knee injuries. The experiment didn’t last long before LA traded White midseason to the Baltimore Ravens.
The third veteran signed to the patchwork quilt was Ahkello Witherspoon, who joined the team after the start of the regular season and following season-ending injuries to Tre Tomlinson and Derion Kendrick. Witherspoon has the bonafides to be a starting corner, but he’s nowhere near the upper ranks of the position. Effectively replacement level, though he does bring a size element to the position that few other Rams corners can also brag about.
As we turn towards 2025, there are four corners (including Cobie Durant) effectively left on the roster—three of which have significant question marks and are often forgotten about in the roster calculus:
Most of the playing time we’ve seen from Tre Tomlinson has coming in the preseason, which makes it difficult to project his future in the NFL. As a rookie he had a few strong reps against his former TCU teammate and first round pick at receiver, Quinton Johnston.
The key issue with Tomlinson is that he is severely undersized. That’s why he was available for the Rams in the sixth round despite winning the Jim Thorpe award as college football’s best defensive back. Given Tomlinson’s slight frame, the tendency is to move him inside into the slot—but he’s mostly only played outside and his skillset is better suited for the perimeter.
Similar to Williams, the Rams can save a few million by cutting Kendrick. Is it worth bringing him back for his fourth season to see if he can make improvements from the body of work over his first two years?
Kendrick was thrust into action as a rookie on a bad Rams team in 2022. He lacks NFL caliber top-end speed, which makes him oft-penalized and susceptible to the deep ball. Still, he’s a physical player that has played a lot of football for the Rams. In a year where they may need bodies at the position, that might be enough to bet on.
Forbes is a former first round pick of the Washington Commanders. He was picked by the Ron Rivera coaching staff, but fell out of...
