The Los Angeles Rams finally know what their initial 53-man roster will look look after finalizing their cuts on Tuesday afternoon. They made 37 different roster moves over the course of the last few days, working hard to get their group down from 90 players to just 53.
There are 12 newcomers, five drafted rookies, one undrafted rookie and plenty of talent across the board, giving the Rams a Super Bowl-caliber roster for 2025. Now, they just need to go out and execute each week, starting on Sept. 7 against the Houston Texans.
With the roster set, here are seven takeaways from the Rams’ 53-man squad.
The Rams have good depth on the offensive line
Even after trading away KT Leveston, the Rams have plenty of depth on the offensive line – and excellent position flexibility, too. Beyond the five projected starters, the backups are all capable of filling in if needed.
Beaux Limmer and Justin Dedich can both play any of the three interior spots should anything happen to Steve Avila, Coleman Shelton or Kevin Dotson. D.J. Humphries is a quality backup at left tackle, David Quessenberry has played 84 games in his career and Warren McClendon Jr. is a developmental player who could have a chance to replace Havenstein in 2026 if all goes well.
With the versatility of the Rams’ backups, they’re loaded with options when injuries inevitably hit.
There’s an abundance of versatility in the secondary
Chris Shula is going to have a field day deploying his defensive backs this season with all the different positions they can each play. Darious Williams, Ahkello Witherspoon and Emmanuel Forbes Jr. are primarily boundary defenders, but the other defensive backs can line up at multiple positions.
Cobie Durant can play inside or out, Quentin Lake can play safety or nickel, Jaylen McCollough can play deep or in the box as a dime backer, both Kamren Curl and Kamren Kinchens can play either safety spot and Josh Wallace has seemingly transitioned to safety after playing cornerback last season.
Shula loves to mix and match his defensive backs depending on the personnel grouping so he shouldn’t have much trouble piecing this secondary together.
Confidence is high in the RB room
The Rams have a lot of faith in Kyren Williams, Blake Corum and Jarquez Hunter at running back, as they should. It’s arguably the deepest group they’ve had under Sean McVay, allowing the Rams to keep everyone fresh throughout a game and season.
By going with just three running backs, the Rams are confident everyone will be able to remain healthy and have a positive impact on offense. Cody Schrader would’ve been a good player to keep but there wasn’t a role for him considering the plans the Rams have for their top three backs.
The Rams aren’t afraid to cut recent draft picks
We’ve known this for a while but it rang true again during roster cuts: Les Snead and McVay aren’t afraid to admit when something doesn’t work out. They moved on from three recent draft picks this week, cutting Brennan Jackson (2024 fifth-rounder) and Chris Paul Jr. (2025 fifth-rounder), and trading away KT Leveston (2024 seventh-rounder).
It’s not as if they were top-50 picks, but teams would love for some Day 3 picks to stick around for at least two years. Things just didn’t pan out for those three guys and the Rams moved on, going with other players instead.
Every inside linebacker was undrafted
The Rams kept four inside linebackers on the initial roster with Nate Landman, Shaun Dolac, Troy Reeder and Omar Speights. They all have one thing in common: None of them were drafted.
With Paul getting cut, every inside linebacker on the team was signed as an undrafted free agent, either by the Rams or another team. That’s almost unprecedented for an entire position group, but it’s a show of how the team is a meritocracy. It doesn’t matter when you were drafted or how you were viewed out of college.
If you can play, you’re going to earn a role with the Rams.
Stetson Bennett remains a part of the Rams’ future plans
For the third year in a row, Bennett made the 53-man roster. That may not seem like a big accomplishment for a guy who was drafted in the fourth round, but after the way his career started out and with the struggles he’s endured in the preseason, it’s a testament to his resilience.
He played extremely well this summer and gave the Rams no choice but to keep him. It helps that Matthew Stafford is 37 years old and dealing with a back injury, but Bennett did enough to secure a spot as the No. 3 quarterback.
And who knows? He could be the No. 2 guy by this time next year.
The preseason matters
Rams preseason games may get overlooked on the outside because they don’t play any of their starters, but there’s no question these exhibition games matter. They especially matter to guys fighting to make the team, and with the starters on the bench, those backups get a lot of playing time.
Just look at Xavier Smith, who was one of the best receivers on any team this preseason. He earned a spot on the 53-man roster, largely thanks to his contributions as a receiver in addition to being a return specialist. Dolac was another standout in the preseason, as was Dedich. Josh Wallace didn’t play much, but that’s because the coaching staff saw enough from him to know he’d be on the team.
Desjuan Johnson was perhaps the biggest beneficiary of the preseason, making the team after leading the Rams with a whopping 11 pressures, per PFF. He even played outside linebacker in the finale and showed off his versatility in a Michael Hoecht-type role.
This article originally appeared on Rams Wire: 7 takeaways from Rams’ initial 53-man roster
Reporting by Cameron DaSilva, Rams Wire / Rams Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
