Turf Show Times
How long can Tyler Higbee keep rookie Terrance Ferguson out of the starting line up?
Training camp is right around the corner for the 2025 Los Angeles Rams. We’ve seen the team make moves in free agency and the draft, yet there are still questions about some key positions on the offensive side of the ball.
Are there any starting jobs up for grabs? What potential is there for those currently penciled into the first 11 to find themselves replaced?
Let’s take a look at some uncertain positions on offense:
We might as well start with the elephant in the room.
While at the time it seemed like a positive that the Rams were able to ink Alaric Jackson to a three-year, $57M contract to keep him from hitting the open market ahead of free agent, he’s now in danger of missing at least the season start with a recurring blood clot issue that first cropped up in 2022. Jackson missed the back nine games in the last occurrence.
This is obviously a bigger issue than football. Jackson probably has plenty of run in his NFL career, and it’s not worth jeopardizing that to rush him onto the field in 2025.
Still, LA is in a tough spot. It’s rare to sign a player of DJ Humphries’ caliber this late into the offseason. They also have other options in veteran David Quessenberry and 2023 draft selection Warren McClendon. None of these players are Jackson, and that’s a massive problem when protecting your age 37 quarterback should be the number one priority.
Tyler Higbee missed most of last regular season after suffering a major knee injury in a 2023 playoff game. When finally made it onto the field, he certainly made his presence felt.
In three regular season games he caught eight passes for 66 yards and two scores. In two postseason games he hauled in another 12 passes for 112 yards and another score with the yardage being mostly split evenly.
But Higbee is 32 and he’s missed a lot of key moments for the Rams in recent years, including the team’s 2021 Super Bowl run. He plays a physical brand of football and contributes as more than simply a pass catcher; however, that style can take a toll.
Enter Terrance Ferguson.
The Rams obviously have big plans for their rookie, though it’s unclear whether that vision will be realized at all let alone in the short or long term. Sean McVay has given Ferguson lofty comparisons to Chris Cooley and Travis Kelce. Those remarks seem to suggest that the second rounder is the plan as the tight end of the future.
Seeing Ferguson in the starting lineup might be a question of when instead of if. It’s important to keep in mind that young tight ends generally have a longer development arc, and it could take some time before we see the rookie hit his stride.
Signing Tutu Atwell...
